Do these pictures make my butt look big???

Friday update

Things have been busy around here, so my blog has been a bit neglected. Work was really busy and just yesterday things backed off a bit, so today should be a nice relaxing day for a change.

Rusty's eye update - his eyes are doing really well - the steroid eye ointment has helped alot. Here's hoping we get a few months or more without a flare-up!

We have had 2 weeks of fantastic weather - sunny and up to a high of 10 C ( Google tells me that is around 50F). Most of the snow is gone (woooot!!) and there are even a few buds coming out on the trees. This is about a month earlier than normal, so I'm trying not to get too excited. We could still have snow and crappy weather this time of year. I took this picture on Tuesday - this is our outdoor riding ring - it is very close to being usable. Almost all of the snow you see on the left was gone last night when I was there. The water had mostly drained off as well. Luckily, since it has a stone dust base and good sand, the water doesn't make it muddy and too slippery. I like riding through the puddles as training for Rusty.
I have been riding alot - about 4 times a week for the past two weeks. What a novelty! I even took Rusty for a walk/jog up and down the laneway a few times just to get outside. I'm tired of riding in circles inside. He was really good - he doesn't spook or anything - just looks around at the scenery. I can't wait to go for a ride around the hay fields when everything dries up!

My last regular riding lesson is next Thursday. The barn owner was sick alot this winter, so she is cutting back on her lessons. I'm disappointed, but a bit happy that I will be saving a bit of money each month There is a chance to do one-off lessons if she has extra time.

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I have 2 more weeks of work before I get a little vacation. I'm taking the week off before Easter to go and see my family. I could really use a vacation.

• We are going on our annual shopping trip to some outlet malls in Michigan - it is about 2 hours from where my family lives. There aren't any good tack shops in the area, so I will be able to resist shopping for more tack I don't need! This trip will be the first of four trips to the US that we have tentatively planned for this year. I think I might do a post on my trips, as I need some advice from readers on tack shops on the East Coast!

I really wish I had bought and saved some US $$$$ when our dollar was at par last year. The exchange rate is kind of crappy now and that sucks. Oh well. Next time I will be smarter about that!

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Fitness for riders

Just a note - thanks for the comments on the pictures - I will keep the one with Rusty's reflection in the puddle - I didn't notice that until it was pointed out! I'm also keeping the headless rolling horse -probably couldn't recreate that if I tried! The "horse of the damned" with the glowing eyes and the others will not survive the cut though!

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On a topic totally unrelated to my bad-ish pictures, I have been thinking alot of about fitness and getting into shape. Generally speaking and for improving my riding. The two go hand in hand, in my opinion. For various reasons, I have let my workouts and my health suffer a bit over the past couple of years. Starting back into riding again has made that painfully obvious!

I'm sure there are lots of people that work outside and/or ride a bunch of horses a day - those people probably don't have the fitness problems that your average-stuck-in-an-office-ride-3x-a-week folks do. I'm sure some people feel that the best training for riding is riding - I can't disagree with that, but I also feel that there is room for specific improvements to overall fitness that can benefit riding ability.

There are a few books geared towards fitness and flexibility for riding - a quick search on amazon.ca lists quite a few - Flexibility and Fitness for Riders, Fitness for Horse & Rider, Pilates for the Dressage Rider, Yoga on Horseback: A Guide to Mounted Yoga Exercises for Riders, The Rider's Fitness Program, etc. etc. Are some of these books a bit gimicky? I'm guessing maybe...

Several magazines have run articles on fitness as well, the APHA journal had a big series on it in 2008 (I think) and I've seen articles in Dressage Today and some British riding magazines, to name a few.

I haven't purchased any of these books yet, as I happen to know a great lady that specializes in equestrian fitness. I've been saving up a bit of money so that I can set up a small program with her and work at getting back in shape. I seem to do better with someone helping to motivate me.

