Friday afternoon, I was feeling progressively more and more sick. If you're not living under a rock, you know that the flu is taking people down with aggression this year, and I was starting to exhibit flu-like symptoms. I asked Joe if he could go check on the horses and the cows and fill the troughs and get the truck and trailer hooked up for Saturday morning. I promptly went to bed.
He offered to drive up Saturday morning since I wasn't well.
Actually, he said I should stay home Saturday morning and he would take Strider himself.
Not.Happening. I was going to that appointment if I was dying. He called me a hard-head, stubborn, etc, etc, but the thing is, I know my horse. I knew what happened, and could tell the vet. Any additional questions about him, I could answer immediately. And, I needed to SEE. Really, any horse owner will understand where I was coming from and what I was feeling.
The reality is that I didn't sleep at all Friday night. I was wide awake rolling over every possible scenario, and beating off the glimmer of hope that the vet would say my horse was okay and ready to ride again.
What would I do if the vet said he could never be ridden again? I know that he always has an invitation to retire at Golden Acres with B's mom. But, the idea of looking out my windows and not seeing him, not interacting with him killed me inside. My herd already feels so different without Tilly, to remove Strider too...I just couldn't.
What would I do if the vet cleared him only for light riding? Quit endurance entirely, maybe look into ETS as that was mostly walking and we could do the obstacles if I felt he could.
Basically I spent the entire night mentally spinning up and down through every permutation of what could or couldn't be, not even daring hope that the vet would say he's okay to go.
In essence, I was preparing for the worst, hoping for the absolute best, and content with something between the two.
I managed maybe 2 hours of sleep. At some point of the night, I put on "Ever After", which is one of my go to movies I can put on the tv, watch happily until I get sleepy, and doze off with it still playing. Honestly, I watched a good deal, closed my eyes and listened to a great deal, dozed off, woke up at some point, and restarted it again to repeat that entire process.
Finally 7 am rolled around, and we all got up and moving. I felt better, and had told Joe he could stay home if he didn't want to go with me, but he said he'd already planned to go. So, while I got Kaylee ready, he went out on the ATV, caught Strider, brought him up and loaded him in the trailer, then we all hit the road around 7:45.
Stopped for breakfast, but I was only able to choke down one of my donuts. My stomach was churning, and I was telling Joe my fears and my plans that I'd worked out in the wee hours of the night.
I told him I just couldn't send Strider away to Golden Acres. He sighed and said "Okay. I understand that. But, if he can't ever be ridden again, he gets no special or additional treatments that cost us money."
Agreed to that. We're just not made of money. Now, I'll always make him comfortable, even if it comes out of my own personal budget, and I can spend my own money on him all I wish, but Joe was saying that no more special grain (not that he's getting any right now; horses aren't working, they don't need anything extra), no special supplements, etc.
The drive really was short up to the clinic. Just about 15 minutes north of my parent's home, and, right at the turn off for P&P Trailer Sales in Salado.
Of course, GPS isn't always what it's cracked up to be. She shot us PAST the entrance for the clinic, which I noticed as we went by. On a narrow 2 lane road. Thankfully, just a little past the clinic is a road which we were able to swing the whole rig around in, get turned around and headed back to the clinic.
As we turn in, Joe and I are a little wide-eyed in wonder. Gorgeous horses, beautiful pipe fencing, and open fields. We drive by what appears to be a broodmare field. 2 mares and their foals. We creep by the collection barn, breeding barn, and a few other structures. We're both looking for an office, or where we need to go, when I finally spot a sign that says "Office", and a note to not off-load until you're checked in.
Done and done!
I run into the office, let them know I'm here, and get the thumbs up to go offload my horse.
The vets finish up with the horse before mine, and I bring him into the barn, where I give the vet a run down of what happened, my thoughts, and what he's used for.
We put him in the stocks, just to get him used to them for a moment while the vet goes in to consult with another vet. They both come out, and the tech does a trot out down the alleyway.
