Poor Mama Tess.
I knew she had some knowledge to impart to me… but I was presenting as incredibly dense.
I wasn’t getting it.
Sigh. Poor MT, what’s a horse gotta do?…
If she could have cuffed me on the back of my head, she would have.
INSTEAD OF BOPPING ME ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD, SHE GAZED OUT HER WINDOW AND SIGHED HER BIG SIGH… A TRUE SIGN.
Tess has her favorite window. She looks out of it and reminds herself why she is fighting this awful founder battle.
Or, at least that is how I see it.
Whenever she seems pensive or agitated or upset, she will go over to this one particular window and gaze out – fixated.
She stares outside to her pasture. It is 3 acres of wooded hills. She loves it. And, I think she looks at it to remember why.
I can busily clean all around her while she is in this mood – even throw shavings out of that very window under her nose – and she won’t flinch.
She seems to be in a trance-like state.
To me, it as if she is gathering energy or fortitude or the strength to do whatever it is that she had to do next.
In this case, she had to figure out a way to get her message through to her obtuse human.
SO, WE SAT DOWN TOGETHER
I begged her to try again… I begged her to tell me what it was that she wanted.
I knew she was sore again.
I knew it was her left foot… but there was no obvious reason. Nothing had changed. Her food, meds, environment – everything – is at a constant.
What was the issue?
So we sat together.
When she pinned her ears and looked at the gate, I knew she wanted Scoutypants to leave the barn now!
Me: OK, well, that was obvious.
MT: No, it wasn’t obvious… you just heard me because you don’t have any emotion tied to my request to get rid of that annoying canine you like so much – ugh – for the life of me I will never understand what you see in those dogs but whatever…
Me: No, it was obvious. I know you hate the dogs.
MT: How do you know?
Me: Because you told me.
MT: When? Did I move my lips and say it to you like MR. Ed?
Me: No, I just know.
MT: Aha! See there, you aren’t as dumb as you act!
Me: What?
MT: OK, listen closely. Clear your mind. Now, just sit here and be with me.
Me: Clear my head? How can I do
MT: QUIET, HUMAN! SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Me: ok.
So we sat together.
MY MIND STARTED TO WANDER BECAUSE I CANNOT MEDITATE OR DO YOGA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT…
My mind started to wander. I thought about a few things … and then the idea came to me that the Koppertox was burning the soft new tissue on the underside of the huge hole in her foot. And, I also got the notion that Koppertox is Copper which is a metal and I wondered if potentially, after time, this could be absorbed into her system at toxic levels. After all, it is called, Kopper – TOX.
MT: That’s it!! You got it silly human! If you were quiet more, you’d hear more!
I IMMEDIATELY RE-WRAPPED HER FEET.
On that notion, I unwrapped her left foot and craned my neck to shine my brightest headlamp into the dark caverns of the underside hole of her left foot – exactly in fatal kicking range – to see the new tissue covering her coffin bone.
Now, I’m just a lay person, but it did look a bit angry in there.
So, I flushed out all the remnants of Koppertox and put in a different anti-microbial lotion and THE BALM.
Then I rewrapped.

Tess with her ear cocked, wondering if I would do it right this time… (you an see her window in the background)
IS IT MY IMAGINATION, OR IS SHE HAPPIER?
Is it my imagination, or is she happier?
I’m not sure what happened there, but that was 5 days ago and she has seemed brighter and more whimsical since I quit the Koppertox altogether (against surgeon’s orders).
So far, so good. No odor. No infection.
And, she hasn’t gazed out her window, pensively, in my presence since that day.
I’m hoping she got her point across to her deaf and dumb human.
Poor Tess… my wonderful teacher who still has her moments of utter frustration with me. ;)

After her rewrap, Tess wandered outside happily – especially since the disgusting dog was minding her very well. O-U-T-S-I-D-E MY BARN, MUTT!

I HAD A CONVERSATION IWTH DAYN, SUMMER’S BROTHER… HE IS SENDING PICS OF HER HORSES – AND HE HAD AN AMAZING STORY TO TELL… CLICK TO LEARN ABOUT OUR APRIL BUCKET FUND: Can we help relieve the burden of 19 horses to feed and upkeep from her grieving family?

THANK YOU..
I have been following Mama Tess. Her progress is a miracle of your dedication & her resilience. As a registered nurse, I have treated with many wounds over the years and once infection is gone & new, fragile tissues are filling in it is important to stop the caustic antimicrobials. If you feel they are needed, cut them in half or more with normal saline. Moist wounds heal faster because they allow collagen fibers to form, weaving new tissue. Even if you see milky fluid, it’s OK. It looks like that because white cells are cleaning up debris, exactly what they are supposed to do. Good for you listening to your horse!
Listening to what your critters have to say will open up a whole new world! What a beautiful story that grabbed my heart strings. And of course wonderfully beautiful pictures of Mama Tess! You are both so very lucky to have the bond that the two of you do!
We would all do well to listen to our horses more often! Mama Tess has the most beautiful face–she really looks like she’s trying to communicate to you.
God bless you and keep you both.
I’ve been following Mama Tess’s progress and i wish you and her the best of luck. My gelding went through much the same ordeal last spring, two abscesses, horrid thrush and a fractured coffin bone. He made it very clear very quick that the coper-tox was not coming anywhere near his foot because it hurt. We used lots of tea tree oil instead and Albadry Plus (penicillin for cows in a syringe) and it cleared up the thrush and abscesses.
My horse and I wish you and Mama Tess the best of luck!