We've had a handful of warm sunny days over the last month. Just enough to dry the pasture out enough to haul in a new load of hay and do a little riding.
Bud did well over the winter and early spring months keeping his weight up and we ended up not needing to feed as much hay as expected. Mark enlarged the hole in his grazing muzzle last summer so that he could eat a little more grass and with careful watching, he was able to be out grazing about 36-48 hours with 12-24 hour breaks in the "starvation pen." That's pretty much what the paddock as become because it was so wet and muddy that nothing really grows in it. And because it is so wet and muddy, I feel terrible leaving him in it so I am glad he wintered outside with the enlarged muzzle so well.
The cushy life ended abruptly when in early April I went out bring him in for his break from the muzzle and found he was already in his house pouting. This has become his way of letting me know he is not okay. If he is freed from the starvation pen, I usually do not find him in it. If I do find him inside when he is free to be in the big pasture, I know something is wrong.
Additionally, if I come to let him out of the paddock and he does not do "the walk," I know something is wrong. "The walk" is where he walks to the end of the paddock as if to greet me when I come in through the gate at the road, then wanders back to the gate of the paddock to greet me,
Doing "the walk."
Waiting for me to open the gate....
"Hello, Bud. Are you a hungry hippo?"
"Back up so I can get in. You know how this works."
On his 18th birthday, April 9th, I found him inside his house when he should have been outside. I knew something was wrong. The pasture was so muddy and thus, so was Bud but I knew immediately when I picked up his front foot and found it radiating heat (should have been cold and wet from mud) that the laminitis was starting again. So, he spent the next week inside and I had to order a new muzzle that we will not alter. Sadly. he lost quite a bit of weight during this week but gladly, the laminitis stopped. My farrier and I both breathed a sign of relief.
The new muzzle has been just fine. It limits his intake to half what the other muzzle limited. Supposedly, in eight hours, he only gets what he would have gotten had he not been muzzled at all for two hours. The other muzzle with the enlarged hole probably gave him four hours of full intake in eight hours time so you can see it's a big difference. My farrier told me that the grass can change sugar content in even a hour's time during these upcoming months so being diligent is of utmost importance. And exercise is his best friend.
Since April, we've had no setbacks and you can imagine I am watching like a hawk. Because of his weight loss and the new muzzle's restriction, I have had to add a lot of extra hay and supplements to make up the difference which Bud does not mind at all. He loves food and is thankfully not picky.
We took our first ride back in May. I could tell he was excited to get out of that pasture for the first time in many months. So excited that I decided to walk him to the city well which is about a quarter mile, and we actually both jogged it because he was so excited. Meanwhile, I called Mark to have him bring me my helmet which I forgot saying, "If I'm going to get dumped, this is the day." Well, as it turned out, Bud, while excited, was SO GOOD! Our best first ride of a season ever. All that ground work and daily walks from last year, all the hard work paid off immensely. Many of the issues I'd previously had with him while riding were gone. It was truly exhilarating. All went well until he noticed there was a puddle on a spot of the trail that he had previously determined he didn't want to walk down anyway. I ended up having to get off and hand walk him to it which was a job since he was convinced he should run away. People passed on bikes and foot and shared a laugh with me about my horse being afraid of a puddle. When I finally got him to it, I jumped in it and splashed him good for being so dumb. I thought he got the point and learned something until the next time we went down this same part and he was again afraid. And again, I had to get off and lead him through it though he wasn't as big on running away as he was the first time. Once we passed it, I remounted and resumed the ride. And he was perfect from there on. Another mile passed before we turned back to once again encounter that vicious puddle. Of course when you are on the way home, things don't look near as scary and we went by it without issue. I turned him around in circles through it several times to make sure. Hopefully, this is the last incident we'll have there because it was stupid!
As I rode home, I reminded myself of how he used to come unglued at bikes passing, people with strollers passing, and at times loud hiway sounds. None of this phased him which was SO nice. In that last mile, a motorcycle came up behind us which is usually cause for me to get off because he is terrified of them. This time, I stayed on and the rider turned the engine as low as it would go while he passed (which they don't all do.) Bud never flinched. I fully expected him to at least shy sideways but nothing. Now, if it was coming up at full throttle, that may have been different but thus far, both rides have been very positive experiences, both for him and for me. We have made some real progress!
Another thing that is amazing is that I have taken him out barefoot both times. Last year, he had to wear his boots and even with them on, if we hit any gravel at all, he was ready to fall down. This year, not even a flinch. That's amazing because it's not normal. From what I read, it can take years to be at this stage of healing. My farrier believes that his laminitis was really BAD given the amount of abscesses he had, but what saved him from having the bone completely come out of the sole was that his soles were so thick to begin with. The reason for that is that he has never been shod. So we were lucky for that. His hoof has completely grown out in the heel and nearly grown out in the toe. The next trim should be the end of the broken foot. And the newer foot which will be the second foot after the broken one, is about two inches from the top is much tighter that the first foot. The farrier noted that the second year's foot is even better than the first. Definitely seeing that.
Bud's "puppy" personality has really come back as well. He has been so happy as of late. The other day, he dared me to chase him in the pasture, so I did and he ran and bucked and played with me like he did when he was a baby and it was so good to see. My farrier noticed what a sweet cuddler he was after she did his feet when he stood next to me just like another person intently listening to the conversation poking his nose in every now and then as if he had some comment to make. He could have been eating but he was cuddling with my hands and neck instead. Really cute. The farrier told me that she like the "other Bud" but loved this one. Incidentally, his farrier is the only one Bud has ever liked which is so cool. I told her that this Bud IS the real Bud, the horse he was before the years we were separated. Now, to get that Bud to translate to the trail. It is coming. I see it. Every subsequent ride gets better and I look forward to getting to the parts of this trail we used to walk with Samuel. I also look forward to the day when he'll walk into the creek with me on his back.
Thank you, Lord, for healing my horse!
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