As the year ends...

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Tadg is showing a lot more energy the last couple of days.  When I was cleaning his stall he was kicking up his heels and bouncing back and forth between his double wide stall and little paddock.  Ever vigilante, Tadg noticed right away that I switched our mare Fog with our mare Nainsi.  That bothered him a good part of the day.  I am able to walk up on both sides now and pet him and get a hold of his halter.  The vision in his left eye seems fine.  The swelling has gone down quite a bit and is beginning to sink into the socket.  Tadg allows me to rub his face all over except for the immediate area around the socket.

I have a lot of questions for Dr. McFadden.  I am still cautious about doing much with him for fear of causing further injury.  I am looking forward to the day I can at least take him for a walk around the farm.

I was to have lunch with several horse woman today.  I always look forward to our lunch.  However, things happen and I had to go back home.  If any read this, I want you to know how much I missed going to lunch and hope you all had a great time.

If anyone is interested in seeing our border collie puppies go to connemaraponies.dyndns.org (no www.)

I am also attaching a couple of pictures of Tadg's head.  Have a great New Year and Happy trails will we meet again.  Marcia

Sorry I have not been around for a few days.  Despite a flu shot, I got the flu.  Monday morning I did a little Friendly Game with Tadg and found he was comfortable with my hands flapping around his face and rubbing his ears, nostrils, and face.  He was very calm and quiet.  There is clearly less swelling and the area is beginning to sink.  Despite his calmness when I was with him, earlier today I scared him when I started cleaning the stall next to his.  Tadg bolted out of his stall area and into the paddock.  It is instances like this that remind me he is still not comfortable with having lost his eye and it will take a while to eliminate his fears.

Everyone have a wonderful Christmas!!
Happy trails till we meet again.  Marcia

Two weeks have passed

First off, it is sad when you go outside and the temperature is 21 and you think it is nice!  That was how I felt one day last week when it was only 3 degrees in the am, but with the sun shining and 21, it felt real spring like!

Christmas break begins today.  I hope to have time working with the other horses.  Little Moss needs to learn to be lead in and out of the barn.  Fog, McDuff and Nainsi will get started in ground work for the winter.  Fog is under saddle and a real sweetie.  McDuff, my Irish red head, is only two, but also very calm and gentle.  Of course, Nainsi is an old hand and just needs more finesse,

Playing with the above with Parelli Natural Horsemanship is a refresher and practice for me, so when I can begin working with Tadg, I will be comfortable with the games.  The swelling is going down a great deal.  Today I spent time petting him on the right side.  It took a few tries, but finally he started eating and let me pet him.  Up till now, I would go to the left side first and then to the right, but I felt I needed to address his right side first.  Everyday Tadg has been calmer.  He does not flinch when I go in with my wheelbarrow to clean his stall.  I can even clean around his feet.  I do not know when the stitches will be removed and how long I will have to wait after that to work with him.  However, I really feel I work with him everyday by simply being around him and touching him.  This is the Friendly Game for him at this time.  Hopefully I will be able to play the entire Friendly Game with him soon.

For those that do not speak "Parelli"  the friendly Game is a game to see where the horse is in relationship to his environment.  At this time, it is probably the most important game for him.  Can you touch your horse every place, do movements such as a lead rope swinging around and over his body freak him out are questions to be answered with the Friendly Game. Speaking of Parelli, as a teacher I felt he made a comment on a video I thought said a lot.  He said one must have confidence to become curious and one must have curiosity to learn.  I really like that.  It works for kids and horses.

Happy trails till we meet again.

Day 11

Brrr it is cold today!  High of 21.  And snow!  Started out with a 2 hour delay, but it soon turned into a day off school.   Doc came out to see Tadg today.  Since I had a snow day, I was able to be there.  Doc came prepared with treats another client gave him.  Tadg immediately became Doc's best buddy.  They were some treat.  Doc felt everything looked fine.  He told me that it will take a while before the swelling is gone.  First a blood clot forms then tissue will cover the blood clot.  Another worry, however, is that Tadg might loose sight in his left eye if there had been any damage to the nerve.  So far, his left eye seems fine.  Originally I was told the stitches would come out in two weeks. We'll see.  Even though Tadg is adjusting to being by himself for the most part, I sort of worry about putting him with the rest of the herd.  I imagine that will be the next major obstacle.  Which horses will he be with in the pasture?

