It appears our blissfully beautiful stretch of unseasonably warm weather has finally come to an end, and I'm already grieving for my lack of exercise and fresh air that I've been thoroughly enjoying as of late. I ordered a vinyl cover for the stroller hoping I can bundle Eowynn and seal some heat in so we can at least walk our short loop on the semi-decent days, but the shipping is estimating to take another 2 weeks. Regardless, I'm sure it will be well used and for $9.99, it seemed like a sound investment to maintain some semblance of sanity.
Sierra started on Farriers Choice hoof supplements on Thursday, which has resulted in catching her each day for a little TLC. Unfortunately it's not economical to feed the entire herd, but thanks to a reader I am going to purchase Biotin from Mad Barn as it's far easier on the pocket book. She seems to enjoy getting the goods while the rest of the herd watches on with jealousy. I don't love the pellets because it's not cheap and she inevitably drops some, but it's a good start to get us through until I order from Mad Barn in a few weeks. The tub of Farriers Choice will likely last 4-6 weeks, so it buys me some time at least. Her hoof seems to be cracking out even worse but hopefully I caught it just in time and the additional nutrients will help. In my experience it typically takes 2-3 months to see genuine results in feet, but time will tell I suppose!
Upon returning from our walk yesterday, I noticed a bare patch on Kings chest, which upon closer inspection, had a minor cut across it as well. I assumed he rubbed it on something, but I grew concerned and went into the pasture to check him for Lice. I inspected him thoroughly but found no evidence, and as he turned broadside I noticed he also had a small bald patch on his flank. Upon further inspection, he also had a bald spot on the opposite flank. In my 20 years of horse ownership, I have never dealt with Ringworm. I've honestly never even seen it in person, but it presented all the tell-tale signs so I decided to treat it as such until it proved otherwise.
As a result, King is now isolated against his wishes and we are treating his spots and surrounding hair with anti fungal products, hoping we caught it in time. Our quiet, steady ol' boy had an absolute melt down over Eowynn in a stroller while I was trying to wash them today, so that was a fun time but I managed to get it done. I know for a fact the patches weren't there on Tuesday, and while I didn't notice it Wednesday I can't say for certain it wasn't there. Unfortunately he's extremely filthy (and has been since I brought him home in late October) so I suppose it's not entirely surprising as he has horrible dandruff that I suspect is related to not being properly rinsed when he was last bathed. Sadly, with the arena in town now closed I have absolutely no options in the way of bathing, so all I can do is try and clear this up and brush the crap out of him.
I thoroughly inspected the other horses and so far have not noticed anything on them. Sierra has an area of missing hair, but it's irregular in shape and doesn't have that infamous 'scaly' attribute, so it's very likely it's from an old bite that I didn't notice, but I am keeping an eye on it and applying some antifungal products to the area as well.
TGIF, amirite?
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