Question:  how many days can Cook stay on stall rest / limited turnout before she goes completely batshit psychotic?

Answer:  day 5.5

So last night I loaded up the truck for one last move… it was late… I wanted to finish watching grey’s first.  So I went to the new house around 11, finished around 1130.  There was something inside of me URGING me to stop by the barn and check on Cook, even tho it was damn near midnight.  I really wanted to resist, I was tired.  But I went anyway.  I had put cook in the broodmare stall with the paddock open so she could go in and out and visit Tig, her friend.

Read carefully….  Cook was psychotic.  crazy.  upset beyond any measure I can describe.  She was screaming.  SCREAMING.  She was GALLOPING full speed and then would stop on a dime at the fences.  I tried everything I could think of.  I gave her hay.  I tried to give her peppermints.  she wouldn’t let me catch her.  I tried to shut the door to the stall and that’s when all hell broke loose.  She went ape shit in the stall.  She was pacing, running, pawing, and popping up.   she was popping up at the door and I thought she was gonna jump the stall door.  I panicked and opened the stall door back up, because I didn’t want her to hurt herself.  I called Mere at midnight.  She told me to go get Missy and put her in the stall next to her, completely close up the BM and see if she will settle. 

Missy was a far off big pasture with 2 other mares.  It was total blackness.  I was like how the hell am i even gonna find Missy?  So I went out with a flashlight and shined the light at the gate and clicked.  I heard horses running and like an angel appearing out of nowhere, Miss came to the gate.  I was so grateful to her at that moment.  You have no idea.  So we walked in the dark up to the barn, and I put her in the stall next to Cook.

I shut cook in and gave them a bunch of hay.  Cook still paced, pawed and whinnied.  But it was more half hearted.  After watching for a few minutes, I left.  I couldn’t take any more.  I was fairly confident she was at least settled enough to not hurt herself.

Of all weeks…. why why why why this week?

whats going on ?

just moving.

and ex-boy had to have surgery because lung wouldn’t re-inflate.  so that was stressful.  i went and saw him last night even tho I was totally WIPED because… if something bad happened, God forbid, then I wouldn’t want that on my conscience that I was too tired to go see him before he had major surgery.  So I went there and fell asleep (on the hospital bed no less…) while he watched TV.  I’m told being there is the important thing.  :-)

and cook has to have care twice a day.  like real care that takes like 45 minutes with cleaning of the abscess that is still weeping and a shot in the neck that she is starting to hate me. AND to top things off tonight, I gave her a shot and then went to clean her stall before I put her in there, so I left her in cross ties.  Rachel was like shes’ bleeding from where the shot was… I told her to clean with an alcohol pad, without looking at it (figured it wasn’t that much).  She said its’ still bleeding…  long story short, it WAS.  There was blood on the floor.  So I suck.  I have no idea what happened there.  I have four more shots to go.  So I have been stressed to go to the barn either before work or at lunch to do the first shift care.  I’m not complaining because I wouldn’t pass Cook’s care off to -anyone- else…. no one can care for her like me, however, of all the weeks to have to do this….  this isn’t a good one. 

Tonight I’m blogging right now at midnight because when I came home I was exhausted.  I fell asleep at 7, then woke up at 1030, so I worked for an hour on the house.  I still have a ton of stuff to pack and move… rich is gonna be pissed.  I won’t get everything done by the time he gets here on saturday.  The good part is that Ariana is coming up with him, and I’m stealing barn-Rachel under the premise she can hang out with Ariana, but really I’m glad to exploit kiddie slave labor.

My back hurts.  The combination of riding + moving = back pain.  Although I haven’t had a chance to ride that much, except on weekend.  That might be affecting my mood too.

repeat after me.

If I get through this week, everything will be better.

right?

so Cook is doing ok.  She seems to be taking stall rest well.  She stays in her regular stall during the day and then in a broodmare stall at night.  (broodmare stall is bigger and has 2 windows).  I had to give her her 4th shot today.  Man, is it getting hard.  She will have 12 shots in all.  4 down, 8 to go.  I’m confident with them now.  I didn’t even ask Meredith to watch me the last time.  I usually have her watch over my shoulder.  Cook is gonna start being bad for me here soon.  I can see her watching me now to see what I have behind my back.   I know she will be worked up the next few days but she has a staff infection and she HAS to have this pencilin.  I would rather her hate me now then this infection to worsen.

