Come in! Stay out! Come in!

I love this sign, which stands just outside the arena complex in Lufkin, Texas.

Come in!

Stay out!

Come in!

Talk about mixed messages!

Thankfully Pookey Bear is sending us some clearer, more consistent signs that he is feeling better this morning after a difficult day yesterday.

This morning, he is standing up, eating and drinking, moving around his stall a bit and putting his ears forward when we come into the barn. His respiratory rate has returned to normal, and his stools have switched from 'cow patty' to 'formed.'

(Don't worry, girls-- Al Gore had not yet invented the internet when you girls were born, so Mom didn't have a blog where she could talk about your bodily functions!)

The NSAIDs we gave him yesterday evening appear to have 'kicked in' and helped him feel much better. Hopefully his signs will continue to improve today and tomorrow, and we can shoot some footage of him this weekend walking around in his new shoes!

Thanks!

Thank you for praying for Pookey Bear!

He has now gone three weeks pain-free: no NSAIDs, no hopping around in his stall, no refusal to pick up his other feet.

He will be going in tomorrow for some more work on his RF, which seems to be growing, and is finally carrying enough of his weight that he has worn down his rubber shoe.

More details to follow!

Getting Brave

I am feeling incredibly brave.

Or stupid. Maybe I am incredibly stupid.

Anyway, I finally gutted it up and turned Pookey loose in his outdoor stall, which is basically a few round pen panels hooked to a gate.

In an effort to keep him occupied, I placed his overstuffed hay bag in the corner, and for nearly forty-five minutes he kept his head buried in his hay and never once tried to rear up, kick out, or roll.

If the weather is nice tomorrow, I will be braver and leave him out for an hour or so.

After nearly nine months of being cooped up inside, he could use the Vitamin D!

Afternoon Sunshine

Ah, here it is, an image of His Sleekness enjoying an afternoon in the sun with his hay bag.

He was feeling s-o-o-o good yesterday that he walked on his hind legs for a bit during his afternoon walk. Thank goodness he landed lightly, ready to bounce back up again, placing very little stress on that tender little tendon we have been carefully healing up.

Note the clean appearance of that right leg--so far, he is healing nicely!

We will be trying to keep him on track as he continues to feel better and better each day, and as Spring Fever begins to strike.

A good day!

(Another image from the archives, until Pookey Bear gets his bubble bath and looks presentable. This one is yet another 'horse friend' at OSU-Stillwater.)

O, Happy Day!

Pookey Bear had a fabulous day yesterday, taking two 10-minute walks, and spending more than an hour tied outside at his 'hay station,' enjoying the sunshine.

He continues to bear normal weight on his RF, with the rubber shoe holding up well and the casting material anchoring it in place showing no signs of wear.

To mix metaphors, while he is not out of the woods yet, he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Less bob?

Okay, I think he has less head bob.

Do you think he has less head bob?

I think he has less head bob.

But he may be starting to look emaciated.

Do you think he looks emaciated?

I think he looks emaciated.

Stand-in

Meet Shiner.

Shiner is standing in for Pookey Bear today, because Pookey Bear looks wretched.

Don't be alarmed--health-wise, he is better than he has been in months!

At his check-up yesterday he was walking nicely, so nicely that Joe and Dr. W decided not to even mess with his little rubber shoe.

He even escaped without x-rays--a first!

No, his wretched appearance is not health-related, but rather a management problem.

After three weeks of being cooped up in his stall but being relatively mobile and active, he has ground his beautiful fluffy $having$ down to dust. And because the ground outside was so treacherous that I really couldn't take him out of his stall, I have been unable to strip it and clean it.

The end result is that his whole entire bay body is covered with a fine layer of dust, making him look a wee bit like a grullo (a color I have always admired).

Hopefully, the weatherman who is predicting temps in the seventies this week will be right, and Pookey can have a much-needed bath.

Until then, he will be using a stand-in...

Pony, and Little Girl

A pony walks into a bar and whispers, "Can I have a beer?"

"Sure," the bartender replies. "But why are you whispering?"

"I'm sorry," the pony answers. "I'm just a little hoarse."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Pookey Bear is doing fine today.

Farrier visit tomorrow!

!

Horse. Walking. Normally.

Yippee!

Why the long face?

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, "So, why the long face?"

After eight full months of practically living in Pookey Bear's stall, I have grown rather good at reading his moods.

Not that I am anthropomorphizing.

That would be terrible.

I would never ascribe human emotions to a horse.

No, these are definitely horse emotions I am reading.

Anyway, yesterday I got Pookey a fabulous new hay net, one with little bitty tiny openings that forces him to work really hard for his hay.

Do you think he likes doing this?

His expression kind of says it all.

He is pin-eared, long-faced, unhappy.

But it is for his own good, as it stretches out the amount of time it takes him to consume his ration, meaning that his gut continues working more continuously, he doesn't panic when he runs out of hay, his blood sugar should be more 'stable,' etc.

We'll see how it goes.

For right now, I am dealing with a very disgruntled horse!

Faux App

Here's Pookey's friend Rita, doing her Appaloosa imitation.

I have no idea how Pookey is doing.

I just throw the hay over the top of the stall a few times a day, splash some boiling water in his frozen bucket, and occasionally attempt to pry some rock-hard manure balls free from the stall floor.

Then I dash back inside to huddle in front of the heater!

I suppose he looks cheerful enough.

We'll know more after the spring thaw, when I venture back out to resume my nursing duties.

Until then, he's going to have to 'buck up'!

Word to the wise...

Word to the wise...

If your fruit-loop Appaloosa has never seen a Corgi in a coat, don't be standing with your back to him in his stall, intently shoveling manure, the first time he sees one.

And for sure don't leave the stall door open so the clueless Corgi can come charging in.

But if worst comes to worse and you find yourself trapped in the stall with a petrified Appaloosa and an equally petrified Corgi racing around you in circles like the Hounds of Hell are on their tails, please make sure that at least one of them understands and heeds a few basic commands such as 'whoa,' 'come,' or 'get out!'