Yesterday, Firecracker had me concerned. She'd been standing with her head a bit droopy the day before, but the weather was so wet and cold that I didn't spend much time analyzing it. Yesterday, though, as I looked at her standing slightly splay footed and nose nearly to the ground, I knew something was wrong.
But what? She was still happy to come to food, still eating, and most importantly, still pooping. So what was wrong?
This morning she was perked up again, and I put it down to being the cold, wet rain. After all, I hadn't wanted to be outside, why wouldn't she feel the same way? She eagerly came to get her breakfast and I put my mind at rest.
Until this afternoon, that is. I could smell that smell again. I'd been neglecting FC this past week with the wet weather and the gelding here. I'd walk in with her, reach out occasionally to touch her shoulder, but wasn't really pushing to gain any ground. That proved to be a mistake. Not that she's back slid and won't let me near her, but I could have been so much farther along.
As I picked up the lead and sniffed the air, I again wondered just what it was. I worked myself up to touching her left shoulder, then crossed sides. And that's when I saw it. There was a dried ooze coming from behind her ear. The halter had been twisted at the top and begun to cut into her. The rain had opened up the wound just enough to make her miserable the past two days and cause the drainage that I now saw.
Tomorrow the halter has to come off. I'm going to need to build myself a chute and try to secure her inside it well enough to get the halter unbuckled. I'd like it if she let me do it without the added trauma, but I'm not holding my breath. She let me touch the buckle briefly and enjoyed a bit of rubbing along her crest, but I don't think, given the discomfort that must be there already, that she'll allow me to just unbuckle it easily.
But what? She was still happy to come to food, still eating, and most importantly, still pooping. So what was wrong?
This morning she was perked up again, and I put it down to being the cold, wet rain. After all, I hadn't wanted to be outside, why wouldn't she feel the same way? She eagerly came to get her breakfast and I put my mind at rest.
Until this afternoon, that is. I could smell that smell again. I'd been neglecting FC this past week with the wet weather and the gelding here. I'd walk in with her, reach out occasionally to touch her shoulder, but wasn't really pushing to gain any ground. That proved to be a mistake. Not that she's back slid and won't let me near her, but I could have been so much farther along.
As I picked up the lead and sniffed the air, I again wondered just what it was. I worked myself up to touching her left shoulder, then crossed sides. And that's when I saw it. There was a dried ooze coming from behind her ear. The halter had been twisted at the top and begun to cut into her. The rain had opened up the wound just enough to make her miserable the past two days and cause the drainage that I now saw.
Tomorrow the halter has to come off. I'm going to need to build myself a chute and try to secure her inside it well enough to get the halter unbuckled. I'd like it if she let me do it without the added trauma, but I'm not holding my breath. She let me touch the buckle briefly and enjoyed a bit of rubbing along her crest, but I don't think, given the discomfort that must be there already, that she'll allow me to just unbuckle it easily.
1 comment:
Oh, that is too bad. Poor girl!
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