Jump on and Ride

I'm feeling stressed and frustrated today. I don't know if it's because I haven't gotten Mandy's Scratches licked yet or if I just woke up that way.

Here is a pic from this morning. You can see just under Juan's finger where the main sore is.

Then here on her heels are the new spots.

Yes, I know they're tiny.

A couple weeks ago

I'm just not seeing any healing. And I haven't been scrubbing it constantly so the irritation shouldn't be a result of me scrubbing off her naturally protective skin oils. If anything, as I've gotten older I've tended to take a less is more attitude, but that doesn't seem to be working in this instance.

She needs some copper and over the last two weeks searching the whole country high and low I haven't been able to find any semblance of a suitable supplement.

I even looked for Copper Sulfate, in the plumbing stores as a last ditch effort. She is on a mixed loose mineral, the other two are on free choice minerals but she seems to just inhale the stuff. As it's a complete supplement including Selenium, I worry about her taking in too much in the desire for more copper. :-\

No, I am NOT feeling happy today. I know I need to do something...I just don't know WHAT!

This morning, I scrubbed her foot again and with Juan's help and through Mandy's vigorous protests got the scab off and washed the entire foot with Johnson's Baby soap as I figure over drying her foot isn't good either. Rinsed it well and dried it with a towel.

Gave her 10 minutes in the stall to let it air dry and smeared Desitin from her heels to her fetlocks all round the pastern. Kept her in till just now and am putting her and Bree out in the small paddock. It's wet, but not mucky as it has a good slope for drainage and a sandy top. I'm hoping she doesn't pick up too much sand , but will be washing her foot again tonight when she comes in.

So, one of the remedies I have heard about to help cure this dreaded disease is to take a bread bag, put the bag over the foot, and pour a can (or two or three) until all of the scratches are covered in the Kraut. Then wrap the foot and pastern to keep it protected. Wrap the hoof with DT to keep it together and leave it for three days...

When you unwrap the foot the Scratches are gone.

Has anyone ever done this? One of by best and most referred to books "How To Be Your Own Veterinarian(Sometimes)" was where I first read about this strange cure.

I wonder what soaking a hoof for that long would do to the wall...

Jus because I happen to be having lunch as I type this...

Here's my lunch.

1/2 Pound of Shrimp with melted butter, Garlic Bread, and a side of Tzatziki to sop the bread in.

It helps me think...

If anyone has any thoughts on Scratches/Mud Fever and dealing with them, please feel free to share.

I just can't keep her in 24/7, that's no good for her either. She's not the type that does well cooped up.

With dry season looming I shouldn't be whining. Our water ponds are full (we depend on rainwater, wells are not an option in our type of soil) the ground is saturated, everything is green. Soon I will be whining because the ground is cracking, it's hot and dusty, and we haven't seen rain in months.

See, I'm starting on dry season already.

Anywho...today's' post is not about rain even though the title is. It's about my absolutely scrumptious lunch, that is coincidentally the Special of the Day.

Bistec ala Mexicana. (Mexican Beefsteak...sounds better the other way doesn't it?)

It looks like this:

THIS is authentic Mexican food. You will not find this in a fancy hotel in Cancun or Puerto Vallarta. Nor will you find it in a classy restaurant in Playa del Carmen.

IF you ask for this in a fancy restaurant in PDC, you may, as I did, get laughed at by your rather snooty waiter. Bistec is not, apparently allowed though the service door in respectable establishments.

So...where WILL you find this unassuming yet incredibly tasty dish, you ask?

You will find it in the truck stop restaurants attached to the ubiquitous Pemex Gas Stations scattered throughout Mexico. In roadside shacks too small for a menu.

In small local restaurants downtown in Veracruz.

If you're lucky enough to go to Veracruz...you should DEFINITELY not miss out on the incredible experience of going to "La Parochia" It is NOT small(seats 700 or so) it is NOT fancy, but it is OH SO GOOD.

Yes, I was last there in May 2006 I'm sad to say.

I was in Veracruz just this past September, but driving a 1 ton dually and hauling two horses I wasn't about to drive down to the docks even though the lure was strong. Getting lost in downtown Tampico was MORE than enough excitement for that trip.

Lets revisit the lowly Bistec once more shall we?

I love Mexico.

Today's Blog Part Two

I've been talking a lot about horses lately...and food. But that's not the sum total of my life.

There are dogs too. Very special dogs.

Today I'd like to introduce Bobo. More correctly, Mr. Bojangles.

He's not first in my heart, he's not the oldest, he does no super special tricks he's not the most recent addition.

He is the youngest though.

This is Bo, or Bobo, or silly boy. He has many names. Also answers to

MR BOJANGLESGETYOURASSOVERHERERIGHTNOWDAMMIT

The main reason he's going first is because I've noticed recently how mature he's getting. How he's coming out of his shell and working through some of his issues.He really does have some strange ones. I guess they're just a part of his individual personality.

He's very timid, and so different than the rest of our dogs.

Mom picked him up at the roundabout in Hattieville on the Western highway. He was 5-6 weeks old, and she nearly ran him over as he was sitting RIGHT in the middle of the roundabout. Someone was watching over him though as Mom swerved left, the truck behind her swerved right, and Bob didn't move an inch.

Mom, being the softy she is, couldn't just leave him there so she stopped and picked him up. She called me and told me she picked up this pup and that there were so many fleas on him they were standing in lines for a spot to bite.

She was on her way to town and figured she could drop him off at the vets while she did shopping and we figured out what to do with this pup. We already had ~~FIVE~~ SIX dogs so keeping him just wasn't an option...(yeah, that went well didn't it?)

The vets office gave him a flea bath and made sure he was moderately healthy and we called the Belmopan Humane Society and we worked out that we would foster him until the right home came along.

Here he is the day he came home.

and a few days later getting along with the rest of the pack

(it was dinner time, our dogs wear watches I swear)

Heartbreaker eyes

About three days after he came home I noticed these large pink patches of bare skin on his flanks and hind legs. Worried about ringworm or mange I called the vet and described them.

Oh no they said, that's just where the flea dirt was so thick and crusted the hair couldn't grow...*chokes* Glad I saw him after the bath.

There he goes with the eyes again...

back to his timidness, I don't know where it comes from. We've had him for almost his entire life, there really wasn't a lot of time for him to be roughly treated so I figure it's just part of who he is.

The eyes again...

(really, do you think we had a snowball's chance in hell from the first day?)

He does however require some special treatment. Since he was small he's had a thing about having his feet held and just now, finally now, can I grab onto his feet and hold them without him throwing a fit and threatening to bite. He still tenses, and will occasionally pull away, but rarely shows signs of fear aggression now.

Nom nom nom

About four days after he arrived, mom says to me... I don't think we can give him up. He looks SO much like Cookie.

Cookie as a puppy.

I think we should give him a name.

Hahahahahahahahaha ROFL not two days before she found Bobo on the road she had been telling me (vehemently) NO...MORE...DOGS!!!!11111!!!!1!! Ha Ha Ha!

In retrospect, it's a good thing we decided to keep him as IDK how many people would be willing to work around his quirkiness to make him feel safe.

ZOMG Whazzat?!?