Need Someone to Just Listen/Need to Rant
Well, I've had a hell of a year and a half when it comes to horses. It all started last May when I lost my heart horse to colic/colon torsion. She was rushed to an equine hospital but it was too late. There was nothing that could be done to save her. I was devastated. I couldn't even bring myself to go to the barn for over a week. I had put so many hours of riding time into her, we had really built a strong bond and she was at a point where we just understood each other under saddle. We were a team. But I had to try to move on.
After a few weeks, I decided that it was time to get back into the saddle and I started to really focus on my other horse, a green gelding. He needed miles and I suddenly had more time to devote to him. I rode him regularly for 3 months and then he started tripping. He's always been a lazy guy so at first, I just thought he was being lazy. We introduced so many poles to try to get him to pick up his feet but he kept getting worse. At the end of last summer, he tripped and fell while I was riding him. This was the last straw; I called the vet and we started to try to figure out what was wrong with him. Well, long story short, he had EPM, which is a neurological disease. He deteriorated really fast after that fall. He suffered from muscular atrophy and could barely stand by the time started treatment. I even called the vet in tears because I thought we should just euthanize him but she convinced my to give the treatment a fair shot. We moved him into a box stall at my barn and I drove out to the barn every day for a month to spend time with him, give him Marquis (medicine), and clean his sores from falling. Somehow he recovered but I knew he'd never be the same. He was neurologic and while he could live a happy life as a pasture mate, he was likely never going to be my riding partner again because he simply wasn't safe to ride.
So at the end of last summer, I decided to buy another horse. I involved my trainer and my vet and we found an awesome gelding who was green but in my price range and showed a lot of potential. I was so bummed to have to start over for a 3rd time in such a short period but so excited about getting a new horse. I worked him regularly and sadly, he has a few sticking points that have been really hard to overcome, but I think we'll get there someday. Part of me is still struggling with having the heart to go through this a 3rd time but I know I owe it to him and myself so we keep trying.
In January my husband and I bought a horse property and moved our horses to the new place. I love it here and it's really nice to have my pasture pet pony as a companion without costing me too much extra money.
Well, about two months ago, my pasture pet horse hurt (the one with EPM) himself REALLY bad. He ran into an open gate and managed to puncture his chest cavity and break a rib. He was rushed to the equine hospital and again, they were miraculously able to save him. But now he has to be on FOUR months of stall rest for that rib to fully heal. (We've been working on replacing all of the gates because they're clearly dangerous.)
Four months of stall rest is honestly killing me. I spend 2 hours a day taking care of him, just mucking, giving hay to both horses, making sure both horses have fresh water, taking him for a short walk, and fighting his HORRIBLE case of thrush because we have a dirt floor barn. We tried to put down stall mats but the thrush persists. I haven't even ridden my healthy horse once in the last 2 months because it feels like all of my free time is taken up by taking care of my sick guy. The barn stall isn't a fancy stall, it's just a 13x16' area that's closed off by a horse gate. Well, two weeks ago, he managed to LIFT the gate off the hinges and escape. So we had to go out of our way to try to make sure he can't do that again. Now today, we discovered that he's pulling the 2x4 that the gate is attached to off of the wall. So we have to fix that ASAP so he doesn't escape again. And I think we're going to have a bunch of pea gravel delivered for under the stall mats to combat this horrible case of thrush.
It honestly just feels like it's one thing after another. And it feels like I can't catch a break. I spend all of my time and money taking care of these guys lately and can't even enjoy them. Like, NONE of my other friends with horses have had anywhere near the bad luck/medial issues that I've experienced with my horses over the last 1.5 years. The horses down the street are literally contained by a bunch of T posts and a wire that isn't even electric. And here I am trying to keep my horse from pulling a horse gate, yes a gate MEANT for horses, off the hinges. And I can't believe that I'm only halfway through his 4 months of stall rest.
Anyway, I know there's nothing any of you can do... I just... I just needed to vent. I just want to get back to riding, have healthy, happy horses, and enjoy my time with them instead of being so stressed. I know that horses are expensive, time consuming, fragile. I... Like I said, I just needed to vent.
Thanks for listening.
Edit: Here are some photos of my journey. I really love them to death and would never get rid of them. I'm just feeling a little beat down, as you can tell. http://ift.tt/2wgtI9k
Submitted August 05, 2017 at 12:13AM by kmanna
via reddit http://ift.tt/2v6b5GC
No comments :
Post a Comment