the next day - keeping the little donkey happy

I meant to take a few pictures this morning while the light was good on the convalescent corner of the barn - will try again tomorrow!

We managed to get things set up yesterday in a way that I think works well for this period of confinement for Rafer Johnson. He has the front corner stall, which has a front door, back door, and window to the barnyard.

We were able to put a much smaller stall door on the front so he can see over and under, and get more air flow. I've also closed the middle stall (right next door) off to the paddock, secured the door to the barn aisle so it stays open, and removed several boards from the wall between the two stalls. This allows Salina to stay right with Rafer. She can hang her head over the stall wall now, and they can touch noses and talk. She can walk around to his front door and hang out with him there. This morning she stood with her head resting against his flank, and it was obvious her touch made him very happy.

She also has access to the barnyard where she can both graze and get some movement, which is important for her 25-year old arthritic knees. Last night she grazed a few bites at a time and then stuck her head into Rafer's stall window to nicker softly to him and let him know she was right there.

I think this set-up will keep Rafer happiest, and Salina, and will make the days not quite so difficult for him.

He's been getting Arnica since yesterday afternoon, and I've been doing a visualization for the bones to heal well. White light and Linda's (the 7msn) blue sky have been the primary components. Somehow I think it's working.

We keep a camp chair handy so we can take it in and sit with Rafer. This morning I took the grooming kit in and let him play with the brushes and rubber curries while I gave him a good brushing. He has his Jolly ball and I'm looking for something called an Amazing Graze treat dispenser. Someone suggested I actually put his day's worth of pellets inside so that he can play with the dispenser and have something to work on all through the day.

Dickens (the cowboy cat) can now walk under the stall door, and since he is one of Rafer's best buddies, he too is visiting and providing some distraction.

One of my biggest concerns was alleviated this morning, when we discovered that Rafer can indeed lie down and get up with the rig he's wearing. I was so worried he wouldn't be able to do this, and would get tired. But he can do it, and it's nice to see him stretched out sleeping just like normal.

So far his appetite is great. At some point we will get some kind of portable corral so he can join Salina in the barnyard for some grazing but still be confined safely.

It's still hard to imagine this going on for four months. But the vet reminded me yesterday: "It will be a tough four months, but that is nothing compared to the 20+ years you have to go with this wonderful little man."

On other fronts, the pony is doing a most surprising and hilarious thing with regards to his herbal mixture. He seems thrilled that he gets something morning and night now, and is intensely interested in the mix. BUT - while he sniffs and looks and pricks his ears toward the tub, he will only eat the mix if I feed it to him from my hand!

He stands right by me and I hold the small rubber tub in one arm. I scoop up a handful of the wet goopy mush and he licks it out of my hand, then licks my hand clean. Then we do another handful, until the tub is empty and I have scraped every bit from the bottom and sides. It amazes me that he is engaging this closely with me over his food, and that he trusts me enough to eat something that clearly smells very odd to him. I have a feeling this whole way of eating it is part of the treatment and the solution.

His massage was good, and we should have the acupuncturist here tomorrow or Wednesday.

All of this reminded me earlier today that one of my favorite books when I was young was Dr. Dolittle. It kind of feels like that here this past few weeks. So much going on, so much learning, so much conversing with these amazing animals.

we need your healing energy

I'm typing fast here, but this morning between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Rafer Johnson broke his leg. :/ Fortunately it is just beneath the hock and not in the long bones. Best guess is that he was running/playing and hit a soft spot or depression in the ground and torqued the leg right at the hock joint.

He is okay - the leg is stable and bandaged in a huge cast-like thing with two supports layered in to keep it straight, and radiographs are going to the vet school to see if surgery can help the outcome. There is a bone chip and a ragged area clearly visible - we are hoping for the best, and hoping surgery won't be needed b/c of the stress involved with that.

Meanwhile, recs per vet is keep leg wrapped with support, keep him contained in a 12x12 or less area for FOUR MONTHS. We'll re-do the radiographs in one month to monitor healing and decide if alternative support is better - i.e. perhaps a bi-valve (I think this was what he called it) cast, etc.

