If she’s happy, I’m happy…
And tonight, she’s happy! (dancing in my chair…!)
This is MT tonight… nibbling on her veranda.
LAST WEEK, NOT SO GOOD.
The Founder Warrior usually comes every three weeks to trim Tess’ feet and assess her condition.
However, this time, due to a scheduling snafu, The Founder Warrior had to push her visit an extra week.
…I had no idea how much difference a week could make in our lives…
As each additional day came upon us, Tess was more and more sore.
It was all I could do to stay inside my skin while I watched her pain increase a little each day. I did my best to keep her comfortable.
On the left was her foot in February, and the right was Friday. Look how much hoof she has grown!
IS THERE GUNK UP IN THERE?
Tess’ bad hoof is growing – rapidly. As it does, the caravans and crevices move farther and farther back – where I have difficulty flushing them.
I clean her feet daily. However, as those hooves got longer, I simply could not reach every dark area… and I felt that something was up in there. Maybe a piece of shavings? Maybe a piece of dead skin…? Something was necrotic – deep in there.
Oy.
I kept praying that all Tess needed was a trim to cut away the extra long toe and therefore expose the canyons to healing airflow. And I needed to be able to flush the wound easily – that was my theory.
On the left is how her foot was right before her trim… as you can see, the crevices and canyons were deep and went way back. They needed to be opened up…. On the right is her foot after the trim. Not only did the FW open up all of the canyons so they could drain, we found blood way more forward than previously!
FOUNDER WARRIOR ARRIVES!
Luckily, the FW made it last Friday and immediately went to work on Tess’ bad left foot.
In an out-of-character turn, The FW inferred that there had to be a bone infection… for her to have continued infections.
??
What about when she removed her boot and stood in shavings all day…? Couldn’t that have created an infection up in there?
Then, when the FW did the good foot, which had an open abscess channel, she said the same thing.
??
I didn’t know why the FW was so pessimistic this trip… but we all have our days.
Anyway, I decided to wait until the Xrays to decide Tess’ condition.
The GREAT NEWS during this trimming process was that the FW kept finding blood. Tess has lots of blood at her toe again. THANK YOU, THERAPLATE!
(Originally, I was told that Tess could never grow a hoof because she had no blood or circulation in the majority of that toe…It is true that she has a bad lamina connection at her toe – and that is not good, however she does have blood, circulation and can grow lots of sole and hoof!)
We finally were able to trim the rear feet! Our girl is balanced!
THE XRAYS
The Xrays showed no change from previously… and no infection in either foot. (Big Sigh of Relief.)
Luckily, my regular farrier was available to help us trim the backs. So, he trimmed the rears when the FW took her breaks from the fronts. Finally, Tess has balanced feet!
Tess was a new horse! After we had flushed, trimmed and balanced her, she was practically skipping (well… not quite but very happy for a lame horse!).
That was Friday and Tess has been very happy ever since! She gets sore leading up to her dressing change, but as soon as I flush and rewrap, she is much better. I wish I understood why that was – but consistently, she is better after I change her dressing.
This is the lateral view of her bad left front foot. No bone change in a month. No deterioration.
Same with the front view.
TONIGHT…
I keep reminding myself that every day is a new day with her. It is important to stay calm because anything can change in 24 hours in a case like this… And it does, often.
Over the past 15months, I have thought we were at the end SO MANY TIMES – that now I just shake my head each new day when I discover that these panic bouts are temporary… all part of the process. I’ve learned to wait. Patience. Calm evaluation. Intuition.
Yes, there are many, many ups and downs. And, lots of complications. I’m not being light about acute founder… But, I will say that I have learned to take a breath and give her that extra day – because healing hurts.
It just does.
She grazes happily tonight, ignoring what the silly, scared humans say about her condition. Tess lives in the moment and in this moment, she is happy!
FORTITUDE
I think that sometimes people forget how much pain and dedication goes into recovering from a severe illness. I know for me, pain and illness suffocate the soul. When I am in a bad episode, I hurt emotionally, physically, spiritually – there are more bad days than good – until you turn the corner.
During the long, trying, difficult and soul crushing recovery time, there have to be people around you rallying for the cause and keeping you going. And, sometimes the patient has to be the strong one when everyone else in the room is frightened.
That is how I feel about Tess. As long as she is in the fight with me, I’ll be her cheerleader.
And I hope, I so hope, that in the next 3-4 months of foot growth, we turn that corner. I know she is strong and willing to power through all of it so she can run in her field again. She keeps her eye on the goal.
That girl, Mama Tess, is amazing.
Gobbling up the wet part of her dinner. She has never lost her appetite, that’s for sure!
MAMA TESS’ TREASURE CHEST OPENS AGAIN!
I’ll be posting more MT jewelry… after rounds of maggots and the Founder Warrior, I need to fleece the vault! ;)
If you’d like to look at and maybe purchase an MT Pendant or charm for your saddle, click here! (Thank you!)
Yesterday, I posted this necklace/bracelet and no one purchased it… so I wondered if it was the necklace, the price or the MT charm that I added to it?
So, I’m posting it again today WITHOUT the MT charm and therefore for less money. (If you’d still like the MT charm, just let me know… that price is $58 and we’ll work that out.) I’m curious to see if it sells today and why…
This is a very fun and super involved necklace/bracelet that I bought and rarely wore because it was just too colorful for my rather bland clothing diet. I love to look at it! 34″
I’m happily selling this piece for $38 (including shipping in the US).
SOLD! THANK YOU, RUTH!
If the link doesn’t work, that means the piece has sold. Thank you!
Here is the necklace without the MT charm and doubled.
Here is the necklace looped 5x to make a fun bracelet for summer!
This is what the artist had to say:
This wrap is made with the most gorgeous colored stones and crystals, they are a little larger than stones in my other wraps, this one is 5 times wrap with a thai silver flower to add to the earthy appeal of this bracelet, these are my most popular, every time I make on they sell so fast they are washable earthy, boho style comfortable bracelet, it can also be worn around your neck twice or just once for a extra long colorful necklace…
