Headshots and Health Report

A friend recently took some photos at the farm.  I was not expecting a photo-shoot, which was basically spontaneous as we walked to the barn, but, thankfully, my horse was very clean for just coming out of the paddock!  What a Good Boy.

Thank you so much for the photos!

This week has been hectic and stressful.  Unfortunately, I was on the phone with the vet earlier in the week, because Harley was not feeling well.  He was going off his feed and acting like his tummy hurt.  Harley has never colicked before and only refused dinner when he was ill last December.  The vet came out and did an exam.  He was bright-eyed and social by the time our vet arrived.  Nothing like presenting a perfectly healthy and  happy-looking "child" to the doctor, although I am not complaining!  We are not really sure what the problem was.  He could have had a low-level colic, was having trouble with the heat, as it has been unseasonably warm here, or something else which is not obvious at the moment.  Of course, we will all be keeping an eye on him and I am happy to report that he has been eating his dinner voraciously since his exam.  I can't help feeling nervous about it, but I am confident that Harley will let me know if something is not right.  When I was wondering if I should call the vet and asked this question aloud, Harley started raising his head and neck high in the air and doing the Flehmen response over and over again.  It was not your typical "Look at me.  I am cute." behavior, it was definitely more like "Look at me.  I am acting weird, so you notice that I do not feel normal."  My vet trusted my judgement.  She said that I know my horse and he knows that I will listen to him.

Thankfully, the vet's visit was positive and yielded unexpected delight.  She was raving about Harley's weight.  She said that he is a "6"!  What?!  I think that she was being overly generous, because she knows how difficult it has been to get him to put on weight.  Between his teeth, his metabolism, and his high-energy personality, putting condition on him has not been easy.  I never in a million years thought that my horse would gain weight over the winter.  That alone tells you how mild our weather was this year.  The downside is that we barely had a hard-freeze, so there are a lot of plants and other organisms that simply did not die or go dormant.  Pollen, fungi, and other pesky critters will probably be a problem early this year.  I have already found a couple ticks on Harley and his paddock mate is having some issues with his skin, probably from the persistent mud and the microbial life which it is certainly housing.  Let's just say that the vet was very busy during her barn visit.  As a teacher, I know what it is like to be bombarded with questions, but even I was amazed by how my vet just takes everything in stride and at the end of an already long day.  I do not think that I could do her job.  There are no "breaks" when you are a vet, especially when you have your own business.

Who is this round pony?  Looking good, Mr. Harley!