Doctor Visit

Today was the day the stables held their shot clinic. That is when a vet comes out and does shots for everyone at the stable who wants them. It's nice, because the cost of the house call is spread out amongst everyone and the shots are pretty inexpensive that way. I signed up, because I am pretty sure he hasn't gotten his shots for a couple of years. I should try and contact the vet in Amarillo and see if they can send me his file. Anyway, I was excited about getting the shots since that meant Ashke could move out of isolation and into a stall where he could sniff and snort with horses on at least one side of him. He is feeling pretty isolated right now, and I'm sure that after having two horse roommates it's tough being alone.

The shot clinic was supposed to start at noonish, so I was up at 6 am. I just couldn't sleep any more and knew we had a lot to do today. By 9 am, J and I were on our way to Stockyard Supply in Commerce City (they have really screwy hours and the only time we can get there is on Saturday morning before noon.) We got shampoo, a new halter (size small with an adjustable nose band which fits very nicely), 25 lb bag of Apple flavored horse cookies, a 6lb bag of Peppermint flavored horse cookies, a cover for my saddle (which we originally planned on buying at Down Under Saddlery but opted for the $11 cover instead of the $71 cover), tail brush (which works very nicely), a small mineral block (he's already eaten more than half of his first one) and a cage for the mineral block. The halter is a bright magenta and looks great on Ashke's head. After we fitted everything into the car, we drove back home and got my saddle, blanket, bridle, and various other items and then headed for the barn.

Ashke met us at the door to his stall. He watched with great interest as we carried all of the items into the tack room and was very appreciative of the peppermint treats. He loved them. Which kind of amazed J, because she didn't think horses would really like peppermint. I fitted the new halter to fit him, which it does on the smallest holes. Ashke has such a small, neat head I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. When we led him out of the stall he so didn't want to go into the grooming stall, so I decided we should walk him around to the front of the barn where the outdoor wash stall was. The wind was still blowing, but I figured he would rather be outside than inside. When we got over there he walked right onto the concrete pad and let me tie him to the rail.

We groomed him pretty good. I trimmed all of the long, long hair on the sides of his face. J combed out his mane, tail and forelock. I was able to shed out the matted hair along each side of his spine, which I think made him feel a lot better. That part of his back has been bugging since we first saw him the beginning of March. It was so sensitive he wouldn't let me use the stiff brush on that area. Think half inch dreadlocks covered in horse poo. Today, we bribed him with treats and either the treats made the difference or maybe he just liked being outside, but I was able to pick up and clean all four feet without any problem. His hips are starting to fill out and although you can see his ribs, they are getting better.

Then we walked around and let him eat grass and sniff other horses while we waited for the vet. He showed up about 1:15 and Ashke was the first horse he looked at. He asked how old Ashke was and was surprised at his age. I explained that he was a rescue and showed him pictures of what he looked like a month ago. He opted not to give him the vaccines, thinking he needed to put on more weight before the vaccines will be effective. He wormed him and told me he would come back out in five weeks (I need to call him but he won't charge me the travel fee) to give him the vaccines and float his teeth. He also said Ashke's front right shoulder was injured, but it doesn't seem to be effecting his ability to move. I figure he got kicked to go with all of the bites and nips he has on him. We set a tentative date of May 15th to have the vet come back out. He will probably have to be isolated until then, but that's better than having the vaccines not work. I hope the vet can do a complete check on him when he comes out in May. In the meantime, I need to call the farrier and get him to come out and do shoes on Ashke.

After the wormer, we walked Ashke over to the big outdoor arena. He took off as soon as T released the lead rope. T and he ran up and down the arena for a good ten minutes. You can see it in the video I have attached. All in all it was a good day.