Check out her web site when you get a chance - you can sign up for free monthly fit-tips related to riding and training. Equifitt.com is also writing a weekly blog on specific exercises for riding positions - each week she critiques (in a nice way) someone's basic riding position and then makes suggestions for exercises that could help. I plan to start reading these posts regularly - any way to learn is good, in my opinion! I'm too chicken to send her pics of my riding right now - but maybe someday...

I think all types of riders could benefit from specific training like this - someone who is out of shape like me will benefit from any exercise program at all and someone who is quite fit and advanced may be able to add some specific core strengthening exercises to their existing workout to help their riding get to the next level. Strengthening your core muscles - abs and back can go a long way in making your riding more balanced and strong.

Photo bloopers

I love seeing pictures on other people's blogs - I think it really gives an extra "oomph" to the post. Now, not every post requires 12 pictures or anything, but it seems to give the readers a bit more of a connection to the writer. I can see the fears of privacy playing a part in things - maybe posting too many pictures can endanger that sense of self in some way...

As we all know, photographing animals can be really tough - they tend to move around alot! Also, the colour of their hair/fur makes for a challenging shot. Anyone tried to photograph a black lab lately??

I personally enjoy taking pictures - I'm not particularly good at it, but I'll usually get one or two good ones out of that. I have been working at cleaning and archiving all of the stuff on my hard drive and as I have been going through all of my pictures, I realized that there were LOTS that I needed to delete! Closed eyes, glowing eyes, blurriness, animals looking the wrong way, headless horses, bad angles, overexposure, underexposure - you name it - I've captured it all! lol

So, in an effort at some humour, I offer you the best of my horse photo bloopers. I'm deleting all of these and hundres of others that I won't subject you guys to. A few people have done posts on how not to list a horse for sale - using bad pictures like these is a good start!! I won't put commentary on each picture - I'll leave it to your imagination! My personal favourite is the headless rolling horse... :-)

The equine eye - part 2

Yesterday I wrote a bit of an overview about corneal ulcers and such. Today I wanted to explain a bit more what Rusty and I are dealing with...

His right eye has been ok for about a month. The left eye has just healed up this past week. That makes me happy. BUT, (of course there is a but), all of the vets involved in helping me (3) really feel that he has uveitis.

Which really sucks.

Alot.

However, at this point, he is fine. He isn't spooking or hurting himself - he seems to have a fair amount of vision. It will all depend on the number and severity of any re-occurences that will be the problem. I will be riding him and working him as usual, as long as I can.

Some horses do ok with losing the sight in one eye - I'm sure most of us have "met" a horse that had lost vision in one eye (due to uveitis or an accident) and was just fine. I personally know of 5 - all are ridden regularly and one even became a better jumper after he lost his eyesight in one eye! The hard part for me with Rusty is that he has problems with both eyes – I'm hoping that any vision loss that he has will be slow and progressive so that we can both adjust. Often horses that lose vision in both eyes quickly have a hard time adjusting, so hopefully we can avoid that angle.

The vets also suspected that this wasn't his first case of the problem - they said that it rarely occurs out of the blue this late in life (Rusty is 18)...so that means that it may have been a pre-existing condition, that the previous owners either a) didn't realize because the main care-giver was just a kid, or b) they knew and lied about it. Apparently minor cases are very hard to diagnose in a pre-purchase exam by the average vet.

The signs he had were: excessive tearing, squinting, swelling and sensitivity to light. These signs could be from any number of eye problems - uveitis, ulcers, glaucoma, bacterial and fungal infections, and a form of the herpes virus, believe it or not! So, the vet came and stained the eye - this shows if there are ulcers. Uveitis sometimes presents with ulcers and sometimes doesn't. So, if you have a clear diagnosis of uveitis, you can treat with steroids and often prevent alot of damage to the eye. If you have ulcers though, you can't use steroids, as they can cause blindness.

Rusty is getting about 1.5g of bute a day and he wears a flymask anytime he is outside, as long as it isn't snowing. He seems to be his usually happy self and as long as that is the case, we will be riding and trying to have fun...

