Update and a Need For Bubble Wrap

Update on Bonnie-  Dentist was incredibly thorough with his exam today.   Before sedation he moved Bonnie's top and lower jaws together to ensure there was good grinding on both sides and note any reaction at all.   She lifted her head and backed up but had good grinding.

He watched her try to eat hay.  At first she wasn't real interested but started biting at the flake like a dog bites \ gulps at meat.  Once she got a mouth full she gave a half hearted effort at chewing then spit it out.

She has slight swelling on the right side of her nose about three fingers up from the nostrils, just below the nostril bone.  It's tender but she didn't object violently when we palpitated it.

After that he sedated her per my request.  It's not needed to do normal floats with her but with this I wanted no reason for him to look at everything.

He put the speculum in, opened her mouth and took a good long look.  Then he checked every tooth from the back forwards.  There was one spot he filed on the inside of her left upper teeth.  He checked inside each cheek, top of her mouth all the way back to her throat. No ulcers, cuts or abnormalities.

In short he couldn't find anything wrong, so he called his vet and explained what he observed, gave age and normal behavior background.  His vet said that if she's running a temperature, which she hasn't yet - I'm checking daily, then most likely she smacked her nose on something hard enough to cause chewing to be sore.  To give 1 gram of bute next couple of days.   If she starts to run a temperature to do a course of penicillin.

Sedated she ate an entire flake of hay without issues, this tells me it is most definitely pain in or around the jaw related.

I put another flake in a hay net (she doesn't have shoes or halter on) and hung it in her stall.  I bought Orchard Grass pellets and will use those instead of alfalfa cubes.  We are soaking her grain to make it easier for her and giving the bute.  If by Tuesday evening there is no change I will call my vet out.  I'm looking to use a different vet and develop a good relationship with her so this will be a great time do so.

Then there is Rosie.

Yesterday Boyfriends mother invited me to go watch her show at Moorehead University.  It was long drive, I was introduce to the world of Intercollegiate Horse Shows - namely Hunt Seat Equitation.  Very interesting process.  She got a first place ribbon and a decent bag for the effort and we headed back home.

I had to go check on Bonnie so invited her to ride Rosie of which she readily agreed.  She brought her own Dressage Saddle, girth, and Dressage whip.

She tacked up Rosie while I  picked out Bonnie's stall so I could count manure piles and density of the wet spot.

The PBO came out to give me an update on Bonnie and decided to stick around to watch L ride Rosie.  As we were walking out to the arena L comments that the silver tip of her whip is gone, it was about that time that Rosie took a three legged lame step.  Lame on right hind.

Guess what she stepped on.... you got it.  The dressage tip landed slot up, and Rosie stepped square on it so it didn't crumple or tip.  Instead in embedded.  It was stuck about half the length of the slot into her hoof where the point of the frog meets the sole.

I held her hoof up while PBO used vice grips to pry it out.  It was in deep enough that it bled.  We squirted a whole bunch of Betadine Scrub on it, hosed it thoroughly, packed it with Furazone, taped with vet wrap and duct tape.

This morning the puncture site is warm, not alarming, but warmer than her other hoof in the same spot so did the above all over again.  Considering epson salts soak tomorrow evening if still warm.