I don’t know what is up with my horses lately, but they seem to be taking turns racking up vet bills. I don’t know who told them it’s a competition, or how exactly a “winner” is decided, but I know it wasn’t and isn’t me.
In the past few months alone I’ve got bills for hock injections (Henry), a tooth float (Henry), two health certificates (Henry and Presto), vaccines (Presto), an allergic reaction (Henry), some kind of light respiratory funk (Presto), a hematoma turned cellulitis (Presto), and now – Presto tried to rip his damn foot off.
I don’t even know how the hell he did it. He was fine yesterday morning at breakfast, and he was out all day by himself in a paddock with hot tape and wood fencing. And it’s a HIND FOOT. It almost looks like he got it stuck in something, but hell if I could find anywhere that might have been possible. Horses. They can try to kill themselves even when given no tools by which to do it.
I texted pics to the vet and he advised that I bring him back home so he could cut the flap of hoof off and address the heel wound. It will need tending and bandaging, and of course it hurts a lot. So I loaded Presto and Henry up and took them both home to the vet’s house last night. I give up. Presto also did this the same day I put his FEH Championships entry in the mail. I do not appreciate his sense of humor.
I don’t even want to know how much I’ve spent in the past few months. All of you people who keep track of your yearly horse spending, I don’t know how (or why) you do it. I refuse to even try to add it up, because everyone knows you can’t put a price on love. LOLZ. But really though, it’s because you can definitely put a price on insanity and I know for a fact I’m hitting that figure. No need to calculate what we already know to be true.
I had finally just been feeling like I’d conquered the last round of problems too. It’s been so hot and Henry’s been having such a hard time in the afternoons that he was getting hosed off several times of day to help keep him cool. Which caused him to get rain rot. And then he randomly got hives for a few days. He’s missing a lot of hair on his butt right now. Presto’s hematoma (or as I like to call it – 3rd butt cheek) got a bit of cellulitis, which we’ve been massaging and draining and hosing and medicating. That’s right – one horse has a lumpy ass, one horse has a bald ass. Finally in the last couple days they’ve both started looking a lot better. I was even optimistic that Presto might not have a lumpy butt anymore by Championships. I should have known trouble was afoot (no pun intended).
Shit, I just remembered that we still have to remove Henry’s cracked back molar next week and take Presto’s wolf teeth out at some point soon.
On the bright side, at least Riding Warehouse’s Labor Day sale starts today so I can stock up on all my med supplies and more Coat Defense powder at a discount? #positivity #cryingontheinside #ilovehorses #sendhelp
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Oh nooo his leg looks SO swollen! Poor Presto. And poor you!
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OOF!
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That’s what happens when you try to get into King Henry’s stall and you’re nothing but a lowly peasant….Prayers for quick healing.
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Between Friday and Sunday of last week, all three of mine were seen by the vet for some reason. I can relate on dueling vet bills. Sigh. I love horses.
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are you still using Zephyr’s Garden for to battle Henry’s ‘funk’? I need to resupply (leathers, helmet, fungal malady solutions) and want to try what’s working for him!
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Yes. I’m doing a fungal shampoo, the tea tree spray, and coat defense powder.
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I feel ya. My emergency colic for the horse that tried to kill everyone once he arrived at the hospital was a bit unexpected. I planned for the hocks that came a few weeks before but that was several horse shows right there. Hope the boys knock it off so you can enjoy more productive things the rest of the year.
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Presto!! That is not funny. Not at all.
The only solution is padded cell for both of them. And straightjackets??
I am sorry!!
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Ugh. That looks painful. I had a lucky streak of not much vet wise for a long time. Then came eeyore and he does nothing but see the vet. I feel your pain.
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Oh, dear, not the kind of magic your mom appreciates, Presto!!! I’ll be crossing everything that he’s not lame and can go unwrapped for the Championship. What a little stinker! 😦
I did not know you used Coat Defense. I have been extremely impressed with their ads and think I would grab some straight away, if I had rain rot or some other kind of crud to deal with. The horse I ride had something going on but the vet made up her own “magic potion” with which to bathe him, and that worked – if it hadn’t his owner was going to get Coat Defense on my recommendation.
[Speaking of stupid horse things causing stupid vet bills, same horse spontaneously broke out in bizarre itching/neuritis on Saturday, naturally while he was at a show. No riding on Sunday for me… this is a point series, too, so I was pretty disappointed. The second vet who saw him finally determined it was Endure AEROSOL fly spray. He’d had the squirt bottle kind all summer, no problem, but apparently something in the aerosol, which was first used Sat. AM, set him off big-time. As we all know way too well, it’s not one thing it’s another…]
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Mark’s keratoma surgery came to $7,000 including his recheck last week(and I had already spent almost $1,000 on diagnostics and antibiotics with my local vet who wanted to treat for a bad infection because they didn’t think it was a keratoma). Luckily I have a carecredit and a year deferred interest so I have time to pay it off but it really dinged my credit score and I need to buy a “new” car because the transmission went on my car that I still owe $4,000 on(and was quoted 4k to fix it with no guarantee it won’t have problems again as the transmission model is faulty)…so there is my rant. I’m in a perpetual state of “how can I afford my life” right now 🤦♀️
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The dragon mare has anhidrosis so she feels Henry’s pain 100%. Lily is my bald one, she looks like she has mange… I have managed to keep the vet bills to a minimum though. Pretty sure I just jinxed myself. I am the keep track of every penny type. It’s terrifying some months.
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I have an ongoing joke about my animals competing in a “Spendy-est pet” competition! The “goal” is always to beat the horse (including boarding costs). The dog actually won one year when she needed super expensive surgery.
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For the past few years I’ve added up my annual expenses (morbid curiosity- like a trainwreck I can’t look away from), but with 2 horses I think I might have to do away with that tradition. YIKES. The fact that Presto did that insanity to his heel the day you sent in a show entry proves horses are evil geniuses.
Coat Defense for the win! I love that stuff.
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Ugh. STOP IT HORSES! It’s like they know they live at the vet’s house and they just want to really take advantage of that.
How do you like the coat defense? Can you use it on a face? I need something for a bald face that’s not a spray. Krudzapper has helped but it’s not really supposed to be used near eyeballs.
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