The equine eye - a brief overview

I've started and scrapped this post about 10 times... I was (and still am) upset about it a bit and I don't want to go into all kinds of boring details. I'm just going to try and summarize as best I can and provide a few links that helped me a bit in my research.

In a nutshell - the equine eye is very complicated. After trying to learn and read about it a bit, it is no wonder that a vet can do a 3yr residency in ophthalmology to become a specialist. Please note that what I am writing here is a very brief summary of what I have been dealing with and is not veterinary advice...

Horses can have all kinds of eye injuries and problems. When your head and eyes are that big and you are a flight animal, stuff is bound to happen. Injuries to the eye are very common and bacterial and fungal infections are also quite frequent. It turns out that fungal eye infections are very rare in this part of Canada. They most often occur in the southern US.

Corneal ulcers are also quite common in horses. From petplace.com, "Corneal ulcers are usually caused by trauma. For instance, a piece of hay or dust may be caught in the horse's eye, or your horse may bump his eye on something protruding in his stall". Ulcers can remain fairly easy to treat or more complicated ulcers may take many weeks or months to heal.

"A common complication of corneal injuries is inflammation of the uveal tract (iris, ciliary body and choroid), known as uveitis. Horses are far more prone to uveitis than other species. If unchecked uveitis can lead to chronic pain, cataract formation, scarring within the eyeball, glaucoma (increased pressure within the eyeball) and damage to the retina leading to blindness"

As many of you may have heard, Appaloosas are at high risk for uveitis - researchers haven't been able to figure out why, but it is something that makes the breed a bit of a risk. I knew this going into Rusty's purchase, but figured we had a good chance because of his age.

You know it is bad when there are websites dedicated to the subject:

The Appaloosa Project

Blindappaloosas.org

More references:

Overview on ulcers and eye problems

Corneal ulcers - vetcontact.com

An article on ulcers - petplace.com

Equine ophthalmology - NC State U

I'm going to post the second part of how all of this relates to Rusty tomorrow...

Bad (bad!) blogger

I have been extremlely negligent in posting an award that the lovely Cdncowgirl gave me... I just didn't get around to posting it. I'm going to be bad and not pass it on, as I believe it has made its rounds already...

The lemonade stand award is to recognize blogs (bloggers) that show great attitude/gratitude.

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I've been working on a post on the equine eye and an update on Rusty, but it is all kind of confusing, so I'm not sure what I'll end up posting. I did find some pictures of Rusty from this summer and I'm longing for green grass and the warm sun. Just a couple of months to go...

Farewell my preciousssss

No, I'm not talking about Rusty! He is safe in his paddock with his friends the last time I checked!
Nor am I referring to winter - it is still here unfortunately... I'm referring to my beautiful, hand-made in Europe, English saddle...Yep, I took it into the tack shop I got it from to sell on consignment. The saddle is a Tolga, made in Belgium and is extremely comfortable. It is probably close in quality to a Devoucoux or an Antares. I bought it used and it was still pretty pricey. It is the most comfortable English saddle that I have had the chance to ride in. The guy that owns that tack shop told me it would probably be gone in less than a month, as he often has people calling in to see if he has any used ones in the shop... He also told me he wouldn't take much of a percentage on the sale because he felt bad that I wasn't using it.

Why on earth would I try and sell it, you ask??? Well, I just wasn't using it. I don't think it fit Rusty as well as it could, either. The last time I rode in it, I felt off balance and was tipped back a bit. I don't want to get into buying all kinds of riser pads and such. I'm also not enjoying riding english as much as I have in the past. I have been having a hard time with leg position and balance. I'm feeling much more comfortable in a western saddle. Every time I've been at the barn in the past few months, I look at that expensive saddle just sitting there and cringe a bit when I think of what it is worth. I'm all for buying quality tack, but not if it is going to sit around and collect dust.