Unusual noises still make Tadg jump, but he appears to be adjusting to the loss of his right eye.  No longer does he turn his head to peer into his food dish with his left eye.  He made me think of a duck.  There is a tremendous change in ten days.  It is hard not to rush things, but I know with Tadg's personality, he has to decide when it is right.  Linda Parelli determined Tadg was a right-brain introvert and needs the time to think things through.  Christmas break is soon which means I will have more time to be around Tadg and perhaps take him for walks.

Day 3 to 5: The Move

On Day 3, we moved Tadg to our Nursery Stall. The Nursery Stall is a large stall with access to an outside paddock that would afford Teig more room to move around. In addition, it would allow him to be less removed from the other animals and he was able to communicate and see them over the fence. The weather had warmed, and become rainy. He was still in pain, and avoiding contact. We attempted to put the halter on him in preparation for Docs visit, but it was not to be. It became a game of chase, and we opted out.
At this point, my emotional state is at wits end. My best buddy won't let me near him and shows no sign of changing. I didn't sleep well that night. I decided I needed to give him some time, and talk to some horse people I trust about this change.
I drove out to meet my Dressage trainer Kerri at her barn. Ironically, Kerri is married to my veterinarian. Talking to Kerri set my thoughts in motion and helped me see the problem more clearly. I knew I had to get his halter on him. I was starting to see a pattern. Tadg was calmer in the morning than in late afternoon. With this in mind, I decided to try putting the halter on him in the morning versus late afternoon, and it worked! Success! I felt much better, and Tadg was feeling better. The pain was subsiding! He now was allowing me to pet him anytime of the day and was no longer running from me.

Day 2: Teig Begins Eating

I mixed up some warm beet pulp with oats and water and he started eating. My colic concerns started to ease, and I refocused my attention on his incision. It was weeping a little, but Doc told me to expect some of that. The temperature was plunging now to well below freezing as a Cold Front approached. Although Doc said I could cleanse the area around the stitches with warm, soapy water; I opted to skip this due to the cold temperatures.
The area around his right eye had been shaved prior to operating. Where his right eye had been was now stitched shut, swollen, and filled with blood. Infection was the next obstacle to clear. The optic nerve was still intact, and is a direct pathway for infection to the brain.
Ban-amine and antibiotics were prescribed. The ban-amine helped with the pain, and the antibiotics were used to fight off any infection that may occur. It was obvious he was in pain. Because he didn't want to be touched. This from a horse who always leaned over the fence or stall wall for a pet. I respected his wishes, and tried not to enter his space.

Day 1: First Day at Home

I pulled into the driveway, and unloaded Tadg. Just like we had done hundreds of times before. Tadg and I were partners. He was my buddy, I brought him home at four months old and stood next to him in the trailer the whole  way home. That was the first time he ever heard me sing "I Ride an Old Paint." We've been together for 10 years now and had developed a strong bond of trust through various activities like Natural Horsemanship training, Dressage classes, and trail riding. But things are different now, and our relationship needs to move to the next level if it is going to succeed.
I put him his stall and contemplated our future. The next few days would be critical. I had to be concerned about colic, infection, and further injury. Hopefully, familiar surroundings, smells, sounds, and views would all help with his rehabilitation. That first night, I checked on him regularly, but he wasn't eating. Colic was a growing concern at this point.

Coming Home from the Operation

On Friday December 3, 2010 Doc called me (several hours after the operation) and asked me to bring Tadg home. Tadg awoke from the anesthesia and found himself in a strange place and was in a panic. As I was driving to the clinic a man on the radio was describing his observations after losing sight in his right eye. Sometimes he saw things that his brain thought he should be seeing. The coincidence was uncanny as I made the long, lonely trip to the clinic that day.
When I arrived, Tadg was on his feet with his butt facing everyone. No one could get near him. I asked everyone to move out of sight, and I entered his stall. At first he turned his butt to me, but as I began singing "I Ride an Old Paint" his ears twitched towards me as heard a familiar voice. Within minutes, he gave me his head, I slipped on his halter and led him to the trailer. He loaded fine, I closed the ramp on the trailer, and we headed back for home. His long trip back to normalcy was just beginning.