Yesterday on our little ride I saw a blond woman on a big flashy chestnut making her way quickly down the hill. I decided to stalk her. I like to follow people stealthily in the woods, it's a game I play. If the horse notices us, we lose. As long as we're just out of sight, usually not even the horse will notice us.This time the lady let us catch her. Her horse was doing an impressive sidepass, refusing to go any further. I was leading Baasha, cuz it was rocky. The lady started talking to me rapidly, I have no idea what she was talking about, but finally caught on that she needed to follow me a bit, cuz her horse was afraid. I asked, "What's he afraid of?" and she said, "Everything. He's a Turnier Pferd (jumping/dressage horse). He doesn't get out much, and he's only 5." I could see that, his big eyes were bulging out of his head. He had draw reins he was pulling against, trying to get his head up so he could see around him. His veins were all sticking out, and he had no winter coat at all. No clip, just no coat. He wore a cozy-looking blue quarter sheet, which the woman had over her legs.
"What kind of a horse is he?" I asked.
"A Holsteiner." Hm.
I told him, "It's not so bad out here, is it? It's ok!" trying to be friendly.
She saw Desitin on Baasha's heels and started telling me her preferred treatment methods, but I have a hard time understanding the names of medicines which I've never heard of.
Eventually they went their own way, I hope they made it home. That was one of the fanciest horses I've ever encountered here. He was huge, but his head was so small and fine. I wonder if that is typical for his breed. (The picture is the Holsteiner breed brand - a new one for me!)
At home I noticed hair falling off Baasha's pasterns - up high on the fetlock joint, not down where I've been cleaning and medicating. I felt the dreaded little bumps that signal new scratches and I kind of panicked. I don't know what to do about treating that, cuz his fetlocks are covered in long hair and I don't have clippers. I sprayed salt water on the skin there as best I could, but there is no way to get Desitin or Neosporin up there. I'm worried because I know if this gets any worse, he's gonna have to come out of the mud. And there is no "out of the mud" for him, except into a stall in the barn, or perhaps one of the fields, which are closed for the season. I don't want to have to move him to another facility altogether, just because of this, but I can't win a fight against scratches when he's standing in mud up over his fetlocks all day. The little tent+pen we built for him this summer is mud free, but it's in the middle of the mud swamp. Hm. Hopefully it won't get any worse, or the ground will freeze solid soon.
10 comments:
I know of a product that is great for scratches, but like you said; you cannot get him to heal as long as he is still standing in the mud.
Aw, poor lady. I've been there, stuck on a terrified horse out on the trails and it's no fun.
It was good of you to help her.
I was reading about Holsteiners and thought you might like to watch this video of a champion Holsteiner jumping. They are beautiful horses with a lovely way of going, aren't they? I love their arched necks and solid bodies. What color was the one you saw?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py3DQ1UzNuE&eurl=http://www.theequinest.com/breeds/holsteiner/
wow FV, that is just beautiful to watch. i think the only reason he didn't like those white fences is cuz they looked like his home paddock and he knows he shouldn't jump those: )
what a beauty, so utterly calm at the start, and so brave over those contraptions.
the horse i saw was gorgeous too, but a chestnut.
i don't worry about his rider, the blond lady, cuz she acted totally casual and not at all intimidated by the big horse. she wasn't even wearing a helmet!
~lytha
FV - oh, and i didn't understand the announcer, but i did recognize the german advertisements all over the ring: )
Lytha - I tagged you for a "six things" about yourself post. It's been fun reading so far, and I'd like to know more about you! :) My six things and details are here: http://ace.regardinghorses.com/time-get-back-in-the-groove/
jackie, i posted my 6 things list nov 27. thanks for reading!
~lytha
We have a brand of lager here called Holstein..I wonder if it's made from horses?
c2b-
lol!!!! That is a good one!! :)
Lytha-
Here is an interesting development with our scratch problem...Last year was Waska's first winter with us and he developed scratches. His owner confessed that he has had trouble with them in the past, so we wern't shocked.
This year? Waska has yet to develop scratches, but Bo, who has never had them, has a mild case on his front pasterns/fetlocks, that we are managing to keep under control.
How strange is that??? The vet is totally baffled that Waska is fine and Bo isn't. So are we!!! I wish that they could figure this thing out!
melanie, that is odd! they say the fungus lives in the soil, but that would mean it could attack waska as soon as bo. *shrug*
baasha's scratches are not that bad, i'm kind of overreacting cuz i know how quicklky scratches can become bad. now i'm down at his feet spending an absurd amount of time feeling every hair.
if anyone has any experience building mud-free paddocks, i'd love to hear about it! i'm researching now (horses for clean water, e.g.). but i'd love to hear first-hand from anyone who's won or lost the mud war.
~lytha
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