Fritzy's On The Mend

It has been a week now since Fritzy's first emergency visit from the vet. For 3 days we did Furazone sweats, cold hosing and Bute. The weather was awful as usual and it rained so hard. Fritzy had to be moved out of her outdoor stall, but to where? We didn't have anywhere dry to put her. The ground here is literally saturated in water and it has been so wet this year that the inside of their shed was total mud. This is the first time that their shed has been muddy inside. There is so much water and no where for it to go. Chance's shed was dry, but her pasture has at least a foot deep in mud as well. I could not put another animal back into Brandy and Fritzy's pasture in order to use Chance's dry shed. I had no options. My friend at work, M, suggested that we could move my sister's horse to her house. She has 5 acres and 2 horses and she didn't mind taking care of him, actually he used to be her horse when my sister started leasing him, before she bought him. I talked to my OH about moving my sis's boy to M's house, and that we had to get Fritzy out of the outdoor stall. It was now mud and she was standing in mud again. In order for a quick and full recovery for Fritzy, we had to move my sister's horse, there just wasn't any other way. I hated doing that, but I needed the boy's pasture. It is the only pasture on our property that has plenty of dry area's for Brandy and the goats to get out of the mud, and I could turn the 12 x 16 shed into a stall for Fritzy.

My friend M was going to pick up my sis's boy on Thursday evening. That would give my OH and I plenty of time to get Fritzy's new stall prepared for her. Then my friend called to say she wasn't going to make it to pick up the boy that night. I was in a panic. I needed that stall for Fritzy, and the pasture for Brandy and the goats. I had to get Fritzy out of the mud. My OH was working late and I didn't know if we could get the stall prepared and get my sis's boy moved to M's before dark. Earlier I had gone and bought 10 bags of shavings, so when my OH got home we dumped 7 bags in to start. We hustled our butts off and started stall preparations. We brought in a muck bucket for her water, hooked up her grain bucket and put one of our 12 foot arena panels up for the gate. It was pouring rain and very cold. I haltered Fritzy and led her to her new stall. Fritzy was in horse heaven! It was dry and bedded deep in shavings. She rolled a few times. I had to re-wrap her legs in standing wraps and then we went to hook up the horse trailer. My sister had arrived in time to go catch her boy and load him up. It was getting dark and we were hoping to get to M's house before total darkness set in.

As we were driving to M's, it rained even harder. The rain just wasn't going to let up anytime soon. Once we got to M's, we unloaded my sis's boy and put him in her round pen. Then it started hailing. It was hailing so hard. I have never been so angry at the weather before. I mean, this is the middle of April, and it was hailing? Then we unloaded her hay and my OH and I had to get home. It was now dark.

Fritzy was walking much better on Friday. And the swelling had gone down a lot in 3 of her legs. The right front was still a little swollen, but that one was the worst. I had been continuing with dry standing wraps on all 4's per my vet's instruction. My vet came out on Saturday morning to take her wraps off and check her legs. She called me at work and told me how happy she was with how Fritzy's legs looked. She praised me up and down, saying what a wonderful job I had done with Fritzy. She said that it makes such a huge difference when you have someone that is very knowledgeable about horses. Plus it helped save me money by knowing how to do standing wraps, and not having the vet come out every day to change wraps. She said she left the standing wraps off, and I was to check her legs that evening. If they started to swell, then I was to wrap all her legs again. But if not, then she could go without wraps. She was to still continue her stall rest until Monday, when she could possibly be turned out again. She didn't want to rush anything, and have Fritzy get turned out too soon. Even though there are a lot of areas that Fritzy can get out of the mud, we need to keep her legs dry and mud free for now.

I might just keep her in her stall and hand walk her for a few more days. I don't want to have a relapse. She is on the mend, and I can tell she is feeling better. She is back to her dominant, bitchy self! I am so happy that the outcome did not go the wrong way. With these kind of things, you just never know how they will turn out.

And guess what? It is still raining....... all I ask is for is an end in sight to the rain....please!