I broke my pony!!!!!

Welllllllll, today Sherrie and I headed up to the Goldfields to ride. On the dirt road to the parking spot, at 9:30am, ther was a Diamondback rattler on the road....not sure if he was dead or alive before Sherrie ran him over, but, he was definitely dead after....

Anywho, we unloaded the horses. AS I was grooming Santana, it was obvious his back was sore. Move to his feet. Swelling in his fetlocks. Pharoh had an owie too, around his girth area. Nope. Ride cancelled. Before leaving the trailhead I texted my new "wonderhands" chiro horse vet, and told her Santana needed her asap. By the time I got home, Dr. Deb had texted me back, and, having a soft spot for Santana, she would come out this afternoon (its Sunday) and work on him. She started out doing traditional lameness tests. Santana was dead lame on his front right and hind left. Terrific. She eventually moved onto the body work. He was very, very sore, to where secondary ulcers (very mild) had set in from the stress of the pain. Great. She did bodywork on him for a long time, but could on'y do so much do to his pain. She was here for about three hours. Three hours. She left me with holistic meds for the ulcers and pain meds are on order. No riding for at least a week, maybe two. Hose his legs down twice a day. ( I also just ordered fetlock ice wraps next-day -delivery.) The next NATRC ride is in CA and is in about a month.....IF we can go, I don't know what kind of shape he will be in. I am the best possible position to chase points now, if I am going to do it, and this ride is important. I over worked him this week, though the lameness in his right front has been a bit of an ongoing problem, not sure why. Dr. Debra suspects there could be an abcess brewing in there. Argh. She will re-check him in a few days.....

So, I went from being on top of the world with Santana, to worried sick. Heavy sigh.

If you need an awesome vet around here, contact Dr. Debra Tibbetts. www.HealingHandsEquine.com