Explanation. We have a horse on stall rest following colic surgery. This has taken over the blog. [Begin]
Milton is four weeks post surgery Week 3 of stall rest
Milton is in a mood. Greg was cleaning the stall, so the top half of the stall door was open. Rodney went over to the corner of the run-in to get a drink. Milton left his hay, walked over several feet, stuck his head out the door, bit Rodney, and then went back to eating his hay.
Weekly tele-vet check-in. Sent pics of tum to vet. Verdict. Incision looks good. Healing well. Yay!
Explanation. We have a horse on stall rest following colic surgery. This has taken over the blog. [Begin]
Milton is four weeks post surgery Two weeks at clinic DONE Two weeks of at-home stall rest DONE Starting week 3 of four weeks of stall rest Four weeks paddock rest Four weeks pasture rest
Since it was the weekend, we had time to try a few new things. Reminder. Milton on stall rest. Rodney in companion (& partly self-imposed) confinement in the area next to the stall.
1) Team walks. Both horses out on leadropes. Rodney was excited. We bailed early not so much because Rodney was hard to handle, but because I was stressed about what might happen if he were to get away.
Voting this one down. While Milton is out, Rodney appears to prefer being in the stall cleaning up Milton’s leftover. This seems wrong. Rodney should get out of the barn. However, the point is enrichment for the horse. He gets to chose what he enjoys. Most horses want out of a stall. Rodney wants in.
Milton did not care one way or the other that Rodney was along on his walk. I think the bonding is one-sided. Dude, we’ve all been there.
2) Fed Rodney hay on the porch, an area of the field just outside the barn. We had time to hang out & keep eye on Milton. Rodney got some sun. Milton got used to seeing Rodney a little bit farther away.
Worked better, although Rodney only lasts for a short while before he wanders back in.
3) Took Milton for one long outing of 20 minutes rather than two 10-minute walks. Was more work for him. He was ready to come in.
Another keeper. Gentle increases in exercise are good therapy.
Partly it’s about what the horses want, or need, or enjoy, partly its about what we are able to cope with. We be a little jumpy at the moment.
Explanation. We have a horse on stall rest following colic surgery. This has taken over the blog. [Begin]
28 days post surgery Second week of at-home stall rest
House acted up last week. Truck acted up this week. House trouble fixed with rental of the proper tools. Truck trouble seems to have resolved itself. (!?!? 🤞). I can’t figure out if this is bad luck, or good luck, or just life.
And of course, Milton, who had terrible, invasive surgery but then was a model patient. (🤞). Bad luck? Good luck? Life?
Explanation. We have a horse on stall rest following colic surgery. This has taken over the blog. [Begin]
27 days post surgery Second week of at-home stall rest
Hay continues to go in. Poop continues to come out.
Yay, poop! 💩
Looking Ahead
SNEAK PEEK! You’ve asked, so we will offer MEDALS as one of your award choices for the 2023 Tevis Cup Virtual Ride event. Entries will post in early March with your 100 days to complete 100 miles starting April 19, 2023. Watch here for updates!”
Looks to be a hanging medal in the fashion of the iconic belt buckle. Nice balance between including the virtual riders in the tradition while leaving the actual buckles for the IRL ride.
This year’s event will begin April 19th. allowing entrants 100 days to complete the distance – finishing up under the same moon as the date of the actual Tevis Cup Ride on July 29th.
Thoughts on SF History class from another student, Cosmic Codex: Science fiction: A genre with a mission, Brian Scott Pauls, 26 January 2023. I believe you can read/listen to it without subscribing. If the link is not direct, click “No Thanks” on the landing page and chose the title from the table of contents. [Blanket Adjustment, announcement of class]
The original plan was to have Rodney in at night to keep Milton company.
When we bought the property, the barn had four small stalls with a center aisle. We turned two stalls into one stall and the rest of the space into an open-sided area that the horses use for a run-in shed. Roof, one wall is the stall, two walls of wood fencing, and one open side. For Southern summers, one wants as much breeze as possible.
When Mathilda needed to be kept up, we built two sets of two slats (four total) to close off the open side, photo.
To get ready for Milton, we dug out the remaining slats and replaced the others. You have to slide out two slats every time you want to get a horse through. You wouldn’t want this as a permanent feature, but for a while, it’s okay.
Milton would have the stall. Rodney would be closed into the run-in at night. During the day, we would open the side and let him come and go as he pleased.
That was the plan anyway.
Milton doesn’t want Rodney to leave. Rodney doesn’t want to go.
Seriously. Greg stands with Milton. I open the gate. Rodney stands there and looks at us.
Partly, when people are around to watch over Milton, that means people are around who might break out in cookies or hay. If we left the the run-in open for an extended period, he might might wander off to graze. Maybe.
I give even odds or better that Rodney wouldn’t leave, even if he had the option.
He really doesn’t want to leave Milton. If I take him out, I have to insist. If I let him go, he runs back. If I go too far, Milton screams. In a recent test, Rodney got as far as the ring and Milton started bucking in the stall. That was fun. If we take them out together, Rodney wants to play.
I don’t know if this will be sustainable for the duration. For now, Rodney is on the same stall rest as Milton, albeit with slightly more space. Yesterday morning, Rodney & I went for a short walk back and forth within sight of the barn.
As long as Rodney is good with it, we are doing whatever is needful to keep Milton happy and calm.
Veterinary Orders, provided no complications in previous months Feb 13, graduates to small paddock March 13, pasture privileges restored April 13, light work begins
Milton Recap
25 days post surgery Second week of at-home stall rest
Milton has been good about being confined to a stall. We’ve all heard stories about stall rest turning previously mild-mannered horses in horse-shaped kites. This may be in our future. So far, so chill. Milton hangs out, eats hay, and bites at Rodney through the mesh.
Milton and his minion go for two 10-minute outings each day, per veterinary orders of 15-20 minutes total. This seems a ridiculously short amount of time, but Milton is tired afterwards. Healing is hard work.
Milton gets upset is when Rodney is out of sight. Fortunately, Rodney is being very good about staying in to keep Milton company.
Reflections
New plan.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been putting up daily patient reports on a separate page. Meanwhile, I continued to post here. I have been basically writing a second daily blog. Double posting didn’t worry me. I do love the sound of my own typing.
I looked at my post shedule for the upcoming weeks, saw holes everywhere, and thought, I got nothing.
It wouldn’t be all that hard to figure something out. I’ve managed so far.
Maybe it’s time to simplify.
From now on, until we – the barn we, I have no idea about the global we – regain status quo ante, I am bringing the Milton Updates over here and dispensing with, well, pretty much anything else. The separate Milton Update page has been removed.
That’s why the banquet post was on Monday when I just got done saying saddle seat would be on Thursdays. And it will go back to being on Thursdays, once we resume our regular broadcast. Stall rest chronicle or not, I wasn’t about to let ribbons go unremarked! [ASHAA, How Wednesday Became Thursday]
Virtual Brush Box 