we have an abscess (and we're happy about it)

About two weeks ago Salina made a mad gallop in the front field with the boys, and my daughter pointed out to me that she was just a bit off behind that evening. We gave her some Bute and kept an eye on her. She had a series of off again, on again days in which we kept her in the barnyard with her donkeys to give things a chance to get right.

By then it was seeming to me that it was her right front that was off. That knee is the most severely affected by arthritis. It got a little worse, it got a little better.

Throughout all this her appetite was the usual Hanoverian "give me my food NOW."

I used two homeopathic remedies. One was arnica and it seemed to help. I did another course of Bute, which didn't seem to help.

Yesterday things seemed worse. I called my husband home from work and prepared to call the vet, knowing that we might need to be ready to make a bigger decision. And then for some reason I went back out to Salina, who had positioned herself in the back door of her stall, half in and half out, right front hoof extended out onto the ramp of shavings that leads to the grass paddock. She was pushing the hoof down onto the shavings, and using her nose to push at the coronet band.

Now I had looked at her all over, every day for the past two weeks. No sign of anything. No swelling. When I first went out yesterday morning I'd noted that she had rolled during the night, and some part of me wondered how that could be if her knee was so bad. And I had the thought that maybe she had fallen but managed to get up. But the stunning thing was how GOOD she looks right now. Her weight is good, and her coat is shiny and dappled. It just didn't make sense to me that she could look so good and yet things seemed so bad with her knee.

As usual with Salina, when the humans around her seem hopelessly confused, she comes through with a big fat clue.

That right front foot.

She had positioned herself so that when I came back through the gate to the barn, I couldn't miss it. It was literally sticking out at me. And if that weren't enough, she was touching it with her nose.

So I took the hint and made another inspection.

There was a small bulging softness right at the coronet band. When I pushed on it, she bobbed her head. And there were the flies, who seem to be attracted to infection when it's just ready to surface.

Hallelujah! An abscess!

I immediately dashed back in and prepared a warm vinegar rinse, applied it to her hoof, and gave her a dose of homeopathic hepar sulph.

By the time my husband got home, she was already more chipper. She spent her day moving slowly, but using that hoof with a new intent. She knew it was time for that thing to blow.

She got another dose of hepar sulph before bedtime last night and this morning the abscess had blown. She's so much better.

In hindsight, I wonder if adding an antioxidant mix to her feed a few weeks ago has triggered this. Maybe there was something small inside the hoof capsule that needed to find its way out. In some weird way, I wonder if it's connected to the knee, and maybe this abscess blowing will clear things up some for her entire leg.

(those who read here regularly may recall that she has one abscess a year in the LEFT front hoof, and for whatever reason, that process has gotten a month or two later each year, and easier each time)

In any case, while hoof abscesses used to terrify me, when you have a 26-year old mare with arthritic knees and it turns out to be an abscess, it's a huge relief.

In this case, cause for celebration. I'm thinking of it as a clearing process. Blowing out all the yucky bad stuff before winter sets in.

news of the absurd

This is one of those days when I really can't believe what I'm reading. The FEI's new partner, World Horse Welfare, who has had NOTHING on their website about rollkur and only just partnered with the FEI this past weekend, is now saying rollkur cannot cause a horse's tongue to turn blue, as if they are the authority and actually know what they're talking about!

Even worse, the FEI is debating whether to allow horses to compete on certain painkilling medications.

Follow the links to read more.




From the British magazine Horse and Hound:

Today, the FEI announced a condemnation of any training methods and practices contrary to horse welfare, requesting all stewards to use disciplinary measures — yellow cards — to prevent infringements of the rules from now.

But whether rollkur is actually against FEI rules is still subject to debate.

"And that is exactly what we need to clarify, we have realised much more needs to be done in this area," said FEI veterinary director Graeme Cooke.

"Clearly, anything inappropriately done to excess is something we have concerns about. And there needs to be more clarity about rollkur — whether it is acceptable and to what level."

The FEI will work with its partner, international equine charity World Horse Welfare, on the issue of hyperflexion.

