Don’t worry, my baseball analogies stop right there. That’s about all the baseball terminology I
know anyway. Well, except for short
stop, but since stopping is a big no-no in eventing, I’ll be leaving that one
out!
We had a very exhausting week last week. I didn’t realize what a toll it had taken on me until I rudely turned my back to conversation Saturday and wrapped myself up in the comfort of learning. Very long story short, Nutmeg spent two full days (instead of the scheduled two hours) at MU Vet clinic for a lameness exam. It was a hide-and-seek adventure helped along by technology and an excellent staff. Dr. Keegan used his Lameness Locator, ultrasound, radio graphs and a lot of expertise to diagnose and help us come up with a plan of attack. Dr. Kemper, the intern on our case, was terrific and is going to make a superb vet. Our vet student, Zack, isn’t headed into equine medicine, but he has a thirst for answers that fit perfectly with the puzzle we brought.
Twice now, I’ve kidnapped Admiral from his self-induced
semi-retirement and tossed him back into the real world and both times his has
stepped up in a big way. This weekend he
got to accompany me in a dressage lesson.
He helped point out flaws in my approach to riding, patiently rewarding
me when I did things correctly and quietly scolding me when I fell back into my
old habits. It was a really educational
session and I am so thankful for the quality instruction and the opportunity to
enjoy my boy again.
Problem Numero Uno: Not a great pic, but her coffin bone is a little more parallel to the ground then desired. Yes, this is what has been causing her back problems. We think... |
We had a very exhausting week last week. I didn’t realize what a toll it had taken on me until I rudely turned my back to conversation Saturday and wrapped myself up in the comfort of learning. Very long story short, Nutmeg spent two full days (instead of the scheduled two hours) at MU Vet clinic for a lameness exam. It was a hide-and-seek adventure helped along by technology and an excellent staff. Dr. Keegan used his Lameness Locator, ultrasound, radio graphs and a lot of expertise to diagnose and help us come up with a plan of attack. Dr. Kemper, the intern on our case, was terrific and is going to make a superb vet. Our vet student, Zack, isn’t headed into equine medicine, but he has a thirst for answers that fit perfectly with the puzzle we brought.
Problem Number 2: Fracture of the lateral wing on her right front coffin bone. |
Getting our Sensors Set-up. |
The end result: Nutmeg will (fingers crossed) be back in
work soon. She’ll be getting some snazzy
new pumps for her back feet and a little extra attention to her front feet as a
fracture deep in her hoof heals. But it will heal! I’m ecstatic.
She’s grumpy because she had to stay home and Admiral got to go play.
Our new snazzy haircut. |
Nutmeg was such a good girl, she eventually even won Zack over with her charm. |
He doesn’t know it yet, but Admiral will be doing a bit more
stepping up in the coming weeks. His
entry for Longview was sent off today.
We’re going to play it super safe and do the Starter division, which is
just two feet. I want to make it a
positive experience for him and I’m happy to eat a bit of humble pie if the
leftover goo will help firm up our foundation.
Sometimes it takes getting kicked in the teeth and a big fat
lip to teach you to open up those lips and smile. Every life path has rough patches. So, do you hideout in the dugout or step up
to the plate hoping for a swing and a hit? This week I gained a fresh perspective. Sometimes, you just need to charge the pitcher’s
mound. Take control of the game, set the
tone. It certainly isn’t any easier out
there, but if I wanted easy, I’d put a quarter in the purple pony at the super
market.