Chasing the Sun: Chiropractor, Tooth Fairy and Vet: The Story of a Dwindling Bank Account, Part Two

Sunday was a relatively low-key day for Image -- I rode with friends in the morning on a fabulous little Walker mare. Rose was sweet and easy to pilot, even when things like gates and scary rocks made her vibrate (seriously, that's what her spooks felt like!). After I was done galavanting around the state forests, I headed to the barn to see my little black horse. I ground drove him just a bit to get him moving, and he actually moved marginally better (at least, it seemed so from behind!). I got a good couple of quiet, relaxed laps at the walk around the ring at the end of the little ground driving session, so I called it quits there.

Monday dawned muggy and bright, which, of course, means I wore jeans instead of breeches and roasted while I was at the barn. It was a little chaotic with 10 horses that all needed shots, coggins, and their teeth done! Luckily, Image only needed his teeth done and his tear ducts flushed, thanks to B -- she had Image's spring shots done for me, which was fabulous of her. Dr. Lennon took a look at Image's runny eyes and agreed that flushing his ducts before doing anything else was the best idea. So, my little black horse got some happy juice. Within a minute or two, I had this standing next to me:

Feeeelin' sleeeeeepy!

Poor guy was easy to tranq -- he'd be one hell of a cheap date, that's for sure! Dr. Lennon flushed both tear ducts. The right one was definitely blocked, but the left one flushed easily. Hopefully that helps/clears up his runny eye issue. If not, I'm to touch base with Dr. Lennon and go from there.

Shortly after, Image had his teeth done. B had told me he had his teeth done yearly, so I honestly didn't expect anything major in there. How bad could it be after only a year?

Um, apparently, pretty bad. Poor boy! I feel like a bad pony mama. Dr. Barton was in there with power tools that made all sorts of scary noises. There were some sharp edges in there that were causing him some pain, on top of his teeth wearing unevenly, causing a wave pattern. He had given me no indication of having trouble eating anything. However, him being originally fussy with the bit could have been a sign, even though that seems to have mostly stopped, and teeth issues can influence broncing under saddle.

Dentist work gives me the heebie jeebies...on horses or humans!

I also asked if Dr. Barton could better pinpoint his age. Without hesitation, Dr. Barton said that he was 11. I blinked. Definitely 11? Well, he mused, I'm probably not dead on, but at least between 10 and 11.

Huh. Well, okay then. So, having that bit of information, Image's birthday is officially January 26th, 2002. January 26th is his Gotcha Day, so it might as well be his birthday, too!

As Image was coming out of the tranq, I talked with Dr. Lennon about his hind end. His suggestion was to keep it up with the chiropractor for now, and if that doesn't resolve things, to call him for a lameness workup.

Sigh.

So, between the vet, dentist, and chiro, I would have thought there would have been a more concrete diagnosis and game plan. Unfortunately, I was wrong (yes, that does happen on occasion!). I am holding out hope that the chiropractor will be able to pinpoint the exact areas that are bugging him the most.

The massage therapist is out again on Saturday. That should help some, too!

In the meantime, he's getting worked gently on the ground, mostly by hand walking and ground driving. He's being groomed within an inch of his life every time I see him, which he seems to thoroughly enjoy now. I'm sure he also thoroughly enjoys the snacks he gets when I show up...that may be contributing a bit to his willingness to meet me at the gate these days!

In other news, I bit the bullet and will be receiving a Canon 60D in the mail within the next few days. I am so excited to be back behind my camera...and no longer using my slightly craptacular cell phone camera for all of my pictures!

Here are some pictures from said craptacular cell phone camera: