Progress
As the weather is settling into a nicer, more spring-like feel…well, of course a new region of the country has definitely sprung Spring allergies on me for the first time in years. They’re not terrible, but I found myself waking up searching or a tissue most mornings this week.
Home is starting to feel like a nested place, and like it’s familiar - the things placed around in space are recognizable in place, not just from their historic presence in my life.
The bird feeders are up in the back yard - and not a moment too soon from the looks of it. A dozen birds or more, small finches to robins, cardinals and thrushes, come visit daily. We have some winter-dried bushes in the back yard, all of which are near enough the feeders to provide cover in case of larger predator, of which we do have some. My favourite to watch are the cardinal pair, a beautiful bold red male and his less-vibrant but equally beautiful partner. They fly to the back fence and perch, one at a time flying in to investigate the days offerings.
Naturally, the cats are ecstatic to see BackyardTV
returned to the viewing options.
Zen acclimates himself to the new monitor station
The pup has also been enjoying her migration - most notably behaving like a cat and sleeping in the warmest sun pool findable. Afternoons on the back patio are perfect, as long as mom remembers to leave a water out. We’ve started to explore the neighborhood, though I admit I’m more slack on this than I’d prefer. Historically, Beetle and I had our best walks when we wandered for coffee in the mornings - this was cut short by waking up early to collaborate in the India time zone with TraceLink’s international design team. Starting with nCino in April will give me a chance to reset that part of my schedule too, putting me back in the Eastern Time Zone, and doggo and I plan to resume our morning coffee wanders.
At the barn, the horses continue to thrive. The farm feeding programme, while very similar to what I was providing my two already, has made a series of small improvements for their diet, especially in the Carolinas. Cruz has the softest coat, and is finally starting to grow a forelock. Meanwhile, Factor is getting his fill of turnout and is one of the most laid-back guys you could meet. People keep thinking he has to be a teenager, he’s so solid.
The past two weeks saw some additional progress, despite what may have felt originally like two steps forward and one step back:
Factor was fit for a new Devoucoux Chiberta jump saddle in February, when we realized he had perhaps grown wider than my Mendia dressage saddle as well. The rep came back out to fit him and me for a dressage saddle, and to see what kind of shimming we’d need to put in place for Cruz to be comfortable also. Since the fitting, where I also learned how best to shim our present saddle so as to lift the pommel clear of Factor’s shoulders, while still maintaining full contact with the panels and saddle balance. This effort really paid of - after a just two rides this way, my sensitive OTTB has starting moving so much more naturally through his shoulders. Coupling this fitting adjustment with our first lesson at the farm, we are really starting to get some beautiful movement.
Cruz, meanwhile, had an unfortunate altercation with some thrush that got in quick and deep, and caused an abscess. Poor girl was instantly three-legged - as in, more lame than her bone fracture ever made her - and for about a week was only happy standing on the comfort stalls in the farm’s main barn. Fortunately, Louie lends Cruz his stall while everyone gets turnout, and she spent some good recovery time there. It took eleven days, lots of epsom salts and betadine, but she’s finally standing sound again and moving out without pain.
To make her return to comfort even better, Cruz was given a stamp to return to full work on the same day, marking her rehab from the fracture complete!
Cruz’s x-rays, September to February comparison
As I noted on my social media, some of the comments from Tufts veterinary team have revolved heavily around how well this very distal injury healed up. The latest set of x-rays showed that Cruz has minimal arthritic changes in the joint, with absolutely no debris - which two vets commented on separately. Additionally, her bone density is incredibly good, and she’s moving remarkably free on her front legs. In short, some incredible feedback and a wonderful outcome for my wonderful girl!
For those unfamiliar, distal limb injuries in horses are tricky for a myriad of reasons, but a big one is blood flow:
Blood and all it carries in and out is a major player in recovery. It can clear and reabsorb a lot of dead or misplaced matter at an injury site. The frog, the part of the hoof that touches the ground, stimulates blood circulation when the horse moves, promoting circulation and promotes repair. Unfortunately horses who have injuries are often kept on stall rest to keep them from making the injury worse by overexertion. Conflictingly, this also slows down stimulation to the frog and therefore slows circulation.
To combat this Cruz received weekly Bemer (blanket and boots) and red light therapy from Soaring Horse Equine Massage, which encouraged circulation to the injury site.The fetlock joint is naturally compact, allowing the horse to be nimble and quick on their feet. Because of this, the veins and arteries are compressed neatly into the join, with very little room for inflammation. When injury does occur to this area, getting inflammation down is critical to get proper circulation back to all the small access points for critical blood flow.
For Cruz, this meant daily leg icing for the first 8 weeks after surgery.