Alita's Story

  Things are not ever as easy as they seem. We are a bit behind due to a visit by my daughter from out of state. This weeks update will actually be two weeks instead of one.

  Why can’t life just be a bit easier on those that need it. We still have not heard back from the rescue organization with the horse Codi, Animal Planet is behind in finding the tape, it will be on again before it is found, the farrier STILL has not come out due to the bad weather etc. and I just got the truck back so we can go to the vet this week. On the bright side Alita receive her first contribution to her bills @ the vets office.

  Her knee just looks so big to me. She seems to be moving on it OK without much support and we have taken her totally off Bute but then the rains came once again to Texas. Poor Alita is not happy to be stuck in her stall all day again. She was so enjoying her out time.

  The wet weather also has been bothering her leg probably due to arthritis. The knee is about 2x the size of her "normal" knee. She seems not to be as bad as she was before however I am sure this wet weather will put her back a bit.

  She has been set out with her buddy Echo every other day. If we continue to stay dry she can go out again hopefully in the next few days. If it starts to rain again I have begun to look for a friend that could put her in a nice stall in a barn more out of the weather then the stall she is in now. Her stall is not wet it is just pretty damp and we have been adding about 1 bag of shavings a day to keep it that way.

  Melissa heard of the farrier situation and she will be out tomorrow to just trim Alita’s hooves. Hopefully this will help with how she is standing on her leg and make things easier for her. She has such a strong spirit and she is trying really hard. I know she wants to run in the pasture again however she will probably be stall & a small run bound for at least one year. She may never be able to go out in a large pasture again without supervision we will just have to wait and see.

  I still try and go out with a carrot once a day for "our" time together. She gently lays her head in my arms and lets me cradle her for sometime. Her soft eyes melt my heart every time. I think she is getting spoiled because every time I go outside she lets out a big deep whinny to say hello. That or where’s my carrot today? "Hello, over here!" She not only looks like a powerful mare however she can bellow like a stallion she is so deep.

  It’s amazing how each individual horse has it’s own distinct whinny. Like our kids we can shut our eyes, listen to their voices and know who it is that is calling to us. If you owned a hundred horses this would still be the case. I have never known any two to be the same.

  She is still on the joint supplements and her grain is up to approx. 5lbs 2x a day of 12% feed. We hope to have her back off the Bute in the next several days barring any more large amounts of rain. Diana should be out for her raindrop technique session in the next week to ten days and then hopefully all will be right with the world. She is still fighting this and Alita is an inspiration to me each and every day I have the pleasure of spending with her.