A change of feed and other things

Last night the Mither dearest and I discussed feed options for Holden -- and both of us were of the opinion the barn's primary feed would not be adequate for a horse in more than "light" work, which is what the feed is directed towards. I was hoping for something along the lines of a Poulin feed, but the store doesn't carry Poulin -- so I settled for the market's equivalent, Sentinel. The feed is high fat at 12% -- which I think will help Holden in his transition from feed overload to something less weighty.

I dropped the Sentinel off at the barn last night on my way home and left the BO with a note instructing to transition the feed over gradually. This morning the grain was unopened, and the BO said she had missed it. GRRRRRR. I spoke to her about it, and mentioned we should work out how she wanted to reimburse me for purchasing the grain. She said she didn't reimburse people who wanted separate grain at her barn, so I tactfully reminded her I had come into the contract expecting a certain flat rate of board and within two days of the board she had told me the board was $50 more than had been previously advertised -- which is bemusing because her other boarders have told me they are being charged less than I. I also mentioned we could keep Holden on her feed but he would need more than five times what she was feeding him now if we were going to meet his nutritional needs -- and I supplicated this logic with the affirmation that much feed would make him high as a kite and difficult to handle. Not to mention she would be paying more to feed him. This made her rethink what she had said prior and she said we would work something out. If she doesn't "work something out with me", I can take my horse elsewhere, and I will. I genuinely like this barn - the set up is very ideal and it is very close to my house. I think with some subtle adjustments we can make this work until I move back to MA in January.

Holden's leg, 9/18 - note scrape and thick ankle

Holden, true to horse form, has a scrape below his hock pictured to the left. I cleaned it out and re-applied some salve on it today. I wanted to record this picture because it does a fair job of showing the "thickness" on the distal part of his fetlock -- as well as showing the cut he had from the track near his ergot. He is sensitive about this being inspected, so I imagine that cut must have been ugly when he sustained it. I did what no self-respecting horse owner should do and I looked up "common hind leg injuries" on Google -- and started to have an aneurysm when things like 'check ligament' and 'annular ligament tears' appeared where horses presented themselves similar and were 100% sound. This made me second-guess if the cut he has from the track was really just a cut.. But it doesn't have any heat to it, which I guess is somewhat comforting....

I am wondering if his antics the day prior had instigated the thickness -- since I've had him, the swelling hasn't fluctuated. It doesn't inflate with stall rest or dissipate with turnout or work. So maybe it really is a cut or an older sustained injury and I'm just irrationally overthinking things. I'm tempted to call his old trainer tomorrow and ask him if he knows anything about that leg, as the cut on the fetlock is at least two weeks old at this point, and happened before I purchased him.

Holden's fetlock, 9/19

I took Holden out and cold hosed him for about ten minutes while the BO told me how many concussions she's sustained over the years. That explains a lot... Holden was good, stood pretty well and doesn't seem to be shy about water. I also let him graze while doing this -- might as well get his tummy acclimated to grass while he's on limited turn-out.

After the cold-hose I took him back to his stall and iced the ankle for fifteen minutes. I spent this time grooming him and picking up his feet. He is getting less suspicious as me as the time goes by, and today he was better about me touching and brushing his legs. I spent a good deal of time brushing the scurf that's on his right front and cannon bone - he has a good deal of it on three of his legs, so I plan to get some betadine scrub tomorrow and scrub them off. 

Holden during the cold-hose

After the ice-pack I wrapped his hind legs in a stable bandage. Despite there being no heat in the leg and him being sound, I feel like it would be better to be annoyingly and overly cautious. The plan is to see where he is tomorrow -- and if the "thickness" of his leg has gone down. In addition to the hosing, ice-pack, and wrapping, I asked the BO to give him a bute tonight to help with the inflammation. Tomorrow the plan is to largely do the same -- cold hose while grazing, maybe a short hand-walk in the indoor (since he's on "stall rest"), ice pack and then rewrap if needed. I will compare and contrast the photos of his leg on my phone as well as palpitate the area to see if there are any changes -- if not, a vet visit might be in order!

In any event, this downtime gives Holden some more opportunity to settle and realize that I'm not someone he needs to be worried or suspicious about, and gives me plenty of time to interact and groom him in his stall!