I got out of bed Thursday morning and I was beat. Macey decided to wake up at 3:30 and didn't want to go back to sleep. So I brought her into bed with us and tried to sleep myself. Unfortunately she spent the next 45 minutes crawling over Craig and I, poking us in the face, and whispering. Craig took her back to bed but I was unable to sleep after that.
But I had a horse to get ready for a trip to The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital, so I dragged myself out of bed and got on the road by 6:45. I got to the barn and fed the horses, and while I waited for him to eat I got Kaswyn's wraps and shipping boots out. Usually if he's going on a short trip I just put the boots on him, but I decided that since he was finally sound I wanted to make sure he didn't bang himself up in the trailer so he was going to get double protection - standing wraps with boots over them. Sure, it was overkill, but sometimes my horse steps on himself in the trailer and I just didn't need that right then.
As he was eating I started wrapping his legs. I had the first one was half-way on he started to get excited. He knew he was going someplace, based on the wraps and the fact that he had gotten a bath and clipped two days before. When I put the last wrap on his back leg he wasn't eating anymore and began pawing. Forget food, he wanted to go!
I got a call from my trainer, L, to let me know that she was on her way. She has a four horse goose neck and she said that she'd have to meet me on the road to load Kaswyn. It was no problem because it's a four horse head-to-head trailer with a ramp on the side, so she just pulled over to the side of the road and dropped the ramp on the driveway. Kaswyn hadn't been on her trailer in a long time, but he just walked up the ramp no problem. However, I started to lead him head first into the stall, and L says "Uh, no, he needs to go the other way. He's riding backwards." Oh. Yeah, I get it now. So I turned him around and he backed into the slot. She hung the hay bag and we were on the road.
Now the reason why my horse sometimes steps on himself in the trailer is because he doesn't do corners very well. I don't know what the deal is, but he tends to scramble when you turn. He never kicks or fusses any other time, but it's like he loses his balance on the turns, even if you go really slow. The first time L hauled him for me I wasn't there, and I told her "You have to go REALLY slow around corners." and she thought she took her first corner slowly but she said it sounded like he fell down so it must have been too fast the The Princess. After that she went really slow with him, like granny slow, and he was fine.
This was his first trip backwards, and I think he liked it because we only heard one little bump on the first corner and after that he didn't move at all. Traveling backwards must make it easier for him to balance or something.
The drive to OSU from our area is about two and a half hours. It's almost all highway so it's an easy drive. We caught up on what's been going on with each other and talked the whole time so before we knew it we were there. We pulled up to the main entrance and unloaded the boy.
L unwrapped him in the big main hallway while I went inside and checked in. They called the dermatology vet and had me sign some paperwork. By the time I walked back out to the hall the vet (I'll call her Dr. Derm) had come to meet us. First we got Kaswyn's weight on a gigantic scale (he's 1140 pounds). Then we headed down to one of the four aisle ways with horse stalls.
The stalls are set up to be easily cleaned and disinfected. The walls are all concrete, and the floors padded with nice thick rubber mats. The backs of the stalls have two openings - one very skinny people door and one feed door with an observation window. These doors open into another hallway where they store the bedding and hay.
There are stalls for cows too in another aisle, and they have pipe fence type fronts instead of the traditional horse stall fronts. They see all kinds of large animals there, not just horses. There were alpacas, cows, sheep, and llamas there for us to take a look at later.
Dr. Derm showed us to the stall and then went off to grab students and the equipment needed to get the test started.
To be continued...
Part 2
But I had a horse to get ready for a trip to The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital, so I dragged myself out of bed and got on the road by 6:45. I got to the barn and fed the horses, and while I waited for him to eat I got Kaswyn's wraps and shipping boots out. Usually if he's going on a short trip I just put the boots on him, but I decided that since he was finally sound I wanted to make sure he didn't bang himself up in the trailer so he was going to get double protection - standing wraps with boots over them. Sure, it was overkill, but sometimes my horse steps on himself in the trailer and I just didn't need that right then.
As he was eating I started wrapping his legs. I had the first one was half-way on he started to get excited. He knew he was going someplace, based on the wraps and the fact that he had gotten a bath and clipped two days before. When I put the last wrap on his back leg he wasn't eating anymore and began pawing. Forget food, he wanted to go!
I got a call from my trainer, L, to let me know that she was on her way. She has a four horse goose neck and she said that she'd have to meet me on the road to load Kaswyn. It was no problem because it's a four horse head-to-head trailer with a ramp on the side, so she just pulled over to the side of the road and dropped the ramp on the driveway. Kaswyn hadn't been on her trailer in a long time, but he just walked up the ramp no problem. However, I started to lead him head first into the stall, and L says "Uh, no, he needs to go the other way. He's riding backwards." Oh. Yeah, I get it now. So I turned him around and he backed into the slot. She hung the hay bag and we were on the road.
Now the reason why my horse sometimes steps on himself in the trailer is because he doesn't do corners very well. I don't know what the deal is, but he tends to scramble when you turn. He never kicks or fusses any other time, but it's like he loses his balance on the turns, even if you go really slow. The first time L hauled him for me I wasn't there, and I told her "You have to go REALLY slow around corners." and she thought she took her first corner slowly but she said it sounded like he fell down so it must have been too fast the The Princess. After that she went really slow with him, like granny slow, and he was fine.
This was his first trip backwards, and I think he liked it because we only heard one little bump on the first corner and after that he didn't move at all. Traveling backwards must make it easier for him to balance or something.
The drive to OSU from our area is about two and a half hours. It's almost all highway so it's an easy drive. We caught up on what's been going on with each other and talked the whole time so before we knew it we were there. We pulled up to the main entrance and unloaded the boy.
OSU Vet Hospital, Main Entrance
The Big Hallway
The Big Hallway
L unwrapped him in the big main hallway while I went inside and checked in. They called the dermatology vet and had me sign some paperwork. By the time I walked back out to the hall the vet (I'll call her Dr. Derm) had come to meet us. First we got Kaswyn's weight on a gigantic scale (he's 1140 pounds). Then we headed down to one of the four aisle ways with horse stalls.
An aisle of horse stall fronts
The stalls are set up to be easily cleaned and disinfected. The walls are all concrete, and the floors padded with nice thick rubber mats. The backs of the stalls have two openings - one very skinny people door and one feed door with an observation window. These doors open into another hallway where they store the bedding and hay.
Aisle way in back of the stalls
There are stalls for cows too in another aisle, and they have pipe fence type fronts instead of the traditional horse stall fronts. They see all kinds of large animals there, not just horses. There were alpacas, cows, sheep, and llamas there for us to take a look at later.
Observation and feed doors as seen from inside of stall
Kaswyn in his stall, just a little nervous
Dr. Derm showed us to the stall and then went off to grab students and the equipment needed to get the test started.
To be continued...
Part 2
2 comments:
That's quite a fancy place. I guess it has to be since it's a teaching hospital.
Echo likes to travel backwards too. We travelled her without the partitions in the trailer once and she turned herself around so that her back end was in the 'point' of the trailer - I think one day, when I am very rich (!!!) I will buy a lorry where the horses travel backwards. For now I'll just dream...
The place sounds awesome - I've enjoyed reading your accounts of it.
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