Rainy days and moves

So, now we get to what's going on currently.  Not going to bore you with the non-horsey stuff today, partially because I am too pissed to discuss it in depth.  Long story short, the quest to get my old house ready for rental and actually making money continues to be...problematic.

As for the red-headed wonder, I managed to get her lunged on Monday.  We have not had much luck for the last month two months.  It started with her farrier nicking her frog when he shod her.  He didn't say anything and when we decided she was indeed lame, a vet was at the barn, so I paid $65 to have him put hoof testers on her.  Called the farrier to come out since we thought she had a hot nail.  He gets there and is like "oh yeah, I nicked her, but she wasn't lame or anything then, so I didn't say anything."  Good grief.  This is not my farrier of choice.  He retired, and this is his replacement.  My trainer also uses him, and when he came to see her the following week, he had the retired farrier with him.  Apparently, they both gave him what for, knowing that Violet will not complain when you do something to her, but is very sensitive when it comes to her feet.  I doubt he will make the same mistake.  But that did require a week of epsom salt baths and hoofpacks.  I did develop a hoof care bucket, and learned how to properly tape a diaper to the girls hoof, so that's good.  Everyone thinks it's cute that she uses the newborn diapers on her little dainty feets.

She was fine with the pampering, honestly, although you can't walk away from her with her foot in the bucket, or it will go flying.  She'll stand quiet all day if you are there with her, but go into the tackroom for one little thing and she's done.

We recovered from that only for her to develop hives from the bugs.  They didn't seem to bother her before, and she wasn't running from them or anything, but she was one big bump.  That required a little dex from the trainer and a course of benadryl.  Note to anyone out there, buy it in bulk from Sam's if you can.  800 pills for $6.  Of course, she doesn't mind taking it, because I usually give it to her with some beet pulp and maybe a little handful of her grain and water after we ride.  It's like second dinner!  And for a pony that gets basically a handful of grain twice a day, it's a big treat. (Let's just say she's an easy keeper).  And she gets turned out in her full fly gear, even though it's hot in St Augustine this time of year.  She goes out at night, and it IS September, after all.  Just keep an eye out for funk, are the instructions given to both me and the barn manager.

So cue the rain.  And the rain-rot, of course.  Pull the fly sheet, move the girl indoors, buy lots of rain-rot stuff, including tea tree shampoo and Banixx spray, and treat treat treat.  A little more dex for the discomfort.
At the same time, I'm off to the doctor (now that I've closed on my new house) to have a look at my foot.  Right foot has been bothering me for a while, but now is bothering me when I ride, and that's not ok.  And the left foot is starting to hurt as well.  I regularly end my nights with ice on both feet.  I go to the doctor and end up walking out like this:

Yes, I rebroke a fracture on my left foot compensating for something called a Morton's Neuroma on the right.  Left foot in a boot, right foot treated with a shot of dex.  Interesting that Violet and I were treated with the same stuff within two days of each other.  Boot for a month, and we'll see about the right foot.

So, back to the pony.  I got the rain rot taken care of but mother nature has decided we should be swimming here in Northeast Florida this year.

That far lake is Violet's field.  Needless to say, I can't put the poor rain-rotted pony with notoriously iffy feet out in that.  Three weeks later, we have gotten 9+ inches of rain, and still no sign of stopping.  But she looks good, and always does ok being in a stall.  She does have a small runout, so at least she has the ability to move and isn't stocking up or anything.  And I take her for hand walks when I can't get into the lounging ring.

Can't work in this...

So hand grazing it is.  Shiny pony.

And then the cough develops.  After a week, it's not getting better.  It's actually worse, and she doesn't work out of it.  I know it's because she's inside, but what do I do?  Cue the vet call.  Tells me what I already know, and gives another shot of Dex.  Pony is not allowed to be held inside except for meals.  Hay should be watered.  So out in the soggy mess she goes.  And she is not happy about it.  The princess does not like wet sogginess on her feet.  She stands at the gate and looks at me like "please?"  So now it's been a month and she has had like 6 days I've been able to work her.  Monday, I lunged, intending to just walk, just to see how the cough was.  No cough.  Trot?  No cough.  Canter (just once around)? Cleared her nose, but no cough.  So I think we are past that and now know that she must have better circulation than she gets in the solid wall stalls in the barn.  And it's still raining.  And the ring is still mucky, and they can't get the mower to the dressage ring, so lunging is what we can do.

A decision has been made.  She will go back to the showgrounds with my trainer.  Turns out I will have to have surgery on the right foot in a couple of weeks, which will keep me out of the saddle for a while.  Violet has blown a winter coat, and developed rain rot underneath of it, and her feet are constantly wet.  It will take a couple of weeks of dry to get the property to dry out, and I can hold my stall with a small portion.  Violet will get back into training, and the glorious trainer M loves her and will clip her and take care of her rain-rot, and she will be back with her friends, as will I.  It means only riding once a week, but it's better for her, and it's only for two months.  Hopefully I'll be back on my feet by then.  When I spoke with the boy about it, his response was "Do what you need to do for her.  I knew you were a horse-girl when we were kids, and you are still one now, and I get it."  He also made reference to the fact that I was so unhappy over the weekend because my entire team was at AECs and I wasn't.  It had been planned before he entered the picture that I would go with everyone else, just to groom and support, but finances did not permit that this time.  He knows it's important for me to reconnect with my team.  It's hard being the one that is separated.

So I'll go out today with the mind to do some more lunging.  Or maybe I'll just finish my clip job of her legs.  Because it's supposed to rain again this afternoon...