March 17, 2021
We are in the middle of our March Break activities. There is nothing too different from camps in years past. There is usually a blizzard. This one was a doozie, a couple of parents challenged the roads. To me it is more important to be safe. Perhaps when you get half way you feel that you may as well continue on. That is the way I feel when I hit that patch of dirt road coming home from Breadalbane. You know that awful feeling, that you know better, but didn’t put the thinking cap on. This group of Trailblazers are troupers, barn chores are a snap. All the saddles have been cleaned and oiled. Bridles done the same way. At least now we can get the buckles adjusted. I just love soft leather. They are getting really good at bridling the horses. Not an easy task, these oldies have different ideas sometimes. You can just see it in their eye, thinking these kids are newbies, I will make this a worthwhile task. But we don’t give up around the Sanctuary.
I like a hands on approach when grooming, no gloves at all. With bare hands you can feel the lumps and bumps, especially now when their coats are rather woolly. They have discovered a few patches of rain rot. Also known as dermapholosis or something like that. It can be a fungal infection or a bacterial infection and you can feel the lesions or scabs. They find them on the neck and along the back. Any horse that has a bit of a swayed back, catches the water and holds it. Our first concern is biosecurity, we do not want to pass it on to another horse. We separate the brushes for that horse. I have them remove the scabs, disinfect with alcohol, iodine solution etc. Then we treat with a seaweed solution. Seaweed is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. So whatever it really is, we have it covered, saving the Sanctuary big bucks in “scraping” lab tests. This does work for us.
Then again, grandfather’s theory, to fix the outside of a horse, you have to feed the inside of the horse. So I increase the flax and add six capsules of garlic to their feed. Once the weather stops bouncing around, and there is a bit of sunshine and heat, the problem stops.
April brings us to our Health Clinic, unfortunately because of Covid and tight spaces we cannot open it to the public this year. You can do your own horse assessment, check their weight, weight tapes are less than $5. Deworm and vaccinate. Vaccinate according to your veterinarians advise. Definitely vaccinate for Rhinopneumonitis, Encelphalomitis and Tetanus. If you are showing, there is probably more, check it out. Strangles seems to be rearing an ugly head. Perhaps you should vaccinate for that as well. Do practise biosecurity methods at your barn and also when you visit other barns. There seems to be so many bugs around today, it is best to take all precautions possible. Be kind to one anotherv, love and hugs from Yogi and the Herd.