The Second Chance Event Team is potentially going to have a giant setback. My 5 year old gelding Bailey has developed a large bony mass on his jaw. It appears on x-ray to be bone and not an abscess. So far my vet, and a second consulting vet have not been able to determine the cause of the growth. It is directly under the interdental space where the bit goes in the horse's mouth and doesn't seem to involve any teeth or tooth roots where abscesses or fibromas are more common.
The remaining theories are that it is bone healing over an old fracture, or it is a form of bone cancer.
The idea that it is a healing fracture is not likely due to no significant fracture evidence being found on the x-ray... and also it is not likely because I handle Bailey every single day, twice a day, and monitor his food consumption. There is no way in my mind that Bay suffered a broken jaw without my knowing it. He would have been swollen, and resistant to having a halter put on him since the noseband would have hit the traumatized area. And I would think that he would have had a hard time chewing and therefore I would have noticed that he was not eating all his feed.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bailey is scheduled for a bone biopsy which should give us a definitive diagnosis. I will update the blog when I know more.
P~
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Settling in for the Long Wait
Patience. I wish I had more patience. I am thinking about how patient I am going to have to be as I settle in for the long wait for the baby to be born. I have ridden Tokaj up until almost five months of pregnancy with the promise to myself that I would really concentrate on how I was feeling and stop if it became uncomfortable in any way. Some of you may know that doctors say no riding horses during pregnancy... but their concern is really about falling off... not about bouncing at the trot. You can be a runner, but not a rider in their minds due to what they percieve as a huge risk of falling on your abdomen.
I think the risk can be minimized (to equal that of falling down on your own or a vehicle accident) by riding only gentle, trained, predictable horses in very controlled circumstances like in the indoor arena where I ride Tokaj. That way a spook is unlikely and so are any bucking episodes. So that is what I did. Like I said, I promised myself I would be careful and stop when I felt anything negative.... well, I am calling it quits on riding until after the baby is born. And what is funny is that I really never felt physically BAD, but I can't control my core muscles (abdominals etc) anymore, and I am having a harder time not banging around on poor Tokaj as I get bigger and bigger and bigger... so I have decided that for Tokaj's sake, I will stop now while she still is looking forward to seeing me each day. We aren't progressing on the finer details of our partnership because I am simply too ungainly in my attempts at athletic and subtle communication.
I am bringing Tokaj home this weekend or next week from Stonewall. I will be very sad to go. There are sure a lot of really nice people who board and work at the stable. The great thing (at least I think so now.... ask me when I am 8 months +) is that having the three horses at home gives me something physical to do each day. I get up and do barn chores: clean stalls, feed, take hay to the paddock, water, turn out horses, and groom horses in the morning and in the evening I feed and bring horses in from the pasture. It seems like it should be simple and easy, but with my wide-load... it actually is a workout! :)
I am reluctantly getting into baby stuff. I am such a tomboy. I told my husband that at least he won't be confused as to whether I love the baby or just dressing him/her up like a doll... because I am SO NOT turned on by the frilly baby clothes and cutesy stuff. I know... I'm weird. BUT one good thing about baby stuff I found out is that they have jogging/all terrain strollers that resemble four wheel drive vehicles... and some are even made by JEEP! How cool is that? I am also very excited about baby backpacks (for mom to pack around baby while doing horse stuff). I guess there is something amid all the baby stuff even for the most tomboyish of us moms.
I will continue to update the Second Chance blog especially as the arena begins to be constructed. That is something new to me and it is quite a challenge to design an arna with proper base and footing, when you have never done it before and especially when you have not done it in a rainy/wet/muddy state. AND I have to explain to a excavation company how to do it since no one (in my price range) specializes in all-weather riding surfaces.
P~
I think the risk can be minimized (to equal that of falling down on your own or a vehicle accident) by riding only gentle, trained, predictable horses in very controlled circumstances like in the indoor arena where I ride Tokaj. That way a spook is unlikely and so are any bucking episodes. So that is what I did. Like I said, I promised myself I would be careful and stop when I felt anything negative.... well, I am calling it quits on riding until after the baby is born. And what is funny is that I really never felt physically BAD, but I can't control my core muscles (abdominals etc) anymore, and I am having a harder time not banging around on poor Tokaj as I get bigger and bigger and bigger... so I have decided that for Tokaj's sake, I will stop now while she still is looking forward to seeing me each day. We aren't progressing on the finer details of our partnership because I am simply too ungainly in my attempts at athletic and subtle communication.
I am bringing Tokaj home this weekend or next week from Stonewall. I will be very sad to go. There are sure a lot of really nice people who board and work at the stable. The great thing (at least I think so now.... ask me when I am 8 months +) is that having the three horses at home gives me something physical to do each day. I get up and do barn chores: clean stalls, feed, take hay to the paddock, water, turn out horses, and groom horses in the morning and in the evening I feed and bring horses in from the pasture. It seems like it should be simple and easy, but with my wide-load... it actually is a workout! :)
I am reluctantly getting into baby stuff. I am such a tomboy. I told my husband that at least he won't be confused as to whether I love the baby or just dressing him/her up like a doll... because I am SO NOT turned on by the frilly baby clothes and cutesy stuff. I know... I'm weird. BUT one good thing about baby stuff I found out is that they have jogging/all terrain strollers that resemble four wheel drive vehicles... and some are even made by JEEP! How cool is that? I am also very excited about baby backpacks (for mom to pack around baby while doing horse stuff). I guess there is something amid all the baby stuff even for the most tomboyish of us moms.
I will continue to update the Second Chance blog especially as the arena begins to be constructed. That is something new to me and it is quite a challenge to design an arna with proper base and footing, when you have never done it before and especially when you have not done it in a rainy/wet/muddy state. AND I have to explain to a excavation company how to do it since no one (in my price range) specializes in all-weather riding surfaces.
P~
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