Since I'm on the topic of selling tack, I've also had some good luck moving other stuff on ebay. I sold a John Lyon's bridle to Canada, the old Parelli level 1 kit to the UK and two Centered Riding DVDs to the US. My stuff has found new homes all over the world! I'm reallllly trying to not buy any more stuff, so I don't have to turn around and sell it all. My personal assistant wanted to get his nose or paw in every picture I was trying to take, so I had to shoo him down to the basement!

What are everyone's saddle preferences? Would you only ride one or the other? Always ridden english and never tried western, or vice versa? What about buying/selling tack on ebay or local message forums? Do you find it worthwhile, either as a buyer or a seller? Do tell!!!

Not too bad for an old guy...

Just a quick post tonight - I have some better material I'm working on, I promise!! :-)

Here is a video I put together with Rusty...

A few notes:

1) A pylon was harmed during the making of this movie. It is was an unfortunate thing, but we will just have to move on.

2) Sorry about all of the camera jiggling.

3) Don't worry - I'm not quitting my day job to make movies.


Rusty - Feb 2009 from Laura Jones on Vimeo.

Hangin' out downtown

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been pretty busy with work and family and just haven't made the time to sit down and write something somewhat intelligent...

I'm currently in a wonderful French bakery downtown, waiting for a course to start. It is 7:45 and I don't have to be anywhere until 9:15. It is wonderful to have a bit of time to myself to just hang out. I think I'm gaining weight just sitting in this place - the smell is divine! The French sure know how to make delicious pastries and such. I have an almond croissant waiting on the table beside me. I even ordered my items in French!

I haven't been out to see my poor old horse since Sunday. He had his hooves trimmed - I have to say that I'm super happy with my new farrier. He is efficient and friendly - AND - get this - he calls us to remind us of appointments!! No chasing this guy, leaving 33938337 messages. Now that is good for business. He has a blackberry and keeps track of everyone and their horses in there. He even takes notes on hooves that he is watching or trying to correct. Rusty's hooves are great - he hasn't had shoes on since the summer and I hope to keep it that way. I was happy to see the farrier trim the bars and heels - just like Mrs. Mom has been teaching us!! lol

Rusty's left eye seems to be getting better everyday. It hasn't gotten any worse, which is a good sign. In January, his eyes would improve, then be 10x worse the next day. I even started riding him again a couple of weeks ago!! He is so good - he hasn't been ridden/worked for 6 weeks and he is just as calm as before. He is out of shape - but so am I, so we can get back into work together. The weather has lightened up a bit and the temperatures are sort of normal for us, so I'll be able to get my lessons going regularly again.

I'm really looking forward to March 8th - anyone know why??? Daylight savings baby! That extra hour of light will help the temperatures and it will help me feel like I'm living in the real world instead of a dark, cold cave!!! lol

Vet update

I had the vet out last Wednesday to check on Rusty's eyes. We had to tranq' him in order to do the eye exams. It is always strange to see a horse sedated - it seems like they are going to fall over at any minute...

Anyway, we didn't really find out anything new. His right eye is healing, very slowly. That is good news, I guess. His left eye is actually worse. There are more ulcers and because of the irritation in the eye, the vet couldn't see clearly to rule out uveitis. So, that is still a threat. *sigh*. The vet did some scrapings in the eye and the tests don't show anything fungal or otherwise amiss. There could still be a virus of some sort as well, but there is no real test for that apparently. We are treating with antibiotic ointment and bute. He seems to be doing ok - he is still eating well and he seems to be himself for the most part.

I was able to lunge him on Thursday night and he did well. He was a bit frisky, but nothing unmanageable. I got on afterwards and walked him around for a few minutes. I'm going to try starting him back into regular work over the next few weeks and see how he does. The barn owner and I aren't sure how well he can see, so we are taking things easy. He isn't spooky or jumpy, which is a bit of a surprise since his vision may be a bit cloudy. He has such a puppy dog personality and it is cute to see him try so hard to be good.

