So.... I successfully got all 3 horses out together. Fleck is still lunging at Dan but it seemed to be more just the general expected stuff, not the super aggressive scary stuff. And Funny would hang out with Fleck for a bit.. then go hang out with Dan for a bit... then go back and hang with Fleck. So I was thrilled!!! And got this amazing photo of the three of them one morning. Be still my heart!
But then Friday I worked all day. I did 9 horses and it was a long day. I was a little hangry and cranky, so I stopped for donuts and caffeine (my head hurt too). I was talking to Kelli on the phone about taking Fleck off his smartpak, which would cancel his colicare. I debated because... for $20/month... I'd get the option of doing surgery. But we chatted and... he's probably not a good surgical candidate. I mean, he wasn't a few years ago when he was at UGA for 10 days... and quite frankly, it would end up being more than 10K anyways... Anyways, long story short, we decided it would probably be a good thing to take him off the supplement. So I finally got home and hung up with her and started feeding animals and called the horses in. No one showed up for a minute but then Danny and Funny came galloping up. Then took off... Then went galloping by again. Then took off. ARGH! So I went out there to catch them and bring them in. And suddenly I started to worry about Fleck. I ended up having to walk all the way to the arena (in the dark) and there he was. Just hanging out. He was walking around so... okay, great. I put the lead rope around his neck and started in. Meanwhile Dan and Fun were still squirting about. So then Fleck started trotting so I let him go and thought "well dang, he looks good, maybe he could survive surgery". So I finally got all 3 in stalls and Dan was steaming and still acting a fool. And then I noticed blood all over my hand. I checked all 3 and didn't see anything, so I thought... am *I* bleeding?? I went and checked again and then I saw it. CRAP!!! Fleck was bleeding from under his chin. And it was swollen and poofy. He had two or three punctures. Daniel!!!!! But then I looked closer and... he was drooling and... when I looked in his mouth, his teeth weren't lining up. Oh no!!!! I started to panic and cry. FINE... YOU CAN KEEP YOUR SMARTPAKS!!! Seriously though... I called Logan and Diane and Diane called me back pretty quick. She talked me off the ledge quickly and actually... it's really okay. There isn't much to do other than antibiotics, pain meds, and soup for a bit. So.. phew... he's gonna live. So I got him all squared away and he was pretty puny for the first night, but...by morning he was so much better! And by the next day, he was doing SO much better. So yeah...
I don't blame Dan. Honestly, I blame Fleck. I told him if he kept going after Dan he was going to get nailed. I do wish Dan maybe wasn't quite so dramatic about his retaliation, but... I don't think he meant it. He just fired off and Fleck didn't move fast enough. And I know... he's a horse... but he was very worried about Fleck. He keeps going up to him and making baby faces at him and touching noses with his ears pricked. And this morning he woke my up by pawing at Flecks gate and pawing at the stall wall dividing them. So yeah.. either that or he's trying to finish him off! But no... he really does seem to miss him. And when I rode Dan today (next post) Fleck neighed for him when we walked out of sight. Awww... So yeah. They'll go back out together again. Because quite frankly.... Fleck lunged at Dan over the fence not too long ago and Dan kicked out and managed to kick over the fence line (and luckily NOT get a leg hung), so.. it could have easily happened on opposite sides of the fence too. And... it just makes my life so much easier to have them all together. And, I'm hoping Fleck will maybe not be quite so aggressive now??? But he gets to heal a bit first. In solitary. :) Plus that way he can eat his hay soup.
Argh...
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