Homeopathy and Quick Farriers

Mr. Magnum's Status: Fired up and ready for Santa

My Status: Wondering where the nearest tack store is.. and also why the nearest Panera is 41.6 miles away

Mr. Magnum had his shoe put back on today - one of the other trainers had a shoe come off, so that was enough to force a farrier out for a farm call on Xmas eve, lucky Mr. Magnum. He's sound on it and ready to go - I worked him lightly today but he was so wound up from weird weather and wind that we stuck to walk/trot work and worked on giving the base of his neck the same way we have been for the past two days. He overstepped and clipped himself hard again - is this really making his back that much softer that he is getting much more reach behind? It just seems unlikely given that he doesn't clip himself this often as home and his back has become much softer in the past 6 months. 

I also took Lofty out on trails and am classifying him as the most awkwardly moving animal I have ever ridden, I just laugh when I see him move and I want to cry trying to put him together so his legs fall into some semblance of order; he's really a horse that's built to live in the pasture and eat treats for the next 20 years. I also lunged Finery and Honorbound with the vienna reins, which the is odd draw rein setup I've used here before. It gets them really deep and low depending on how you set it, I'm not thrilled with how it works because there's no elasticity to the contact - in order for it not to affect them they have to get far behind the vertical.  

Several of the horses have been coughing lately, Mr. Magnum is on the so far healthy barn, another lucky moment. We started taking temperatures when they began acting lethargic and two of them are running 104, we're checking again tonight at night check. The barn owner started treating with homeopathic methods rather than going straight for antibiotics. Another mare was acting colicy tonight, she received another homeopathic treatment and they acupunctured her. I'm very curious to see where the line is drawn on homeopathy and western medicine, I think I would have gone for banamine with the colicing horse. 

The way the barn is open sided is really nice for the weather, although it's a shame there's no way to close it off on the really cold nights. There is one section of the middle barn with tarp drop downs, but they look like they haven't been used in a long time and it looks like they would be hard to work. Another downside to the openness of the barns is that its almost impossible to quarantine anyone, the breeze carries straight from one barn to the next and straight out into the pastures. 

On Christmas Eve I am appreciative of my fast internet at home…. it's too slow to do much research or half the time it doesn't connect at all, so homeopathy didn't get investigated quite yet. The lack of Panera around here means lack of interneting in public - and the larger issue of six weeks with no bread bowls..