I was able to help the barn owner with some chores on Saturday, which makes me feel good. I don't like being a boarder that just strolls in to ride and then leaves. I know I am paying her to do the chores, but I still like to help out, especially since she has been so helpful trying to answer my 1000000 questions about Rusty's eyes...

I was greeted to this cute view when I drove in - two of the guys were having a rest in the warm-ish sun.
I helped do a few stalls and then hauled a bunch of hay from the storage barn over to the main barn. I like it that she stores the hay separately from the horses - much safer in my opinion... Climbing up into the hay reminded me of my childhood.

Leo the cat was following me around - running back and forth with each load of hay. He got bored of that and just curled up in a round bale to watch... Apparently Leo can be a bit of a trouble-maker. In the summer he likes to hide behind jump poles and jump out at the horses as they go by! Sounds a bit of a risky habit to me - he looks so innocent here...!I could take 2 bales at a time on the little sled... I had many onlookers. Notice Rusty's mini-me in the first picture below? This isn't Rusty, but a little appy mare named Kismet. She is about 14.2hh and people mix her and Rusty up all the time. More cute little faces... The little paint is my crush Shorty. He always nickers and comes up to the fence for a scratch.

It was nice to get out and do a bit of "real" barn work. I miss that alot being a spoiled boarder!!

Wednesday - not so wordless after all

This post is for Lisa, at Laughing Orca Ranch... Here are some pictures of chip trucks* for you! My thought is too sell everything here, get one of these babies (lol) and move south! What? It could work...

Ahhh, poutine, an Quebecois (Kay-beck-wah) staple. French fries, gravy and cheese curds. There are a lot of people from eastern Ontario and Quebec that are retired in Florida. I bet they would buy poutine from me! I could make trips back here to get nice fresh cheese curds! I could be a millionaire! *cue evil laugh*

*Funny note - if you go to google images and search for "poutine", you get all these pictures of gooey fries, cheese and gravy AND a picture of Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Poutine! Hahhahahaaha - his name is Vladimir PUTIN, not Poutine. Oh, how I love the internet.

*For whatever reason, we call fry trucks/stands chip wagons/trucks/stands. I guess it is our British heritage or something.

** Note - yes, I did post this Tuesday night!

Random updates

I think I'm going to just give you guys a bunch of random tidbits in bullet form today. I have been busy at work again and my brain is running on empty... Lots of little things going on here, but none are really worthy of a big post...

• We've had a week of -25C plus wind chill. It is supposed to go up to -10C tomorrow (around 14F), so I'll be breaking out the sun tan lotion! Hahahaha. Humour is all that is keeping me going at this point. It's not quite as cold as my poor friend Cdncowgirl has to deal with, but nasty all the same.
  


• I am contemplating selling everything I own, buying a chip truck and moving to Florida.
  


• Rusty's eyes - some improvement, some decline. Hard to say which way things are going. Vet check tomorrow to see what is going on.
  


• The equine eye (and I'm sure all eyes) are very complicated. Hard for the average Jane Doe horseowner to understand. Google isnt' much help.
  


• The only veterinary ophthamologist in the city happens to be a friend of ours. I called him last night to talk about Rusty - he couldn't tell me much without seeing him. I wanted to beg him to come out, but we don't know him *that* well... He said I can call at any time to ask him questions though. Uveitis is still a threat at this point.
  


• I have started taking a French class on Saturdays - my boss very strongly suggested that I do so. The class was terrible. I hope it improves next Saturday or I will be cancelling. I have to work in French and my level is intermediate. She wants me at an advanced level. It will take some work. Merde.
  


• I met a retired CIA agent yesterday. Not sure why that is noteworthy, but he was really interesting. He is teaching a writing workshop at work and I got to sit in for a bit.
  


