Friday, April 9, 2010

Recovery: week 3

Personal update: Doctor appointment on Monday went well.  I got another X-ray that showed everything is healing as it should.  I got the staples removed (owie), and I got some new footwear.  Now I'm in a removable boot and not a cast, bathing is SO much easier.

Here's the bad news, well not really bad more obnoxious.  When I dislocated my ankle I did a lot of damage to the soft tissue down there.  The surgeon put in pins to hold my fibula to my tibia so the soft tissue will heal correctly, hopefully keeping me from ever dislocating my ankle again.   I have surgery scheduled to remove those pins on June 1.  I cannot walk until after that surgery because those pins could break if I try.  That means I've got 7 more weeks on crutches.  Awesome.

So what's going on with the quarters this week you might ask?  They got wormed yesterday morning.  I was a little anxious about it since they were so bad about the tubes last time.  I went to the store and got some especially "good" tasting tube wormer that some horses will eat if you mix it in their feed thinking that's how I'd have to get it into them.  I told my barn owner about this plan when I hobbled in Wednesday evening.  Thursday evening she told me she just gave it to them the usual way and they were fine.  No problems.  Huh.  Obviously her technique is vastly superior to mine, next time I'm going to ask her to worm them while I watch.  She told me how she did it, but I'm a visual learner.  I have to see it to get it.

That's not the only area where she's having an easier time than I do.  She's been using a chain on Gwen when she turns her out and Gwen's been responding well to it.  I was afraid to use a chain since she's so reactive (I didn't want to start WWIII) but it seems I shouldn't have been so worried about it.  Gwen respects the chain and hasn't been that naughty for my BO.

Was breaking my ankle a message from the universe that I need to take a chill pill and let someone else hold the tiller for a while?  I would never broadcast myself as an expert on horse handling, far from it, I still have tons to learn.  It seems that this is a good time to really learn from having someone else handle my difficult horse (BO loves Coriander btw, says he's the sweetest horse ever- which he is.). Good thing I still have weeks left to devote to learning.

Thanks universe, message received.  Think you can make your next message hurt a little less?

2 comments:

  1. First of all, it's wonderful news that your healing is going to well!! I know 7 weeks seems like a really long time, but think of the consequences. :-)

    I am a very visual person also. Sometimes we are too close to actually see. Perhaps the silver lining to breaking your ankle was to have to take a step back and observe. I am sure you are relieved that Gwen and Coriander are behaving and are being taken care of. Yes, it will be educational to watch how your BO manages them. But, I think you should give yourself some credit in this area. I don't think Gwen or Coriander would be so well behaved if you hadn't been working with them as much as you have. You have built up their trust and confidence. Good for you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, you're right Wolfie. Sometimes it's hard to remember that you've made a positive difference when you're bummed out.

    June cannot come soon enough!

    ReplyDelete