Beauty even on trying days

These shots were taking during our 3-day "Snowmageddon" power outage.   Another storm is expected today, bringing sleet and possibly another 5-10 inches of snow, so we're going to be filling all the water containers we can find again. 

What Part of "Be Careful........."

.........don't Britches and Freddy understand?

Yay! the snow has stopped!

No problem that its 8 degrees out there!

Deja Vu All Over Again

No, this is not the week before this past Christmas.  This is today!  We are still in Spotsylvanina, aren't we?

Eyes On

Never assume.

We’ve had colder nights this winter. We’ve had wetter nights this winter. We’ve definitely had windier nights. And through it all, Josh was as happy in his natural winter woolies as he would have been on a quiet day in May.

This morning, however, Josh was shivering during the breakfast service, perfectly illustrating the need to set eyes on each and every horse several times each and every day. What was taken for granted last week – or even yesterday - may not be the case today.

Not to worry, though. A little warm mash, a bucket of warm water, a dry though somewhat dirty Weatherbeeta, and Josh is happily quidding his hay as if today is no different than any other day at TREES.

How Many Horses?

A volunteer new to TREES said something last weekend that took me a little by surprise.  She seemed surprised by how many details we collect about our residents' health, histories, temperaments and personalities, habits, and "personal preferences."

I can't imagine doing this any other way.  A related discussion revolved around how many horses TREES can care for at one time.  Valid question.

The answer may change from month to month and year to year.  In terms of physical capacity, herd size is limited by shed or stall space.  Every horse in the sanctuary is fed separately so we can be sure he or she gets the amount of food required and any medications that might be included, with no competition from other horses.  Feeding spaces are all under cover so no horse stands out in bad weather while eating.

Manpower and finances are obvious factors in determining herd size.

A more subtle, but perhaps the most important, consideration in how many horses TREES houses is how well we can "customize" each horse's care.   If the sanctuary takes in so many horses that we can't care for each in a way that meets that horse's unique needs, we aren't necessarily doing any of the residents any favors.  We need to be able to note small differences in condition, attitude, soundness, appetite, and behavior - something that would not be possible with a larger number of horses - and make changes accordingly.

A side benefit is that learning as much as we can about unique management regimens allows us to help other owners of senior horses adapt their routines to their own horses' needs.

In the end, the more we know about each horse, the better we can apply a holistic approach to preventative health care.  And you know what they say about "an ounce of prevention......."

Loose Teeth Be Gone!

Today was Dentist Day for a few of TREES' residents.  The team of Dr. Tracy Brown and Meredith Barlow, C/EqDT, paid a visit to Sherman, Mona, Nate, Delphi and Fitz.

Both Nate and Fitz need some attention, but will require a little advance planning.  More on them as we get them taken care of.

Delphi and Mona both had "routine" floats.  (In quotes because every horse is different, but meaning all they required was the removal of sharp points.)

Here, Mona is being "floated."  Note that the speculum is open only wide enough to allow Meredith to work.  It is not cranked all the way to its widest position.

Delphi had to give her opinion of the idea before even getting started.

But Sherman........Sherm needed a little extra attention.  Not surprisingly, Sherman had a few loose teeth.  We've heard from some owners of senior horses who were told to leave loose teeth in the mouth because the horse had so few to spare.  Aside from the discomfort that must cause, here is an excellent illustration of why that may not be a good idea.

These two teeth are shown exactly the way they came out of Sherman's mouth with little to no effort.  You can see no blood, no tissue, nothing that would indicate these teeth had any kind of physical attachment to the gum.  They were, more or less, just sitting in the socket.

The teeth are shown sitting on their chewing surfaces, roots pointing up.  Notice the green-ish material packed between what is left of the roots?  That is food that had worked its way under the tooth, between the tooth and gum.  This can cause irritation and enlargement of the pocket around the loose tooth.  If something as large as food particles can become lodged under the tooth, so can something as small as bacteria, leading to infection.  Untreated infection under and around a tooth can eventually lead or contribute to infection in the jaw bone itself, or even in the sinuses.

With all this in mind, our rule is "If its loose, its gone."

Our Heroes

Forget Barbaro, Secretariat, and Zenyatta.  Never mind Rugged Lark, Bright Zip or Impressive.  These are our heroes;

Josh

Jubal

Sherman

Wade

.......and the thousands like them who either taught new horsemen, young and old, to ride or toted "weekend warriors" up and down the trail via rental strings.

These are "the working man" of the horse world.  Give 'em a hand!