By: Admin
It has now been about 1 ½ months since I first met Velvet. A lot of changes have taken place. Velvet is eating three regular meals a day plus hay and grass. She is up to 2 ½ cups of foal feed each feeding. Slowly her exposed bony features are fading and she has grown at least one inch if not more, My first measure was not totally accurate. Currently she stands at 12 hands and ½ inch.
The vet came and gave Velvet her first check up and first round of immunizations. She checked out the mysterious cough and found nothing. Since Velvet has been a world traveler my veterinarian suspects she is fighting off mild respiratory issues and getting over the travel. She has only been at her forever home for about 3 weeks and a recovery cough can last up to a month. Her check up went well, but I had some questions, one of which was whether she had an umbilical hernia or not. Some how I just knew and as it turns out she does. The abnormality in the wall of the abdomen is about 5 mm, which is luckily quite small. After discussing options with my veterinarian it is in her best interest to take care of the problem now, before it turns into something worse. The size of the hernia is so small that the intestines cannot fit through the hole, but it could worsen and then Velvet would be at risk of strangulating colic. I will be scheduling Velvet for surgery in early January. In the meantime I am faithfully rubbing her belly daily to help slow down any advancement of the hernia, she loves to have her belly rubbed so we have no problem here.
Now onto what Velvet has learned so far. Coming to the barn at night has turned into a breeze. We started by using a rump rope and that was the only way Velvet would come in at night. It was a few steps at a time, but we made it. Then we got to the point that when Velvet stopped I laid the rump rope on the top of her rump and no actual use of it and she and I would walk to the barn. Then Velvet just decided one day that putting her halter on and leading loosely was enough and no more rump rope. Last week I decided that I would take her halter along, but try just looping the lead rope around her neck to see if this was enough and it was. I lead her straight in without a problem. Just a couple of days ago I walked out and just touched her neck with the lead rope and she march right past me up the path and into the barn. I did not need to actually use the rope at all. This occurred for a few days and then all I had to do was let her know I was there and she came into the barn and stood all on her own! I personally feel this was a great hurdle to leap over, especially after seeing the troubles one owner had with her horse at Velvet's temporary home. The owner brought her yearling into the barn and then had to pull the draft cross from one side to the other to make her step forward. I never had this problem with a horse and thought to myself, I will never let Velvet become this kind of horse. Needless to say in the 3 weeks I have had Velvet home with me, I am very happy that she has learned this! Velvet is also learning to stand tied and we are still lifting legs, however my lack of time for continuous training in this area has slowed down our accomplishments, but I see improvements every day. Fortunately, I can see that Velvet is wearing down her hooves naturally and at night when she is laying down I can clean and check her hooves. Velvet has come along way from never being handled 1 ½ months ago to now, especially since she has only really been handled regularly for about 3 weeks. I am in no rush to attempt to force her to trust me. That takes time and we have a lot of ground time for that. I have had to gently correct her for chewing on the barn door and needless pestering the goats, but she seems to be breaking of these quite easily.
I think she is still a bit nervous, being the only horse and taking charge of the goats, which she has already done. However, she does not seem to miss horses, at least in a way that I understand. I am noticing that routine is extremely important to her comfort level. I varied on evening when the electricity went out and I notice a difference in her, but now we are back to normal. Other than the hernia all is well so far. I don't particularly look forward to the surgery, but I sure can't wait to put it behind us! I will continue to update on Velvet's progress. Start watching the training articles for details on her training coming soon.
One final thought. It is known that when food is utilized properly, there is a decrease in the output, if you know what I mean. When I first brought Velvet home I was cleaning the barn constantly, because she was outputting everything she was eating (winter grass has nothing in it to speak of), but now barn cleaning is minimal, another great sign that she is getting more of what she needs and can utilize it.
