The Lovely Clyde Mare

[SandyG]

Alas, it is time to start a bb for the Clyde Mare. Her condition is not life-threatening as long as we can control it. This condition can manifest itself without triggers and can spread so should this spread to her upper body, we will be hard-pressed to treat her.

HOWEVER! Until then, if it happens, we can treat her, love her, and give her a quality of life with other horses that it seems she so longs for. Right now, as I key this, she is grazing quietly in the lawn. Content after her morning cleaning, a snack of feed, and showing me that the wet grass is her choice. Lovely is the best way to describe this sleek creature.

The daily cleaning is just a fact of life for her. Year round. We'll start talking about how we will manage that in the winter time once we get this summer routine down. Right now, we have some hurdles to overcome with the easy part of the year.

The need for volunteer support for the daily hydrotherapy treatment is a given. One volunteer for up to 2 hours every evening is needed until she and I can manage alone. Then, I will ask for volunteer support for two nights a week just to have a break. I love her already, but my experience tells me if I don't take breaks, she will suffer. Please think about a commitment to a night every week or a specific night every other week. Thank you.

And the need for hot water in the big barn is a hassle. To fill the buckets in the kitchen sink and then have to walk them down the driveway is a backbreaker. Tracy has a great idea:

So my big thought on how to save energy hauling hot water to the barn for the Clyde mare is ... to heat it there, using the aluminum, big coffee potsyou see at gatherings. . . We could check the area thrift stores for a cheap one, if you want - there's 2 in River Falls, one in Baldwin, you've got Goodwill (and maybe more?) in Menomonie. . .

Can anyone help Tracy with this idea? It is a great one! Saves the body and gets us the hot water we need to clean her legs.

Please post or email if you find one or more. We could use up to four working ones (with two spares) that are 30 cuppers at least. Or if anyone has a 20 gallon water heater, we could hook that up in the barn for use until it freezes, at least.

Thanks, Tracy, for thinking! And thanks everyone for being willing to support her. She is lovely. And to euthanize simply because her support means dedication and work - that's not what we are about, now is it?

[SandyG]

Dale K., Julie A., and I cleaned the girl last night and she gave us about a 10 minute hydrtherapy session before the taste of the lawn won out and she started to back up. I was pleased and left her dry and naked (without bug spray) overnight.

This morning, I buffed her a bit and sprayed her legs. Then I fed her in a big bucket on the floor behind the shoeing bed. With her halter on, I left her to munch in the yard at her leisure. Just now, I went out to check on her and there she is. Standing quietly. Butt facing the fans. Standing calmly in her corral shelter. She loves that building.

I'm picking up the UCDavis article on her condition from Dr. Brian today so will be able to read and pursue the treatments they suggest. We will also start the routine of measuring and taking photos of her. Maybe we can contribute to the research.

She's lovely. Beautiful, tall, and lovely.

[SandyG]

Colleen B. and I did a nice, long hdyrotherapy session with her last night. Thank you, Colleen. You've turned into a good, solid horse handler!!! Her left rear leg has noticeably improved. Her right rear is struggling, but has improved a bit. Still, it was the worse of the two legs.

Just now, I opened the corral gates and out she came to eat some grass. Standing and waiting for me. This afternoon, after feeding, I am going to introduce her to the big herd for a little while. She needs companionship and exercise. But she also needs to be somewhere easy to retrieve and with an easy-going group. This, my friends, is not the Big Ones! They are too healthy!!

The cold last night is wonderful - no bug juice needed and it gives her a time without the fans. I'm in love.....

[SandyG]

Kristin B. was here this evening and literally sat on the floor next to the Clyde Mare as she stood in the shoeing bed. Kristin attacked those legs with luffa (sp?) gloves, a soft brush, and a ton of love and patience. Her legs look brand new!!!!!!

That mare stood perfectly still for her. It must have felt good to get so clean. I wonder how long it has been for her to be so clean and doted upon. She stood and just let Kristin work and work on her legs!

Then off to her corral shelter for her supper and a night of sleeping. This mare so totally owns the place - in the yard when she wants to be, in her shelter when she wants to be, and then following me on the lawn tractor when she wants to be. What a lovely, lovely mare.

[SandyG]

Dr. Anne visited us today and has some ideas on the Clyde Mare's treatment. She is going to talk with Dr. Brian about a steroid topical powder versus a general internal steroid to minimize the danger to her entire system. And she is going to look into a pressure system to help expel the fluids - which were running freely today!

