She's a 6 month old filly, an owner surrender, with contracted tendons and severe rain rot (skin infection caused by wet fur). Her owner realized that she couldn't cope with the care that Serenity needed when the person who'd volunteered to do the twice daily wrapping had reneged on their deal. The owner did the right thing and called me to come and pick her up.
She's a sweet little girl - an unregistered palomino Quarter Horse.
The contracted tendons mean that she can't straighten her legs properly and that her pasterns are much too upright. That affects her joints and even how her blood moves through her body as the frog of her foot doesn't sit on the ground the right way. Pressure on the frog moves blood back out of a horse's lower limbs and recirculates it back to the heart.
Heather, one of the vets at Dundas, came out to see Serenity yesterday. She says that Serenity may need surgery to correct her tendon problems - and that'll be expensive. Jeff is coming out on Thursday to do xrays and help us prepare a treatment plan.
Mom searched the internet yesterday and found a possible noninvasive treatment: Dynasplints for horses. We've sent an email off to the company to see if they're available in Canada - if they are, splints would be less expensive than surgery (still pricey, though: $450 per splint - and she'll need four).
Saturday was a glorious day at the farm. The warm sunny weather means that the snow is melting away - and as long as it doesn't rain, the ground is drying up. Hurray!
We will need rain eventually - grass and other plants need moisture to grow - but right now, we're happy to have warm, sunny weather rather than torrential rains and overflowing ditches!
Mom groomed Beauty from head to tail on Saturday - she loved it. Mom says she was ankle-deep in shedded winter fur when she was done; and that Beauty really liked having her tummy scratched with the curry comb. It must be tough for Beauty to scratch now that she's so pregnant - only a month left before we find out what sort of Star baby Beauty is carrying!
Natalie came out and brushed Nikki, too, but Nikki doesn't have as much of a winter coat, so there wasn't as much fur on the floor to sweep up.
Neala and Gwen had people come out and look at them last week. Neala needs to be adopted or fostered off the property to be weaned. Neala and Gwen are improving every day!
Gwen had her feet trimmed for the first time ever on Thursday. Yvan Roy, our farrier, trimmed about 2" off her toes and reshaped the rest of her feet. Gwen thought her feet felt a bit strange without the ski toes, but soon got used to it.
Neala and Gwen are in the round pen for now - Neala learned quickly how to get out of the riding ring by crawling under the electric wires, and even adding a row of board fence didn't stop her. Gwen would panic when Neala wandered out of sight (she was visiting with all the other horses on the farm) and broke out of the ring, too. We've done a lot of fence repairs lately...
Maggie followed mom around trying to get her picture taken. She still had her blanket on on Saturday, but I'm sure that all blankets will be off soon - temperatures are rising steadily!
You can really see how big Beauty's belly is in this picture!
Hey You looks pretty good - and enjoyed the warm sunshine on her body as she nibbled leftover hay.
Firecracker thought it was a perfect day for a nap in the sunshine.
Tira is starting to lose a bit of her excess weight and enjoyed the sunshine, too.
Sneakers stood watch over Soul as she napped in the hay. At one point on Saturday afternoon, there were 11 horses lying down in the two "mare" paddocks (Sneakers is the only gelding in either paddock) - we're always amazed at how secure and happy the horses and ponies are here.
Cinder is starting to look a bit more pregnant now - she loves to be handled and stands nicely on the lead for photos. She's due to foal in July - the sire is a complete mystery, although he's supposed to be 16 hh, so like Delilah last year, we're looking forward to a mystery foal.
Happy Birthday, Eleanor!
Happy Birthday, Eleanor!
Don't forget the Spring Fling on Sunday - we'll be celebrating St. Patrick's day a bit late as well as Elly's birthday. Come for noon and bring something green to decorate a pony - or wear green yourself.
Pony Club News
We have two members signed up now and we're looking for more. If you plan to join, please bring your membership form with you on Sunday.
If you're interested in more information about Pony Club, check out the Canadian Pony Club website and the one for our region, St. Lawrence-Ottawa Valley (SLOV) Region.
You can find copies of the membership forms on the Canadian Pony Club site under Downloads.
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