Monday, January 14, 2008

The Sore Horse Support Group

It has certainly helped me a lot to hear from readers who commiserate with Lexi being lame. The consensus seems to be that just as, "eventually, all horses go lame at some point," eventually the majority of horses become sound again. Misery does indeed love company, even in the horse world.

There's a certain amount of comfort that comes from hearing other horse people tell me, "Hey, I've been in your (horse) shoes myself."

That got me to thinking. There are all sorts of support groups out there, where people gather to share their tales, their struggles, and gain strength and insight from others who are facing the same challenges. I'm beginning to think that horse lovers could also form some support groups. First on the list? The Sore Horse Support Group. We could all sit in a circle, atop bales of hay, and trade stories about our lame beasties. Then again, there's always the virtual world... anyone in the Horse Talk Forums?

As for my lame beastie, Lexi was walking a little better today. But the bulb of her heel is exquisitely sore, so much so that she doesn't even want me to press on it. (Because, of course you know that I have to investigate her foot 19 times a day to see if anything looks different). Following my vet's advice, I slathered icthamol all over her heel in hopes that the tarry goo will draw an abscess to a head.

In the meantime, I have little to do but wait. Wait for my vet to come back on Friday to re-assess Lexi's foot and perhaps take x-rays. Wait for the farrier appointment on Saturday. Wait for my husband to say, finally, "Wow, horses are expensive! And man, how can such a big, strong animal be so fragile?"

Comments are always welcome! Just click on "comments" below.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

You said that "Misery does indeed love company, even in the horse world". You better take it back and be careful. Or Wally might start hobbling around the pasture, too!

Anonymous said...

Support groups sounds like a good idea! I can think of one more, "the no-one-else-is-a-horse-person support group".

Anonymous said...

Support groups sounds like a good idea! I can think of one more, "the no-one-else-is-a-horse-person support group".

Anonymous said...

oops posted twice. sorry

Anonymous said...

How about the group, "Why-Does-Everyone-BUT-Me-have-A-Horse?"

Anonymous said...

Horses always choose the most inconvenient times to go lame too. The horse my sister and I part-lease has mild navicular, and, naturally, it flared up the day before the last 4H show of the year. Fortunately, we were able to borrow the mare we had leased the previous year for the day, so my sister was still able to compete, and I rode the gelding we own, and the lame horse was sound again the next day, so it all worked out, but its always frustrating and nerve-wracking when things like that happen.

Anonymous said...

Not having heard what happened to Lexi, I submit...have you tried soaking her foot in warm Epsom salt water for 20 min twice a day?
I used to do that for my horse (who has chronic foot problems) whenever he got sore or bruised.
I also have a jar of that smelly black goo!
Hint: To keep her happy while soaking, feed her a bag of hay, because believe me you will have to sit right next to her until your 20 min are up!

Anonymous said...

YA, the everyone-has-a-horse-except-me-even-if-they-don't-super-want-it. haha. i can't get into the horse talk forum. i have an account here, but i don't have a user name, tryed putting in my e-mail, but didn't work. anyone know what to do????

Anonymous said...

Yeah-- to register for the forum, go to this page:

http://board.horsechannel.com/Join.aspx?SessionID=s3cgdz45nw0av0550hihsqfv

Anonymous said...

i love you