Dr. Anne says the blood we are seeing is a good thing - a sign of the skin filling in and capillaries growing. She also says that it is wise to keep her clipped from the knees down, all the way around. So before she visits again next week, we need to get her clipped. It will be easier to see and examine and will be much easier to keep clean. Today, I spent most of my time cleaning the dirty feather hairs.

I am so very grateful for the talents that we have to call on. I do so enjoy and respect that woman. So very much!

[SandyG]

This mare knows and recognizes Kristin B. when she arrives on Monday nights. Last night, she used her nose to point to her right rear leg and then snuggled up to Kristin.

And the cares that Kristin takes with that mare - that big horse doesn't even twitch her tail or think about moving her hind legs. It looks like a massage and from the eyes of Clyde Mare, it must feel like a massage. The big horse fights sleep while Kristin is cleaning her!

Tentatively, we are planning on shaving her legs Thursday morning so it will be cooler for her and easier to keep her clean. Between the two of us, we'll keep both clippers going and we should be done before the sedation wears off. It's going to feel great to the big girl when we are done!

Thank you, Kristin. From me and that lovely mare!

[SandyG]

A few maggots this morning, but then I had her wrapped all day yesterday since I was at work - in the heat and with the moisture and heat she generates, it was a perfect breeding ground.

I will clean her thoroughly between tours this afternoon and restore her "healthier" state....she is a good patient. Far better than I would be!

[SandyG]

There is such a visible bond between this mare and Kristin. The mare stands so quietly for her while Kristin cleans and massages. She even moves her foot and positions herself so Kristin can reach way under the back of her foot where the heat is the worst. Amazing to watch. Amazing.

Thank you, Kristin, for your dedication to this girl. She is much, much better off because of you!

Our Dr. Anne is visiting today to check on our progress with the Clyde Mare and to examine the eyes of the new guy, Rocky. I'm fully expecting her to tell us to remove his eyes sooner rather than later. His eyes bother him - squinting, watering, rubbing. It is no wonder why with all those eyelashes rubbing his eyeballs. I'm in awe of his calm demeanor given what his face feels like!

Busy today - so much to do before the weather turns.....I'm a broken record, aren't I?

[SandyG]

The pieces are fitting together . . . .

Clyde Mare's original owner has reached out to Refuge Farms and has asked to come to visit her. Of course, that will be a great day for both horse and human but also, we'll understand a bit more of her journey.

I have cautioned the woman that her mare is thin and her legs are healing but are still in a tender, not-s-pretty state. She does not seem bothered but only troubled that she was allowed to get that way.

We'll understand a bit more of the hands that have handled her and how she ended up in our trailer. A few more pieces will fit together for this horse.

And yup, she has had two babies. Bet she was a good Mama....

[amyintern]

Do you know what day she will be coming to visit? I would like to hear this story to...

[SandyG]

I don't know what date it will be but I will be sure to pass on anything that is learned. And I will do my best to create a private setting for this woman and this horse. She loves this horse and is fighting for her life.....it is Frannie and Diane all over again!

This woman needs to feel the warm breath of her mare on her skin and she needs to see that her mare is safe. And the mare needs to see that her owner is still alive. I can only imagine the pain in both of their chests.

[kristin]

Would like to hear her story too! Thanks for the kind words, and I really love Clyde mare & love to help her in any way I can .. Monday has become my favorite day of the week!

[SandyG]

Kristin was here to care for her horse today. And her horse is very much grateful.

We've taken a bit of a step backward in this past week and I'm sure that is because of the craziness and my lack of time to "putz" with her legs. It was clean, dry, and out you go! This horse needs time and patience and diligence.

Believe it or not, it is almost time to trim her legs again, too! And I'm encouraged when Kristin says she can see the big mare beginning to fill in a bit. HURRAY!!!!! ;D

[SandyG]

I will be taking Clyde Mare into the U of M to visit Dr. Draper this Thursday. Actually, she is going in on Thursday to thaw and then Friday is the apointment.

We will sedate her and then shave her legs. My clippers, no matter how hard and many ways I try, just cannot work in this cold weather. So we need to get that hair off of her legs and examine the condition of her skin. I'll bring her home on Saturdya morning after she is fully awake from Friday.

I'll ask Dr. Draper to write up the recap of her condition so that I can post it. Clyde Mare does NOT have a blood condition. It is NOT scratches. And it is chronic.

So stay tuned and I'll write it all up for everyone to read as soon as she is safely home. This is her home, you know.

[SandyG]

Send a few positive thoughts and prayers our way - I am going to load Clyde Mare to bring her to Dr. Alex this morning.

She will not want to leave and so she will see no purpose for getting into the trailer. With the ice and the cold, we'll see how it goes but we'll get there.

Colleen - the plug-in worked! The truck popped right off!!!