• I ran into a co-worker that I know was on the musical ride. He was on the ride in 1988 when the coats from my previous post were issued. The coat is an old military style called an "atholl" or "atholl grey" (even though these ones are blue). They were made by the CBC specially for the RCMP to be in a made for tv movie. The RCMP riders were dressed up to look like Lord Strathcona's Horse (a mounted military unit, that still exists today - both as a real armoured unit and a ceremonial unit with horses). They keep the coats in the stable and wear them occasionaly in the winter.

Ok - that turned out to be a fair bit of stuff - thanks to anyone that read down the whole way!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

I can't seem to just post photos without adding a few sentences! lol.

Rusty's eyes seem to be improving a bit - haven't had the vet back - probably early next week.

These photos are of one of the musical ride guys - he comes out most mornings for a little hack around the property. I'm totally in love with his coat. It is a big navy blue wool coat with brass buttons - it drapes over him and the horse like a quarter sheet. I want one!! lol

Hey - is that a flash I see...what the...

Oh, there is someone in there taking pictures! Hello!!

He waves at me most days now - kinda cool. I keep meaning to go out and talk to him to see if he would give me his coat - lol! I'm sure it is RCMP issue and hard to come by. I'm only 5' tall as well, so it would be hard to find a small enough one...

Winter wonderland

I went out to see Rusty on Saturday - it was nice and sunny out - and only about -15C in the sun! That is almost tropical for us! lol

We just walked around the riding arena - no halter, no ropes, just messing around. In my lessons in December, we were working on the turn on the fore and turn on the haunches, so it was fun to try it from the ground to see if I could get that big butt of his to move a bit.

We tromped around in the snow - Rusty may have been given a few treats to encourage him along. I was hoping he would roll in the snow to give me some good pictures, but all he did was paw it a bit.It was nice to be outside and just chill (har har - pun intended) with my horse.

His eyes are still iffy - some days are better than others. You can see in the picture above that his left ey is quite small - it was worse than the right eye on Saturday. The vet is due out Thursday or so to re-check. We're hoping we can start giving some steroids to help with the inflammation. Bute isn't really doing much - he is getting 3g a day (split in two feedings) and it helps a bit, but not enough.

I went out this afternoon to check on him again and I let him loose in the indoor arena this time, so he had better traction. He bucked and snorted and pretended like he hadn't been in the arena before. He aslo rolled in the nice dirt - and guess who didn't have her camera!! After about 5 minutes of the bucking and cantering around, he came back to me with the "what now???" face.

I'm glad I made it out to the barn tonight, as our weather is not playing nice yet again. Winds up to 50 km/h and windchills of below -40C!!!! The high for tomorrow with the wind is only expected to get to -30C tops! Argh. I was lamenting the fact that my British ancestors could have stayed on the boat for a bit longer and ended up in the Carolinas, Florida or even the Caribbean. I also think they should have went with a better travel agent!!!

Doom and gloom continues...

I went out to check on Rusty and his poor little eyes last night - hoping to see some improvement. Turns out his left eye is still very irritated and sore. He is on 2-3g of bute, 2x a day, but it isn't really helping that much. He stands in the shelter with his eyes closed when it is bright and sunny out. He isn't rubbing his eyes as much, which is good, but the left eye is still giving him some grief.

I had hoped that over the past 2 weeks his eyes would be much improved - but it doesn't seem like that is the case. I guess I need to be more patient, but I hate thinking that he is in pain and I can't do anything about it. The eyedrops aren't helping either. We also can't give him any steriods until the eye ulcers heal, as steriods can irritate the ulcers and cause more pain.

I was going to try and lunge him last night - or at least just do a bit of ground work in the arena - to give us something to do. But, by the time I got to the barn at 6pm, it was -25C with howling winds. The barn door blew closed on me as I went in and I almost got my leg caught. Imagine trying to lead a horse out through that - not worth the risk of having someone get caught! So, I just put him in the cross ties and gave him a good grooming and lots of treats. His puppy dog personality hasn't changed, so that is good. He enjoyed his grooming with a stretched out neck and lots of funny lip faces. He doesn't usually respond that much, so I knew he enjoyed it.

