Tex, again...while Pookey rests...

Pookey Bear is still under the weather, dealing with pain in his RF from either abscesses or compression/bruising or something...

He continues to have a good appetite and is only moderately depressed, spending most of his time listening to the radio and watching his friend Zippy--who is feeling better!--dance around his stall.

Tex, meanwhile, continues to frolic in the snow every time we go out to feed!

It's cold outside!

The winter storm has moved in, and with it, snow.

Pookey is locked up in his cozy barn, feeling a tiny bit better with two days' worth of Equioxx in his system, but still not moving around very much.

I have also wrapped both of his legs from forearm to foot, hoping to keep them toasty warm to help improve his circulation.

Tex, meanwhile, is reveling in the snow! Like Pookey Bear, he got a new coat this Christmas. And, like Pookey, he needed an XL :-)

Gimme a cookie instead...

In an effort to provide some additional enrichment for Mr. Wonderful, I recently purchased this Himalayan salt to place in his snack apple.

Prior to becoming IR, he was used to being treated with the apple or carrot Likits, which are now strictly verboten.

He loved them.

But like his owner, who prefers Mrs. Field's cookies to potato chips, he is not so drawn to the Himalayan salt.

Must not have much Przewalski's horse in his background...

New Year's Resolution--a clean barn!

Here is Pookey, standing in his clean barn.

That is because his primary caregiver added the following to her voluminous list of New Year's Resolutions: keep the barn clean!

Missing from this photo are the usual rakes, shovels, buckets, brooms, hay bales, shavings bags, empty feed sacks, soak basins, rolls of Vet Rap, polos, quilts, Soft Rides, shipping boots, supplement tubs, trash cans and more that usually clutter up Pookey's alleyway.

He is hoping that with the new space we have created, he can get a large screen tv.

Being frugal, he doesn't mind if we get one off Craigslist.

He still does not feel much like walking since his last trim on Monday. So--without those twice daily walks we have been enjoying--he is looking for ways to pass the time doing something besides eating.

Any suggestions?

"Dear Santa, I'd like a new pair of shoes..."

Pookey Bear and his kind benefactor, Dr. Allen, a.k.a. 'Santa'

Pookey Bear being silly...

...we told him not to make faces at the camera!

Tex says 'howdy'!

No Pookey pics today--just a riddle, a quick progress report, and a holiday 'howdy' from Tex, who spent the morning helping me decorate!

Here is the riddle:

What do dental impression material, a dremel tool, Saran Wrap, and a blow torch have in common?

Answer: they are all part of the farrier's tool kit used to put a new shoe on Pookey Bear!

Pookey paid a visit to his friend Joe Monday afternoon, getting a big thumbs up on the condition of his three good feet, and a mixed report on his problematic right front.

The negatives: he continues to grow lots of hoof on the lateral side, but not on the medial side, leaving his bony column rather catty-wampus (not a legitimate medical term, I realize). Also, he popped up with a new area of infection, this one pretty nasty looking, which Joe had to clean out.

The surprising positive: despite his problems, he walked off after his shoeing amazingly well, and has remained pain-free and in good spirits for the past several days. He continues to walk well with very little noticeable limp, and feels great!

Hooray!

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

And yes, he does love little insulin-resistant horses!