The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!

I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[CindyDawg]

I try not to give change. I then dump the change received in a bucket. I save a lot that way.

[tuffydoodle]

I bet you are going through a ton of hay. I would be a terrible pioneer, too. The outdoor plumping thing would be my biggest issue.

I'll probably end up having to take Tuffy to the vet but I'm going to try all the suggestions first.

[CindyDawg]

Oh, and I hate laundry mats. I remember those days painfully. I did my comparison essay in college on washaterias. I got an A. I had to rewrite the one on dogs though. The professor thought the word "slobber" was gross.

[HairOfTheDog]

I would be a good pioneer. As soon as the power goes out around here I instantly become more productive. :~)

Good morning everyone.... Tuffy, I sure hope there's a break in Tuffy's foot situation... I'd look into whether they might be able to see it on an xray and know where to dig.

[Beaker]

The professor thought the word "slobber" was gross
But that's what dogs do best! The other day I was at at a place collecting data and whatnot, and they have two office dogs- one standard poodle mix, and one very overweight yellow lab. They had been playing out in the snow, and the first thing that the lab did when I hung up my coat was rub his slobbery wet face and body all over it. (I had hung it on a chair)

[FrogInABlender]

The Tack store should have the ichthammol. I got mine from Jeffers. It looks nasty and smells kinda like tar.

I think it took Truly's abcess a few days or a week to break out at the top, but I could be wrong. It's been several years ago. The warm soaks should speed it up though. I had to soak her in warm epsom salt water twice a day for 10 minutes or so. After that she had a hole in the hoof wall that was there until it grew out and got trimmed off.

[ShakeNJake]

Tuffy ... tack stores will carry it. It is called icthamol and is a drawing agent. Once an abcess has been opened, you want to keep it open so that it can continue to drain. I usually soaked in hot water/epsom salts twice a day for 10-20 minutes, then applied the icthamol to the hoof, covered with a baby diaper, vet wrap over that, then duct tape over the entire hoof, especially the bottom and edges to protect the area from dirt, manure, etc. You sure don't want anything getting up in there that will add to the infection. Some people use sugardiene (betadiene and sugar) as a hoof pack. Either would work. You want to draw out all the infection, keep the area as clean as possible and open until it is able to heal from the inside out. Once the abscess is open, most horses immediately feel relief but may still be sore. Infection causes soreness and infection that is trapped inside that keeps building causes extreme lameness. They act broke-legged lame. If Tuffy is still very, very sore, he may have another abscess or your farrier was only able to open a portion of the problem area and there is still some pus trapped inside. Usually, these things will pop out somewhere on their own, often at the coronet band. It speeds up recovery though to open them manually. If I remember correctly, it usually took Jake a week to 10 days before he was ridable again for a garden-variety abscess. I would put an Easy boot on instead of a shoe until he was completely healed but as soon as he was comfortable, I would start working him again.

Jake used to have a lot of abscesses. He had 6 or 7 of them within an 18 month period. I think the major cause was poor stall cleaning at the place where we were boarding at the time. Once we moved, he only had 1 more abscess and that was soon after the move. He has been abscess-free for the past 5 years.

If Tuffy is too uncomfortable, you could give him some Bute for a day or 2. Unless Jake was still acting 3-legged lame and/or didn't want to eat, I would forego the Bute as a little pain keeps them from getting too active in the stall while recovering.

Also, a very good friend of mine who has forgotten more about horse management than I will ever know, swears by sauerkraut as a drawing agent/infection control salve. She says it smells bad but works better than anything else. I have personally never used the sauerkraut but others who know her have tried it and said it worked really really well. No science there, just anecdotal evidence.

Hope Tuffy feels better soon!

[FrogInABlender]

Hmmmmm...sauerkraut....interesting. It's gotta be the vinegar that's the active ingredient. I've heard of using vinegar-water as an anti-thrush agent so I guess it makes sense that it would help with an infection too. I'd just never thought of it.

[AnAmericanMother]

You're in good company on using the word "slobber".

The eminent British novelist Anthony Trollope got edited by his publisher . . . striking the phrase "hitherto unslobbered honesty."

I am an expert in slobber. Shelley is a very restrained kisser, just a peck on the cheek with the tip of her tongue, but Ruby . . . , ah, Ruby! Full facial with the entire tongue out of her mouth - and COPIOUS amounts of slobber. They call that extra skin at the corners of the mouth "dewlaps" for a reason!

[AnAmericanMother]

The ichthammol really works. It's a heavy oil distillate from shale oil. I think it's so acidic and oily in general that no germ can live . . .

Stockholm Tar (a pine tar) is another thing that's recommended for thrush or packing abscesses.

[CindyDawg]

I wonder if my teacher knew that.:')

[AnAmericanMother]

Betcha five bucks she didn't . . . unless she was a big Anthony Trollope fan. He was out of fashion for awhile as a Victorian who wrote big, unwieldy novels with lots of auctorial asides. But he seems to be back in now.

Start with The Warden, which is very short, then read Barchester Towers. I think Doctor Thorne is his very best, but you don't know any of the characters unless you've read the other Barchester novels.

He's the quintessential Victorian. Nathaniel Hawthorne, no less, said his books were "substantial beef and beer", and read as though somebody had carved up a chunk of English countryside and put it under glass, with all the people going about their business.

[FrogInABlender]

Boy! Did everybody fall off the face of the earth or what?!

[MissTargets]

Good Morning.

Think Spring!

[Beaker]

Good Morning!

*thinking*: Spring! Spring! Spring! Perhaps I should do a dance too. Maybe that'll bring it faster.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, I was taking the kids to school . . .

[cjshapi]

Good idea. Yesterday I promised myself that if at any time during the summer I turned whiney over hot and humid weather I would remind myself of this week and frozen pipes and extended single digit temps.

[MissTargets]

Quite a few of the forums, I frequent are very quiet also. Must be that time of the year.

A good time to tell you all about "Mary". Her former owner lived in an apartment and had to move. She could not have pets, so she gave the cat to a friend, who lived above the bar, that my SIL fills in as bartender when needed. One night the cat came walking into the bar. A patron there didn't care for cats and started to kick poor Mary. This didn't go over too well with my SIL and he kicked the man out. He brought Mary home that night this past fall. She had been spayed and we really didn't know her name. We called her "Mary" because the bar owner's name is Mary.

All my life I have been around cats and this one, is one of a kind. Her age, I imagine is around a year old. She is fearless and even after all these months, the other cats are still afraid of her. Even my lab gives her plenty of space. She is not mean, but will let them all know that she is the boss. One thing that I find so amusing about her is that she RUNS everywhere! Down the hall, outside, always at full speed. Never have I seen a cat run so much. She just loves to get on top of the fish tank and drink the water. One goofy cat, but we dearly love her.

MaryAnn trying out my new saddle at Christmas time.

There could be some Siamese, in that narrow face.

[MissTargets]

My thoughts exactly, as I came out of the bank yesterday. The teller had told me to "Stay Warm"! A nice warm "dry" summer would be most welcome. Last year was such a wash out. It would be so nice to have some nice weather to go trail riding.

[HairOfTheDog]

Good morning, happy to meet Mary :~)

The thread is quiet, I just haven't had a lot to report here! drizzly and just a few degrees too cold to plant grass seed, which is what I am most looking forward to doing! Horses are bored, but I don't much want to do anything with Bay, he's shedding and a mess :~\

We had to get a new vacuum cleaner and the kittens were having so much fun playing with the box that we cut a few extra holes in the sides so it's sortof a kitty jungle gym :~)