I was feeling very guilty for not even trying to work him, but the temperatures are just too cold at night, even with an indoor arena. It would probably be tolerable on a sunny day, but I'm stuck at work 99% of the time when the sun is out, so that won't be happening. I know that none of this is my fault - his illnesses, my lack of riding - but I still feel terrible about it all. Rusty wasn't sick (so they said) before I bought him and now that I own him, all sorts of thing are going wrong. My BO tried to make me feel better saying that this particular eye condition could have been easily missed in it's early stages, especially since his owner was just a kid.

I need to have the vet out in a week or so, to re-check his eyes to see if the ulcers are healing. His condition is a bit confusing to the vets, because they know a bunch of things that it probably isn't - ie - glaucoma, leptospirosis, uveitis, etc., but they also don't know what it is or how to treat it.

Sorry for the "bummer" post - I'm just feeling discouraged about riding/not riding, horse health and all of the money that I'm spending and not getting anywhere with any of it. My budget allows for boarding, lessons and some extra for vet bills, but I'm right up against my maximum. It can be challenging owning and boarding one horse, because all of your hopes and fun are tied up in one animal.

Here's hoping Rusty's eyes clear up and I'll look back at this post and see what a Whiney McComplainsalot I've been!

I'm going to try and post something less gloomy over the weekend - maybe some pretend retail therapy will cheer me up!

The eyes are the window to the soul...

I haven't posted much about Rusty lately - mostly because I didn't have time leading up to Christmas to do much of anything and partly because I was a bit worried about him...

He is having eye problems. I noticed the weekend before Christmas that his eyes were running and that he was rubbing them. I asked the barn owner and she wasn't quite sure if it was something to worry about. By Monday, she was noticing that he was sensitive to light when outside and that made her nervous.

So, on the 23rd, I called the vet and he was able to fit us in. Keep in mind I was due to leave town on first thing on the 24th, not to mention being tired and exhausted from work, so all of this only added to my stress. I was quite worried about Rusty and his eyesight...uveitis (ERU) is a big threat, especially with Appys. Uveitis often causes blindness in one or both eyes if not treated right away.

I left work early to meet the vet. He stained Rusty's eyes and noticed some corneal ulceration ( the picture isn't Rusty)

From the Paragon Veterinary Group web site: corneal ulcers "are defects in the surface of the eye (cornea) often caused by infection, they cause inflammation, pain and irritation. Initial presentation is a closed, swollen eye, often running with tears. Your vet will diagnose corneal ulceration by putting a fluorescent dye into the horse's eye. Affected areas will take up the dye and appear green. Infection may have started by a piece of grit or other direct injury such as a thorn.

Even with the diagnosis of corneal ulcers, he couldn't quite rule out uveitis, but was pretty sure that wasn't the problem. He prescribed some eyedrops and bute and that seems to be helping. Rusty is still rubbing his eyes a bit - but there is some improvement. So that is good. His left eye is painful - you can tell by the way he is acting. It doesn't appear that there is any vision loss at this point, but we aren't sure how this will affect him long term.

"Lemme guess - you're here to stick more stuff in my eyes??"

The barn owner and I looked at his eyes again today. We are fairly sure that it isn't uveitis - which is really good news. He has been a good sport - he was good for the vet and calm and quiet as we have been examing his eyes. Even though he is in a bit of pain, he hasn't reared, pulled back or done anything bad. He really has the temperment of a big lab puppy or something.

Needless to say, he is getting better, but I'm still worried. I feel terrible for not calling the vet sooner and also since I board, I wasn't able to give him his medication myself. The barn owner has been great in treating him, so that isn't a problem. I just wish I had more time to get out there and take better care of him.

