At the barn #8 - When it rains...

Something I'm learning about owning horses is that there are so many emergencies that can happen with a horses' health and when they do it's usually at the most inconvenient times. Here's what has been going on in our (tiny) horse community just over the last couple of weeks...

• The local trail barn had a serious colic while on a trail ride - the horse fell out on the beach - revived with a shot of banamine so they could get him home. A couple of days later another horse at the same barn colicked so severely he had to be euthanized. A few days later the original colic case has to be rushed to the equine clinic (3 1/2 hours away) - he had a giant worm load that led to colic / peritonitis / internal bleeding. 

• An elderly gelding was kicked nearly to death by his pasture mate for no apparent reason... the owners met the vet halfway and were sent to Raleigh - 6 hours away - to a better equipped veterinary hospital. The gelding is recovering at the hospital from a punctured lung and broken ribs. This happened after hours as well.

• Another local gelding was spiking a fever combined with swelling in the groin and going off his feed... symptoms coming and going. He ended up with lyme disease, and is recovering at the clinic on intravenous antibiotics.

I'm super thankful that Val has been very healthy so far, and feel justified in my micro managing of his care. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!

On a more positive note, we had a really nice ride on Thursday. We're preparing for a trip to our trainer's next weekend... I can't wait to get some feedback (of the human variety).

Congratulations to Calvin Borel and Super Saver on their Derby win today :)