I did hand walk her around to stretch her legs and eat grass. 

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I rode Miss and Fox today and both were excellent.  Miss was non-chalent in the field, and then I went and rode Fox with the girls in the ring. 

I am really a very lucky girl.  I have 3 beautiful horses (only one is mine), but 3 really good, well mannered, well behaved horses that I get to sit on.  I had a good time today.  Most of the kids and other riders have moved to the new barn so I have been riding alone mostly.  It was nice to have Rachel out there riding with me.  We get along pretty well.  She’s cool because she’s like 13/14 and she has friends her own age but she also can hang with me.  So that was fun.

One of my ex’s is in the hospital with fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.

After I went and brought him some real food and sat with him for a lil bit.

He called me later on that night and said some pretty sweet things. 

Ex:  I was damn happy to see you today.

Me:  Good.

Ex:  You woke me up and I thought ‘damn she is so pretty”.

Me:  They must be giving you good drugs ’cause I came from the barn, I was sweaty, wearing no make up and I need to drop like 10lbs.

Ex:  Sometimes I look at you and kick myself for us not being together.

Aw.  I melted a little.

I’ll try and make this short.  For more details, you can call me or email me.

Cook had what appeared to be a very serious condition called a bow tendon.  It could have been the end of me riding her, maybe forever, due the extreme amount of stall rest she would need. 

I was worried and her leg was getting worse.  So we hauled her to a different vet.

It is an infected abcess.  Thank God.  It’s gross, its’ infected, and she has to get a shot with 20 ml of pencilin twice a day, bute and has a nice cast-type bandage on her leg.  she will be on complete stall rest for a week.  I get to practice my IM shots.  I did the first 2 today and they went well.

She will heal and she will be ridable. 

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Cook was way awesome at the hospital.  She didn’t have to be doped at all until the very end and it wasn’t because she was being bad, the vet just wanted to make her more comfortable (they had to scrub and re-scrub her oozing, pus-filled leg.).  she minded her manners very well.  The vet wanted to see her trot out and she trotted out in the hospital aisleway just perfectly with me.  Even hurting, she is the best mare around.

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I did manage to make it back in time for a lesson.  fun fun fun.  It was one of those lessons where I knew I was having a good time and was doing well.  But now when I THINK about it, as I am blogging, its’ even better.  I really got to do fun things today.

So I had a good day. 

Cook is being trailered to the vet hospital to have an ultra sound done.

will update later.

I hate moving.

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Cook is about the same.  Leg is warm, she doesn’t want me picking it up and you can see the bluge.  It’s not terrible but its an issue. 

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Ok no playing around about the kitties now.  Must have takers.  good homes.  Let me know if you know anyone who wants one.

I have alot to blog about so I will try and make this short and sweet as not to put my faithful readers (all 2 of you) to sleep.

Cook - I was on my way to the barn to ride during lunch when Fernando calls me on my cell and tells me he thinks Cook might have a bowed tendon.  NOT GOOD!  I had Cook on the “vet look at” list because her cut isn’t healing as fast as I would like and I wanted stronger meds / antibotic.  So I told Fernando to hold on, I was less than 7 minutes away, and I sped to the barn.  I get there, we look at it and after asking some questions, it might not be a bowed tendon, it might be from putting her in standings overnight. 

I way way way hope so.  Cook CANNOT have a bowed tendon.  I know I said she was retired from showing but I just meant the grind of showing.  A bowed tendon would mean the end of me riding her period.  Again.

So, I have her on bute and rest for 3 days and we will see.  If it is from the standings, it should go away.  If it doesn’t then she has to have an ultra sound next Monday.

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So the Fernando thing only took a few minutes, so I still got to ride Missy for 20-30 minutes.  I was really really really happy with her.  Our canter was beautiful.  We did some other work - but wasn’t so good but that’s not Missy’s fault.  I’m not good at sitting.  Sitting trot, sitting the canter.  Half seat, beautiful.  As perfect as I can hope to be. Sitting - I flap like a bird and I ‘override’.  I knew I was struggling today.  Tried to take away my stirrups and it just looked worse.  oh well.

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So I have 10 days to pack and get things straightened out before Rich comes and moves me.  I feel pressure…. but I have to focus and really get down to business.  I have decided that I will move each time I go to the barn and work on my house on weekdays until 8.  At 8, I will quit.  So we will see how this goes.