I'm trying not to be too hard on myself - he is getting the best care that we are capable of. I'm trying to be positive and not worry too much about the long term "what-ifs" with regards to his vision. The barn owner feels it will be ok to keep riding him after this week when the pain subsides a bit.

On a funny note - I had to get his eyedrops from a regular pharmacy. I had hoped to just get the eyedrops and go...but the lady kept asking questions and I couldn't help but be a bit difficult - it was too funny to pass up.

Tech - so this prescription is for your son?
Me - ummm yes. *smirks*
Tech - and your son's name is Rusty?
Me - ummm sure. I'm a big fan of Christmas vacation - Chevy Chase's son in the movie was nick-named Rusty...
Tech - blank look
Me - *smirk*
Tech - I need your name address and your son's age
Me - He's 17.
Tech - um ok. Could you also verify the doctor's name that prescribed this medication?
Me - *sigh* Dr. X.
Tech - are you sure this person is a doctor? What does "DVM" mean?
Me - Yes, he's a doctor.
Tech - So, could I also get your son's birthday?
Me - trying not to laugh...
Tech - I really need his birthday for the file.
Me - I have no idea when his birthday is. He's 17 - put in January 1, 1991.
Tech - You don't know your son's birthday???
Me - Look - he is a horse. Rusty is a horse. The doctor that called is VET. That's what DVM means.
Tech - oh.
Me - could I just get my prescription now?

The final days of 2008

I'm back from visiting my family. I had a great time with them - I'm very lucky with my family. Everyone is happy and kind and there is no drama at all with these people. We are a big bunch of "what you see is what you get people". My visits home aren't as frequent as I like - seven hours of driving each way is quite tiring. The distance hasn't affected my relationships with them, within a few hours we are all caught up just like I had never left.

Each visit home is a bit nostalgic though - I stopped in quickly at my brother's place. He still lives on the family "farm". He now owns the 50 acres we grew up on. I'm extremely happy that it is still in the family, over four generations were born and raised there. But, it reminds me that I could be living there, with horses still at home. I try not to think of it, because regrets aren't really all that helpful. I sometimes think I would be happier had I stayed at home, but there is no way to know that for sure...

I also made it over to visit my grandmother on my Dad's side. I took the opportunity to go through all of her old family pictures. I don't have any pictures of my dad when he was growing up. Since he passed away when I was 15, I don't have alot of connections to that side of my family tree. (My Dad is on the far right in the picture). For various reasons, we aren't as close with my Dad's side of the family, so I took the chance to get copies of some of the family pictures in case they were ever lost or thrown out...

All in all, Christmas was good. I'm back at work for a couple of days this week and then back to the regular grind next week. I'm getting back to my regular happy self, but it has been slow going. I figure I'm at about 70% of normal. I'm not a big one for new year's resolutions and all that jazz, but I have a lot of things regarding my riding and my personal life that I'm looking forward to continuing in the new year.

I hope everyone has a fun New Year's eve. I personally like to stay home and watch movies... What does everyone else like to do? Family get-togethers? Big fancy dress-up parties? Do tell!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! I'm feeling a little "grinchy" this year, but I'm hoping it will pass as I get to spend Christmas with my family this year.

White Horse Pilgrim tagged me for the "Six things about me" meme - since I have done that tag twice, I'll just link to both posts here. (Lazy much?? lol)

1st 6 things...

2nd 6 things...

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

I plan to be back to some more regular horse-related posts next week or the week after!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Not much to report here. Just trying to hang in until the 24th. We are heading down to see my family and I can't wait. The days off are much needed. I'm pretty much drained.

Here is a picture of my old horse Jackson in his winter "woolies" last year. I love this picture and *almost* got it blown up to put in a frame - but I had a hunch that I wouldn't be keeping this horse as we just DID NOT click or get along that well. Turns out my hunch was right and I sold him this past May.

******

Just an administrative note - posting and commenting may be sparse around here until the new year...I'm just to burnt out to put much thought into anything other than getting through the next week.