Back Scratch Please

What a great way to begin a new week. Happy Two Month B-Day Filly! She's doing so well now that her feet have been trimmed. She's off her heel & her toe is now on the ground, providing a good support base. She's no longer wearing a cuff with extensions. Her fetlock is holding stable, as is her pastern. Her pasterns have come up & are strengthening. She is beginning to run & play without fear of stumbling. Tonight the decision was made to wrap & splint with only the 1/2 cast on her left leg, not the wrap around pvc splint she's been in for almost 2 months.. It will be a big step in the right direction if her leg is truly ready for less support. Because her right leg is being wrapped in the Ace brace & a second wasn't purchased because this wonderful turn around wasn't expected yet, Filly's left leg was wrapped in a shipping boot with the 1/2 cast placed on the outside & then wrapped with vetwrap. It's probably better that a shipping boot was used because it does give more support than the Ace brace. A couple hours later Filly was still doing great in the 1/2 cast/shipping boot wrap. This is a very positive step towards a normal life for Filly. The true test though will be the removal in the morning to see if it was too little support too soon. Keep hooves crossed all that Filly continues to improve.

Filly has such a fun personality & can be such a character. She loves having the outside AND the inside of her ears brushed with her mane & tail hairbrush. She's so silly & gets the silliest looks on her face when an itchy spot is found. Right now her entire body is starting to shed the baby coat so she's itchy all over. She'll rub against you like a cat to get you scratching her. She was a naughty filly when she tried to paw CMK though. While her behavior is cute & endearing now, it won't be so cute when she's a full grown horse. Soon it'll be time for her to learn she's a horse & not a person. But until then, it's so much fun to play with her. There's plenty of time for her to be a horse. For now she's a wonderful foal who has endured so much that she's rewarded by being allowed to express herself freely.

Grey Girl is such a little cutie. She's very petite & princess like. She's still battling some diarrhea so gets swabbed in Desitin daily. She's also getting Bio-Sponge, which is helping. She's a really good girl for her Desitin but oh does she hate the Bio-Sponge. She's strong for such a little thing & does a good job of struggling against the dosing syringe. Good thing she's little. She's learning that being scratched is good so is easy to catch. She's also in the curious stage so has to check out the person that Filly is hanging around. For the first time tonight she didn't want to follow Mommy Dearest in for feeding. Boy did that upset MD, who ran back out of the stall frantically looking for her naughty filly. It was really too funny to watch GG tormenting her mother. Fillies sure can be naughty.

Mama is holding her own & we're glad the weather has cooled. She's 834lbs on the weight tape. She's lost a little in the over 100* heat & has rebounded as well as can be expected. It sure does take a lot to maintain her though. She gets 8lbs beet pulp, 8lbs oats & free choice hay daily. She also gets all the special supplements recommended by Dr Kellon. Twice a day she gets 1/2 cup flax seed, probiotics, digestive enzymes, RationPlus, 4 tablespoons salt, 6 oz aloe vera juice, & another supplement to help with her pancreatitis & malabsorption. It's paying off though because she is looking better with her protruding bones getting softer & softer. As Filly grows it's going to be a struggle to keep Mama maintained because a growing foal takes a lot out of a mare. Hopefully Mama will remain stable until Filly is weaned. For now we're just happy that she's improved to where she is because her prognosis was not good. She's a nice mare & has deserved this chance at life.