World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers told H&H: "There are issues with rollkur (hyperflexion) and the incident in Odense last month has brought this sharply into focus. We are happy to work with the FEI on this.

"However let us be clear that hyperflexion cannot cause a horse's tongue to turn blue; much of the reaction around the You Tube video seems to imply this."

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/291879.html

From Eurodressage:

The FEI General Assembly hasn't caused such a stir in recent years than this afternoon at the 2009 Assembly in Copenhagen. Today the clean sport committee made the shocking proposal of allowing horses to compete on a low level of painkillers. This is a complete changeover from the zero-tolerance policy the FEI has been advocating passionately for years.

http://www.eurodressage.com/news/dressage/fei/2009/fei-newdopinglists.html

the FEI responds

FEI Statement on Horse Welfare 17/11/2009


The FEI condemns all training methods and practices that are contrary to horse welfare. The welfare of the horse has always been and will always be at the core of every aspect of the Federation’s work as the international governing body for equestrian sport.

During its meeting in Copenhagen (DEN) on 15 November, the FEI Bureau had extensive discussion on the issue of hyperflexion. The FEI Bureau insists that, with immediate effect, stewards in all disciplines use the disciplinary measures available to them, such as verbal warnings and yellow warning cards *, to prevent any infringement of FEI rules.

The FEI is now engaged with World Horse Welfare, a leading international equestrian organisation, in addition to continued consultation with riders, trainers, officials and veterinarians to thoroughly research the issues. The further education of stewards will also continue to ensure that welfare issues at FEI events are dealt with promptly and professionally.

The FEI acknowledges and welcomes public opinion and will continue to ensure that the welfare of the horse, which has been central to this debate, will remain its absolute priority.

* If a rider receives two yellow warning cards within one year, he / she is automatically suspended for a period of two months immediately following the event at which the second yellow warning card was received.




I am extremely disappointed in this response. The FEI has NOT focused on the welfare of the horse, and putting this responsibility in the hands of ring stewards is absurd. It's been widely reported that the ring stewards are in many cases shouted down by the top riders and trainers when they try to issue these cards.

It's time to renew the effort - contact all sponsors previously listed and let them know you will not support their companies if they support rollkur.

Alltech, HSBC Bank, Meydan, and Rolex all show up as "sponsors" on the FEI development page. Write to these companies and let them know that the FEI is NOT taking care of horses.

Take cameras to shows and use them to document inhumane riding.

Report anything you see that is not humane, and if nothing is done about it, take the complaint to a higher authority.

Educate yourself so that when you encounter this practice, you can SPEAK OUT about it with clarity. And please, SPEAK OUT. Do it respectfully, do it with courtesy, but SPEAK OUT. The horses can't do that. We need to do it for them.

my head is full of horses this week

I listened to Klaus Hempfling's tele-conference on Sunday (available for listening now on Dressage Disgrace) and was wowed by his eagle eye view on the subject of humans and horses and trauma. Subsequently, my mind is buzzing. Much of what he said mirrors my take on the bigger issue of rollkur AND my work as a psychotherapist. It is so startling when one part of my life (psychotherapy and psychology) intersects so perfectly with another part (horses and riding and spirituality). I haven't processed all this enough to write much about it, but I will.

Meanwhile we have a grand old mare who is having a rough few weeks after a mad gallop in the field with the geldings and donkeys. She has had good days and then not so good days and I suspect the weather wildly fluctuating is not helping her any. For now I'm not sure if this is another rough patch we'll walk her through or if this is the first glimpse that we're nearing a difficult decision. I have been here before with her, and I'm trying hard not to succumb to the overwhelm that comes with not knowing exactly what to do. Thus far she lets me know, and we get back to a good place. I'm hoping for that outcome again.

Please send some healing thoughts her way.

outside my sunday morning window

There is a red tree, a red bay, fallen acorns, a big chestnut, tobacco brown leaves on green grass, and a painted pony whose upside-down V is, today, an arrow pointing up to a clear and beautiful sky.