And then they begin flexing him. Flex at the pastern, trot out. Flex at the hock, trot out. Flex the whole leg, trot out.
Repeat on the other leg.
Front.
Other front.
The vet turns to me and says "I don't see anything wrong with him at all. He reacts slightly to the left front suspensory, but not significantly."
My heart in my throat, "Do you think he can do endurance again?"
"Most definitely. Condition him back up and go back to riding. He's just fine."
As I walked Strider out of that barn, my eyes filled with tears as I leaned against that black neck and sobbed. I bawled like a baby as I grabbed at my horse's neck, holding him tight.
Joe, who had walked out behind me just started laughing at me.
As a horse owner, the relief of knowing that, not only is our horse GOING to be okay, but IS okay is so liberating.
Look, I mean, here's PROOF my horse is okay!!!
This was, without a doubt, the BEST $40 I've ever spent on him. To actually KNOW my horse is okay, to KNOW that my horse can return to endurance. Peace of mind comes at a price, and apparently mine was $40.
So, we loaded him back in the trailer, where I got distracted with the idea that I needed to pay, so I forgot to shut the window at the manger.
What did Strider do? Try to kill himself by escaping THROUGH the manger window.
I'm talking to the receptionist, and see my trailer is rocking like mad. That's not normal. What's going on? I rush out to see my horse JAMMED his front end in the manger.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME HORSE?! YOU JUST GOT CLEARED TO RIDE!!!!
We managed to convince him to back out, and I made Joe walk him around the yard to make sure he was stepping out okay. Thankfully, moved out just fine. Damn horse trying to give me a coronary!
We slowly head back out, swing by for a brief visit with my parents, then head for home, while I manage to eat my other donut. And from there, run errands and go grocery shopping for the rest of the day.
Now, having had the foresight, I booked Sunday full. My sister to come over to drop of a dresser and do a "play date" with her granddaughter and Kaylee. Jodi Brassard of Brassard Equine Acupressure to come and do Strider in the afternoon.
It was good/bad planning.
Good in that, had I gotten bad news, I was too busy to dwell on it. Bad in that, BECAUSE I got good news, I didn't have time to haul out and go riding!!
So, instead, Joe saddled up Socks and Zurkh while I penned Strider up to work on his feet and they went riding.
I opted to walk towards the back, as I wasn't sure how Socks would react to the cows while under saddle.
Oh, yeah....we have 1 cow of our own and a "friend" cow.
HAH, new additions.
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| This is our cow, a Zebu mix, I've started calling Stripey. |
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| This is the 'friend' cow named Chili. |
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| Love. |
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| Joe on Socks, Kaylee on Zurkh, and our 3rd "horse", Rango! |
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| Joe and Socks, Kaylee and Zurkh, Rango and our "ranch dog", the Dachshund, Pancho Villa. |
Then it was a flurry of activity. Sister and her husband and granddaughter showed up. 5 minutes later, Jodi showed up. And we got to work on Strider. She said he felt great. A little arthritis, but she felt that perhaps some of that is because he's been out of work. She said she didn't remember him feeling like that before, so we are going to try getting him under saddle, get the joint fluid moving more and see where we're at. She also said his front shoulders were a little 'off'. I was like "OH!! Probably because he jammed himself into the manger in my trailer!" She said that was most likely what it was as, just from a few moments of work, they were already releasing.
Our plan now is to start riding him, bringing him back to work and then we'll do another session with him at the end of March.
So, plans are in place to get him back to work. Apparently the PFHA National Championship ride is in Indiana this year in September. I don't know if I could have him ready to qualify in time this year. We'll see.
I have decided that he'll come do the NATRC ride I'll be doing at the beginning of March. We'll be doing the Novice division, so the speed is much slower, and doable with a mixture of walking and gaiting. And, it's at 7iL, so a venue I already know is barefoot friendly. I'm a little concerned about the sand, but, we'll walk or canter the sand, no big deal!
First things first though, put a saddle on him and just GO RIDE!!!
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