Lex: The Queen of Minor Injuries

Oh, horses. Just when you think you're going to make it to 35 with no grey hair...

I took her over the hill for our on-site vet to check out her back. And you know what? She was lame in her left front. Hobbling, head-bobbing lame.

Whaaaaaaaaat.

Fortunately, the vet thinks she's just got a bruise or an abscess. I soaked her hoof for 20 minutes, to her extreme annoyance.

At least her coat is shiny?

She hates, hates, hates having to keep her foot in a bucket.

Tomorrow I'll soak her hoof again, though I think instead of fighting with the bucket issue, I'll put the Epsom salts and some water in a diaper and tape it to her foot and let her hand graze. That should make her happy. But she'll not love the fact that I have to ice her back for 30 minutes while her hoof is soaking. The vet thinks she has a bruised rib, which she probably got from either rolling on a rock, getting kicked or stepped on by another horse, or getting run into something. In any case, it's not from anything good, but it's not the end of the world. Time will fix it.

The barn owners let her stay up in the nice barn tonight but she's getting kicked out at 7am sharp, because they're overloaded. I'm bummed about that, because even though there's no medical reason she can't walk around with a bruise or an abscess, I feel like she's getting chased around the field a lot, and I don't want her to have to run around while her foot hurts. Additionally, I'm guessing her back injury was probably the result of something that happened with another horse. This is the downside of pasture boarding: I can't leave her in a barn with other horses in it during the day or overnight. I also think this herd isn't good for her, because she comes in with new scrapes and bumps and bruises pretty much daily, and she's been there for two months now.

Soooooooo, I think Lex is going to move. It's not set in stone yet, but I'm leaning toward moving her to the boarding facility run by the woman I work for at the lesson barn. It's nothing against the barn I'm at now - I hope to continue working there - but I'm not sure it's working out for us. We could use a jumping ring and a stall. I'll keep riding Duchess, because I'd never abandon that lovely mare. I think my time will be stretched even more thinly than it is now, but I'll make it work.

 I know that most of you have had to make hard decisions to move your horses, and I'm not taking this lightly. I've been stewing over it for weeks, but the past few days have brought it to a head for me. I am on a very tight budget, but I owe this horse the best environment for her that I can manage. Regina will let me work off a significant portion of the board, which is very helpful indeed, and the rest she can just take out of my paycheck from the lesson barn.

I just hope that my current barn owners understand. I've been working there a lot longer than I've had Lex, so fingers crossed that we can just keep being buddies even though she isn't there now. They're great people, so I'm optimistic. Have any of you managed to move your horse without creating drama or hurting the feelings of your former barn owners? Am I overthinking this?