Happy Birthday.... let's have Trauma and Cake

Happy 6th Birthday beautiful girl!!

 

I had planned to rest my big field so after everyone ate breakfast I turned them out in the well pump pasture. I had noticed Lyric was missing one hind shoe at breakfast. When I turned them out, mild shenanigans ensued. And I guess because Lyric was gone for two nights... and probably because both girls are in heat, Dan and Fleck are being stupid again. Dan is determined to not let Lyric anywhere near Fleck. So he's herding her away from him.. keeping himself between her and Fleck.. .it's ridiculous. And meanwhile... Funny is in raging heat and chewing on Dan's hocks trying to get him to notice her, and he's completely ignoring her. Fools! So they ran around a bit too because it's a "new pasture" again. And then Jean's horses came galloping up when they realized that mine were out there. So.. anyways... after they ate their hay and I had breakfast and caught up on some things, I went to catch her. 

 

My plan was to groom her and shockwave her and then lunge her. I sort of forgot about the fact that she doesn't like being in the barn alone but... figured it would be fine. She could see them if they hung out down by the well pump. Plus... get over it. You've got to grow up and be a big girl. So I cross tied her and started grooming. She was really leaning into it when I was doing her poll on the right side. Even with Fleck screaming bloody murder for her. But then suddenly... she just reacted and pulled back. Hard. She fought it for a bit and then the hay strings broke and somehow the snap of the cross tie ended up smacking me right in the forehead. And.. I couldn't help it. It freakin' hurt... my hormones are out of control... (I started back on progesterone only BC pills after being taken off cold turkey for a month).... and I'm just... over it. I'm exhausted... I'm depleted.. I've got nothing left. So I yelled at her. And the I was pissed so I put her back in the cross ties without hay string... And she pretty much immediately did it again. Somehow her halter didn't break... and nothing gave way for a minute because she pulled hard enough that the screw eye was pulled flush against the wall. I don't even remember how she got free at that point... maybe the other sides hay string broke?? I managed to grab her again and she was freakin out. And again... I just lost it on her.  So she panicked more and scrambled around and she dragged me back out of the barn. So then I put the rope halter on her... I know... I know. I'm horrified at myself. And then I tied her back up again. And of course.... she immediately pulled back. I tried to get her to come forward, but she just flipped a switch. She goes to that panic place and just panics! So of course... the halter didn't break... the stupid hardware didn't even break.. she literally ripped the nylon cross ties in half... of course not before she lost her balance, sat down, toppled sideways... scrambled around. I thought she was going to pull the barn down or at least pull that post out of the ground. That sucker is in there SOLID! At this point Mike came out and I was seething mad... crying.. my forehead hurt. So... I gathered myself together... walked her back to the middle of the barn and just... groomed her while I held her. She was still upset too. She was trembling. And the poor thing had tore up her lip because the halter had slid into her mouth while she was pulling back. She scraped up her right shoulder... had scrapes on her nose from the halter knots... and somehow only had lost the other hind shoe. Although that may have happened while she was shenaniganning in the field before. I have yet to find the shoe but I did find blue pour in pad good next to a good solid hoof scrape mark, so... I don't know. She finally stopped trembling and was good for grooming. So then I gelled her up and shockwaved her. I probably should have done her poll too but I did go up pretty high on her nuchal ligament. She was very happy on the right side, but no real releases on the left side. So then I put her in the washrack, IN THE CROSS TIES, and she was fine. She let me hose her off.. she stood there while I grabbed a treat and left her there. No issues. I don't know what it is about the barn aisle that just blows her mind. Sigh... 

     

So then I took her up to the arena to lunge. Well, first I tried to give her some bute but she wouldn't eat it. So fine.. .suit yourself. We walked up to the arena and lunged. And luckily she didn't look any worse for the wear. She's still not sound, but she hasn't been. And she did look a hair better than she did while trotting loose in the field yesterday. She started off pretty short and choppy but by the second 5 minute lap each way she was more fluid and loose and almost sound. Sigh.. I have no idea. 

 

So then i turned her back out and Dan immediately took back over her. 

 

As I was walking back to the barn... I just cried.. At this point... screw you all. You all suck! Except for you Funny... you don't really care about the shenanigans and bullshit. You just keep doing you. But gah... Fleck was picking fights.. Dan is picking fights... Lyric is neurotic... I'm neurotic. Sigh.. maybe she's just too emotional for me. Or... I'm too emotional for her.  I'm sorry I ruined your birthday pretty girl. 

I guess at this point we'll keep up with the lunging, but I'll add bute for a week. Then next week we go see Dr. Barrow for a lameness exam and potentially/probably injecting hocks and stifles, per Dr. DeClue. She'll get her feet done in two days, so I won't even bother harassing Patrick at this point.