Elle's Chest Wound Update

I'm super impressed with how Elle's chest is healing.  With a reminder that they are quite graphic as the wound was significant, here are the latest photos in chronological order:

 

 

On 21 Aug the difference between the AM and PM photos surprised me so I took an extra photo that day.  Here is the 10AM:

And here is the 3:30 PM:

 

I'm really pleased with the progress, the wound has filled in nicely and the edges are contracting.  I've continued to take detailed notes on treatment and observations each day.  

 

I did notice that Elle's forehead swelled up last week and she began dropping chewed up bits of hay, called quidding.  She also had bloody nasal discharge from her L nostril and it was the L side of her forehead that had swollen.

  

Dr. Landes came out to examine her last Saturday.  She may have injured her head at the same time as the initial chest wound, since we don't know exactly what happened.  After a dental to resolve her hooks in front and ramps in back, Dr. Landes took some head xrays to try to see what was going on in the sinuses of her skull.  He also had a radiologist look at the images to give us some more information.  The sinuses are inflamed with fluid in the L rostral sinus (closer to her nostrils) and the bloody nose may indeed have been from trauma to the head (so it's possibly not an infection in the sinus or tooth roots).  The xrays of her nasal bone were fuzzy looking (radiolucent) which might be from incomplete healing or soft tissue causing the swelling.

The recommendations for her face include endoscopic evaluation of ethmoids and sinoscopy (using a small camera in a tube to visualize what's going on inside different portions of her face).  We'll be headed into CSU on Tues for that evaluation, as long as I can get her into the trailer because her balance issues can make loading difficult for her. 

Ferriana Flatwork

I used the Pivo to try and get Ferriana's dressage work videoed too.  She was enough faster than Daisy that the camera lost us a few times, but I was able to get the stills I wanted.  There are even a few cute ones of Rizzo with her legs in the same position as Ferriana!

Ferriana's canter is very impressive, she really sits and reaches underneath herself well.

I also love the blue to green ombre saddle pad with the blue and green browband beads.

Here is a 10 minute video of our warmup, where the pivo loses us a few times but also tracks us for a while.

This video is shorter, but still show her trot and canter work.

Daisy's Jump School

I had a chance to get on Daisy today, after I'd removed all her many many fly protection accoutrements. 

I've been playing with the Pivo some more and mostly it works fine.  I have been a little frustrated with it losing me when I go too fast and I'm too far away or too close, but at least I'm able to get ok still photos from the video it does capture.  I'm suspicious that the lighting of the arena being half shaded and half in the sun messes with it.  Today I did ok with using a gorrilla tripod to fasten the pivo to the top of a jump standard.

Here are the videos from today for Daisy.

 

Daisy is a little out of shape, but her work today was very calm and controlled.  She was channeling her inner slow western horse, while still being able to hop over jumps from her quiet gaits.

Appreciating the Saturday Night View

I went for a quick ride bareback with Raven and the dogs in the back forty Saturday night, and it always makes me appreciate how extremely good my life is.

This house is the coolest - who wouldn't want to live here?

 

Raven at Soapstone

My back is finally feeling ok after Highboy's shenanigans last weekend which tweaked something and made me quite sore.  We had a showing on the house this morning (fingers crossed!) so Owen and I took Raven and headed up to Soapstone for a quick ride.  It was pretty hot, so we did an out-and-back ride on Pronghorn Loop.   

 

I opted to wear my neon orange shirt with one of my favorite saddle pads, it goes from red to yellow through orange and looks super good on the dark bay horses.

 

This video is from near the end of the ride, Raven and I are trotting along the ravines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2xPT4HTo-A

This video is longer, and is the section where we decided to turn around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6znyoyuoG8 

 

Small Animal Vet Day

Thursday this week was vet day for the small animals.  We go to Paws N Claws Vet Clinic in Fort Collins, as I worked there for years before I changed to training horses full time.  

I loaded up the three dogs in the cab of the truck, and each cat was placed their own sturdy carrier and then secured in the bed of the pickup.  The cats sure weren't happy, but they all behaved themselves well at the vet for all the annual things we need to do to them.

When we first arrived, I took the dogs in first.  Each of them was weighed on the scale, Rizzo at 44 lbs, Pascal at 47 lbs, and Mahzi at 77 lbs.  We weighed them in that order, and individually put them in the exam room.  Once I was in the exam room with them, Rizzo decided she was going to apply to be the receptionist.  She stood up on the table and proceeded to evaluate my paperwork, looking as though she was summoning the next patient.   

 

After she had checked out that surface, she then went to the door which led to the lab area in the back of the clinic.  Rizzo placed her front paws on the doorknob, spread her dog toes to encapsulate the round knob within her grasp.  She precisely and carefully twisted the doorknob to open it so she could go investigate what was happening in the back.  I quickly grabbed the door and shut it again, and she only opened it once more before deciding to stay in the room with me and the other dogs.  She is awfully smart and handsy with those dexterous dog paws.

Last time Rizzo was here she had spent the day at the clinic, and was put in a dog kennel with chain link front and brick walls to separate the dogs from each other.  When the technician went in to get her, the door was shut and latched but Rizzo wasn't in the kennel.  After looking around, the tech looked up.   Rizzo had climbed out of the kennel and was sitting on top of the six foot tall brick dividing wall calmly surveying the situation.  The tech that helped with our appointment was the same one who had found her there, and she marveled all over again at how Rizzo might have done it.

Orzo, Blu, Soleil, and Sabbath all did well, I'm kind of proud of how good my barn cats are for handling and veterinary things, including the crate training.

The small animals all had some vaccines and bloodwork done, and everyone was sent home with a clean bill of health.  Including Sabbath, who is now 16 years old - darn good for a barn cat!  I did more extensive bloodwork on him because of his age.  While one kidney value was very slightly elevated, the rest of his bloodwork looked great.  So I guess the old man will be kicking it with us a while longer!

It was a good appointment, we were efficient and got each animal taken care of with bloodwork, vaccines, and dewormer we took home.  I know it sounds gross, but the cats' main job is to take care of mouse control, and with that comes a certain amount of parasites which need attending to.  The dogs get into all kinds of gross stuff so they also need deworming  in addition to heartworm prevention.  

Thankfully everyone is healthy and ready for the next adventure, hopefully moving to Virginia soon once our property here sells.

Highboy's Squirrelly Jump School

Highboy and I did some jumping this morning but I haven't been riding him regularly.  Without regular work he turns into kind of an erratic squirrel over fences.  I do love the big goober, but we definitely could have smoother work between jumps and better footwork if he would slow down and pay attention.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vxWVjjYErk

Rizzo always enjoys working with us in a squirrely jumping session.  The more shenanigans the better in her opinion.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psfcfIX52_o