Well, it's been an interesting week. We had the vet out on Monday to look at Shae's hind right hock - it was very swollen and she was really hurting (didn't want to put weight on it, etc...). The diagnosis was pastern dermatitis (scratches) that allowed an infection called lymphangitis to set in. Luckily, we caught it VERY early and she's on a course of antibiotics which really seem to be helping. Swellings pretty much gone - and we clipped her feathers off the affected foot. Still doing the topical treatment, but I'm really glad I had the vet come out. I went online and researched the conditions. Boy, they can turn into some nasty looking infections! Nothing Shae has even comes close to the online examples I found. Luckily, she's in a nice, clean field without any standing water. However, the Maryland humidity, high temperatures, and night-time dew make it easy for mild cases of scratches to be a summertime problem for feathered horses and their owners. I'll have to take the camera out and take some pictures of her.
Ren's sidebones are flaring up a bit as well.... luckily, I have a little gaited horse that we moved over to the farm for me to start, so I've had a horse to play with despite my girls' limitations at the moment.
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