I would so appreciate any good energy anyone can send. He's such a brave boy and so good - but this is going to be tough. Four months is a long time.

triple heater meridian

The pony's herb pack arrived today smelling like a yummy cookie before I even opened it. The cinnamon!

As if getting it wasn't excitement enough, Patsy enclosed a fact sheet about the blocked meridian. I think every issue this pony has ever had relates to this blocked meridian. This is some of what it says:

Triple Heater Meridian: Commander of all Energies

Function:

The Triple Heater is a function rather than a physical organ. It represents a group of energies and involves many organs. This meridian is the functional relationship between the energy-transforming organs. The Triple Heater transforms and transports Chi as it
flows unimpeded to all parts of the body. In this role, it helps transform and transport nourishment and to excrete waste as well as direct Chi to the organs. This meridian also enhances the functions of the lymphatic system. The Triple Heater is known as the "Official of Balance and Harmony."

Absolutely amazing.

new horizons

After nearly a year of mulling this over, I finally made the leap and bought beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, and along with the rest of my supplements, will be making the horses' feed from "scratch."

As usual, the impetus for this is Salina. After reading that the soy in horse feeds is causing some mares to develop swollen udders and metabolic horses (or those on the border) to have laminitic episodes, I decided it was time to make the changeover.

This is not the first time Salina has led me into new territory, nor will it be the last, I'm sure. One of her missions seems to be to teach me all the things I need to know about horses.

So, as I type, there is beet pulp soaking in the laundry room, and tomorrow I'll begin the gradual shift from processed feed to something different. I have to admit, I'm excited, now that I've set forth.

On other fronts, I got the pony's kinesiology test results this morning. He has:

low digestive enzymes

low insulin

high blood sugar

a blocked meridian that needs acupuncture

low seratonins

Patsy had nearly NO information about the pony, and when she described the blocked meridian and where it is in the body, I nearly fell over. I was not writing fast enough to get the exact name of this meridian, but it begins behind the eye, goes down each side of the neck, behind the scapula, and into his left leg - and that's where the block is.

I immediately realized that this must be why he has always had issues with taking the left canter lead, and why he counter-bends traveling left. She said it is likely he has had soreness in the shoulder - guess what part of his body the massage therapist always finds tight and tender?

His 4-week herbal regimen will arrive in two days, and I have a call into an equine acupuncturist/vet who came highly recommended. Now it's the pony leading me into new territory.

It's also fascinating to me that he has the blood sugar/insulin issue - this time of year has always been a difficult time for him, and I have suspected the grass of late summer/early fall is just too high in sugars for his system. Hopefully (and Patsy thinks we'll really see a change) this course of treatment will give my daughter a great year of riding before she has another growth spurt and we have to look at training him to drive. (and won't THAT be an exciting new horizon to explore!)

cloudy with a little flurry (of activity)

We're getting some welcome rain this week, and a nice break from the summer sun with these gray, rain cloud days. This morning I went out dressed to ride, but by the time I got the feeding done and some basic barn chores out of the way, it had started raining. I settled into a chair in the barn aisle with the white board, which was woefully out of date with reference to who is getting what feed-wise right now. I tend to carry all that info in my head, and I like to have it written down in a pretty obvious place so that everyone knows who's eating what in the barn.

Everyone in the barn is doing well. The biggest drama this week is the gigantic horse flies, but running into the barn seems to deter them. Cody seems to be their favorite target, and the pony not at all. I haven't seen any going after Rafer Johnson either.

Otherwise, after a weekend that really did get me rolling again, I've been working on adding somewhere in the vicinity of 20k words to the novel, with plans to exchange mss with my writing partner in a week and a half. She has buoyed me to think querying thoughts for September.

Funny how one thing moving tends to set other things in motion. I've had two magazine article queries answered positively this week, and some other things are rolling in that area.

The fall flurry of activity is beginning - and I've got two big crows right outside marching toward the window even as I type. Things always flow when the crows are near.