less for more/dentist/saddle pads

Less grain for more money, that is.

I went to the feed store to get grain today. I usually buy in bulk to save trips because my feed store is kind of inconvenient to get to and has weird hours, so it's been a while since I last went.

I noticed the prices went up (but when don't the prices go up?). Each bag cost just under $18. Then I went out to my car where someone was loading the grain into the trunk for me. "They changed the bags, just to give you a heads up, but it's the same stuff." I looked at the bags and noticed the design was different. Ok, no biggie. "They also made them 40lbs instead of 50lbs." I scowled and thought, I may have an issue with that.

Seriously, prices go UP and quantity goes DOWN? I call bull.

And it happens just after Equine Affaire, where I spoke to Poulin and told them how happy I was with their product. If I had bought grain before going to Equine Affaire, boy would they have gotten an earful from me!

If Lu didn't do so well on this grain, I might even switch to Nutrena...oooooo.

Anyway, Lucy had a visit from the dentist today.

what a good girl

 There are a lot of times I wonder what the devil I was thinking getting an OTTB. Visits from the dentist are NOT one of these times. Bless her big TB heart; Lucy was fantastic for the visit. She just stood there and let him get right in there. I was very pleased with her and she got lots of treats when it was finished. She can be fresh to deal with on a regular basis, but for the vet, farrier, and dentist she is always well-behaved. I find that a lot of OTTB's are like this, because they are handled so much at the track. The dentist said he does a few 2 and 3yo TB's at the track every three months, so they're used to having it done.

Good news is that she had a few sharp points brewing, and two of them had caused some slight ulceration on her cheeks. It's only been six months since her last visit and I am glad I am diligent about getting her done on schedule! If it had gone much longer, she would have been very sore. The dentist said she'd be feeling a lot better with everything smoothed out and filed down. When he was finished, she leaned her head into his chest as if she were saying "thank you". She's not usually snuggly but she was really sweet with him.

I have been painting lots of saddle pads! Here are a few of the ones I've finished recently:

custom pad. the design was inspired by the Rohan flag in the Lord of the Rings
movies.

One of my all-time favourite pads. This was another custom pad. The logo is
the client's family's company logo. This pad took me just under 2 hours to paint and
I am really proud of the details and how well it came out!

Another custom pad, with a barn logo.

Make way for hormones!

One of the boarders at the barn was feeding his horse Poulin MVP and had to stop because it made his horse nuts. He had a bit left over and asked if I wanted to see if Lucy liked it. I decided it couldn't hurt (it's just vitamins and minerals) so I have been giving her a handful with each meal starting this past Saturday. Last night was the first day I've ridden her since I started giving it to her and she was like a bottled up rocket. I expected to get on and do at least WT, and hopefully some canter, but she was so UP that she could hardly concentrate enough to trot without bouncing around. So we spent almost 40 minutes walking, doing leg yields and shoulder in/out to get her attention, and then at the very end I got a few nice circles at the trot and we called it a day. It has to be the new grain that's doing it; nothing else has changed and she has been getting turned out full days in one of the bigger paddocks, too, so you'd think she'd be calmer. Needless to say, no more MVP for that horse!

I think she is also in heat. She is my first mare so this whole hormone thing is new to me, but she did not like me around her hind end last night, and seemed very sensitive.

One of the horses at the barn was having a bad colic last night when I got there, and the vet had to come out. Things were not looking good for a while, but luckily a dose of banamine and some fluids from the vet had him looking and feeling much better. He is one of my favourite horses at the barn and everyone at the barn was rooting for him. So, yay banamine!! He was looking much better this morning, too.

I also was able to buy a new tube of banamine to have on hand for future emergencies since the vet was there treating the other horse. The one I had bought when I first got Lucy was used on another horse at the barn a few weeks ago. I have felt uneasy about not having it on hand ever since, so I am really glad I had a chance to get a fresh tube last night.

This morning, Dr. Katz the chiropractor was at the barn bright and early to do an adjustment. As soon as he stepped towards her back end, she pinned her ears, tried to BITE me as I was standing there holding her, and swished her tail. Hello, hormones!

Despite her wanting to eat the poor guy, he was able to do a great adjustment on her, and said he was really happy with her progress so far. He said that she is 50% less sore than the last time he was here, and he's happy with her muscle development. Her pelvis was not nearly as out-of-whack, and she reacted much less to his palpations down her spine.

At the end we did some stretching exercises with her and her neck got a nice adjustment. She got some treats and then she was happy again. Silly mare!

Progress!

As a refresher, this is what Lucy looked like when she walked off the shipper's trailer on November 8th with a BCS of 2.5 according to the vet who did the PPE for me:

All of her ribs were visible, her hind quarters were sunken in with her tailhead quite prominent, the fleshy part above her eyes were sunken in, she had no extra fat on her whatsoever, and the bone structure of her shoulders was clearly visible.

After five weeks and two days, this is what she looks like:


I would say she's at a 3.5 or 4. She is starting to build up muscle and fat along her withers and barrel, her top line is rising, her hind quarters are filling out and gaining some muscle definition, and her shoulders are starting to bulk up enough that you can no longer clearly see the bone structure.

She still has a lot of weight to gain, but she is looking MUCH better. I am really happy with her response to the feed plan we developed for her. She is on a fairly high fat but low protein diet, with lots of hay. She eats a complete feed and hay stretcher, and also gets corn oil, which is very high in fat.

Lucy got her feet trimmed and shoes re-set today and everything looks fantastic with them. She actually had some decent growth over the past five weeks. She is on a hoof health supplement and I'm sure that has helped a lot.

Looking better and better each day

Lucy had her feet done this morning and I was there to hold her. She was a bit of a brat about standing still for him but she was very good seeing as it's the first time she's ever been hot shod, and some horses have major issues with all the smoke. She didn't even look worried.

I think she is looking much better already. She has a bit of mischievousness in her eye, but that's nothing abnormal for a three year old tb :D I like a horse with some spunk, anyway. Then she stood really nicely in cross ties while I pulled her mane. Then her whiskers got clipped and the end result was quite lovely! I am convinced that she is already putting on some weight. She's getting her grain, a complete supplement, and 2 tbsp of oil per feeding, along with free choice hay. She is feeling goooood, as you can tell from the photo above, which was taken right after her feet were done. She is going to stay barefoot behind for now but luckily he was able to get shoes on the fronts.