Health Report and General Friday Ramblings

There is so much going on and yet, I can't seem to find any words today.

Yesterday marked one week with Thor and Joe. I'm really concerned about Joe. His right hip really seems to be giving him problems. He doesn't walk straight and won't put much weight on it when he's standing. I haven't started him on beet pulp yet because I havent' been home to get it started. I'm keeping him on the probiotics to see if that helps any. I'm also considering pulling him out of his current pasture and keeping him on the lawn. The lawn is fairly flat and no hills where the current pasture is all hilly. It could be he just needs a break from walking up and down the hill.

Thor has gone from a touch-me-not to a as-long-as-you-bring-me-food horse. We disagree about me putting his halter on for grain time. I don't want him snitching Joe's food so I halter and tie for the few minutes it takes Joe to devour his grain and lick the dish clean (it's too cute!)

No one in the herd seems to be too concerned with the new additions. I figured there's be a lot of nose touching and squealing over the fence. I've seen none of it. Of course both Joe and Thor are standoffish so we'll see what happens when I introduce them into the big herd. It'll be awhile. Until I can figure out what's going on with Joe's hip and he gains weight, he'll stay separate so he doesn't have to fight for his food or place in the herd.

I can't tell if King's muscle soreness is coming back or not. Every once in awhile I seem him off just a little in the front but it could be his feet. I decided I'd let him go barefoot but he has such flat feet. I'm trying to figure out what type of shoes to buy so I could possibly ride him again. The ones I want are, of course, the most expensive.

I also need to do some digging on Babe. I noticed something odd on her the other day around her fetlocks. I don't want to go into details until I've done some research. I would never have noticed except the other day it rained and her hair was matted. I'm a little concerned so it may be at minimum a call to the vet to discuss the possibilities.

Everyone else is doing great. Jim is to the right weight and I think Sam is too. I'm keeping him on his grain (minus the beet pulp). I'd prefer him to be a few pounds heavier but I'll take what I can get. I no longer feel ribs. It's a hard won victory. I do so enjoy looking out at the horses and seeing sleek, fat horses. Now if I could just get the weight on Joe. These hard keepers and picky eaters are driving my stress level up!

I think I'm a bit aggitated. I'm guessing it's mostly from work. But I'm starting to see some free and very cheap horses on Craigs List and Kelo in the past couple of weeks. I'm worried for these horses. It's only mid-June and I'm seeing good horses going to bad places. I havent' been able to attend any auctions. I believe this weekend is Kramers but again I'll have to miss it because of family obligations. It's probably best I avoid the auctions until this fall. I'm already maxed. I am guessing this coming fall/winter is going to be tough on the horse market. Everyone will remember what it was like last year and want to dump their horses the first sign of winter. I need to be prepared.

I'm finally getting motivated to work on our place again so we'll see how many stalls I can build and where I can find places for new stalls. I'm going to have to get creative soon! I do think that I need to go and hug a horse to get rid of this aggitated feeling that has come over me. So everyone do me a favor and go hug your horse. Maybe that will help me too! :-)