What's Been Going On

Picture taken 8-29-2010.

Chrome is doing well. He absolutely loves being out on the lease land full time. I love it because it allows them to browse around and eat what they need and they move around a lot more like a wild horse would in search of food. Horses are built to be continually eating and moving all the time, so this is much healthier than being cooped up in a tiny paddock.

I've been asking about his hooves on a forum and they think he may have a tendency toward a club foot on one of his rear legs, but it almost never occurs in the rear feet so it may just be because he needs trimming done. I've finally located a farrier that I like. He should be coming out tomorrow to meet Chrome and work on his hooves. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. No one else has ever worked on his feet, but due to my back still being in a fragile state I can't work on them myself. Besides I don't know enough about it to correct any problems that may be occurring.

I've been cleaning out his front hooves daily and spraying them with salt water to help combat thrush (a fungus that's common in wet areas). The frog (the soft v-shaped center of his hoof) is starting to look healthier in both front hooves. I'm doing the rear hooves when my back feels up to it. I'm going to work on teaching him to pick them up easier using a rope so I don't have to use my back. Maybe when he is more balanced (through practice) I'll be able to clean them more frequently. Luckily I don't think he has thrush in the rear hooves or if he does it isn't bad yet. The salt water does seem to be working really well. Oh and the gravel in the barn is a huge help! Now if I have to put his hoof down to rest my back I don't have to start all over and clean them out again. :)

I've also discovered why part of his mane is ripped out. I thought it was because the donkey was grabbing it when they were playing, but it isn't. He's rubbing it out on a tree. I checked really well and didn't see any ticks or bites of any sort. It may just be because it's dirty. When I have the time I'm going to wash his mane really well (tail too!) and condition it. Maybe that will help.

This next bit of news probably won't mean anything to people who don't own horses but I'll explain it as best I can. I was worried for a while that both of his testicles weren't going to drop (can be a problem in dogs too so you might be familiar with it). It's called cryptorchidism and if you're interested an explanation can be found on wikipedia here. The reason this is such an issue in horses is because the surgery to get the horse gelded (castrated) is a lot more expensive and more likely to have complications then if both testicles are descended. It would also mean having to contact the owner of the sire and letting them know that one of the offspring is cryptorchid, because it is thought to be hereditary. I am happy to report that Chrome has two perfectly descended testicles lol! For a long time one was missing, then it was there but carried high and a lot smaller. Now it has joined it's fellow and both appear to be normal. :) Yay for not having to pay more lol and this also means we can finally go ahead and get him gelded. Finally! The reason we weren't able to get it done in the spring is because we were waiting to see if they would come down on their own.

We also got the results back from my husband's MRI. He has two bulging (herniated) discs in his back. :( They are going to start out treating it with rest and steroid injections. Hopefully it will heal up okay. I really don't want to go the surgery route if at all possible. If anyone has experience in this let me know anything that might be helpful please.

After what happened to Rip (Aslan's brother) my dad is ready to take a break from raising animals, so the goats will have to come back here. He's also giving us his turkeys. He's going to let Rip be a yard dog instead of a livestock guard dog. They love him too much to give him up. So this means we might possibly have to sell the goats due to financial reasons and space problems. We shall see I guess. Thank you all for your prayers and good thought. :)