Envoy's 2012 boarding school tales

Nope. His hoof quality is excellent. He either got a bad trim, which happens sometimes when farriers get distracted or have a bad day, or he is just exercising too much. But, I think he's keeping his hooves growing now. I've been checking every day, and I don't see excessive wear. He isn't sore or tripping, so things must be looking up.

Fiff, he is SO ready to eat grass.

He's doing really well. He seems much more comfortable when I ride, so I think we're on our way to fixing the problem.

I had to put his hay bag inside tonight. The weather people keep promising thunderstorms. I haven't seen any yet, and I would like to go a few more days without rain. But, I decided not to challenge the rain, and Envoy was happily munching at his net. I guess he didn't mind being in his little house.

Sounds like a happy horse to me.

I bought 80 bales of nice hay today. It was actually a really good price. $1 less per bale than the sticker hay. A friend asked for a couple bales of the sticker hay to feed her bunny. She says he will eat around the stickers. I don't mind her taking it, but I sure hope the bunny doesn't mind.

Envoy LOVES his new hay. He was surprised that his hay wasn't biting him back while he munched his dinner.

Great solution and glad to hear that Envoy is enjoying the
new hay.

Ditto!

Poor Envoy has owes on his face. One cheek has a round sore that looks like he rubbed it on something. The other side has a patch with no hair on it. I hope he isn't getting bit by something he's allergic to. He doesn't seem uncomfortable, and it certainly isn't keeping him from eating. I just don't know what he did to his poor head.

Weird, does sound like some kind of bite though.

Yeah, it sure does to me too.

I can imagine the surprised look the first few munches Envoy took of his new hay, expecting to be bit back.......

He sounds rather like he's over-rubbing itchy spots, maybe from bug bites. It's been my experience that the first bugs of the season are particularly voracious. Poor boy!

I think you're right, Suzzzz. He has a mild allergy to gnat bites, so it's probably that. He has more spots on his face and one on his butt too. I'm going to get him some Benedryl and oatmeal bath stuff. That helped last time he had an allergic reaction. That time, he was covered in hives.

He went around really well today. I adjusted his bridle so it didn't rub any of his owies, He didn't seem like he felt quite up to snuff, but he was a trooper. Poor little man. I hope he gets back on his feet once the meds kick in.

Oatmeal bath???? I can't talk I used to share my Guiness with my horses.

Oatmeal bath & lotion is very soothing to the skin; I've used Aveeno for years. Hope the Benedryl will help, too. I had a dog with all sorts of allergies who took B every night with supper. Vet said it doesn't make dogs sleepy the way it does humans, and I found that to be true. It really helped Ursa and I hope it helps our boy, too. Bratty old bugs!

Tonight was the first dose. Poor guy has more bites. He has one on his butt that looks like somebody stuffed a pea under his skin. Ouch! I put some Aveeno lotion on the bites. It has calamine and some other stuff to heal sores. The bath seemed to help, although he wouldn't let me really wash his face. I can't blame him. It probably feels like I'm trying to drown him.

He did feel a little perkier. We rode and he did well. I'm taking it easy because I am worried about him. But, I think he'll be fine. I feel so bad for him when this happens.

You know I'm trying to visual the type of bite you are talking about.
It sounds really familiar. Poor boy, well keep up the spa treatments.

The benedryl will help if he keeps taking it, it helps prevent an allergic reaction more than reversing one. Sure sounds like he's very allergic to some buggy bites, and less so for others, but still allergic to all to some extent. Poor boy. I can really sympathize (I get welts the size of my thumbprint from a tiny mosquito bite). Did you know they make benedryl creme too? That works.

Not to sound all new-agey, but I used some anti-bug herbal spray on Ursa that seemed to keep the bugs away. I think it was mostly citronella stuff. In don't like the idea of dousing animals with Dow Chemical preparations, but something more natural might help, prevention-wise.

There are some wonderful herbal horse sprays. I do end up resorting to the chemicals during the worst part of the season, but the herbal stuff works for most times. I ry to pick the least offensive chemical stuff that is mostly citronella based, but I do have to admit that I'm not totally opposed. My favorite natural spray has cloves, citronella and I think cinnamon. It smells amazing. I also use dryer sheets tied into manes and tails. Bugs don't like the fake smells.

Fiff, you're right a bout the Benedryl. Today, Envoy was less lumpy and his sores seem to have responded well to the cream, and the Benedryl does seem to be keeping any more reactions from showing up. I'll take whatever I can get.

That's good to hear, I wish I could remember these bug bites that my horses used to get.
They were really gross.

As someone who takes benedryl almost every day during allergy season, I can vouch for the results. Glad Envoy is responding to it as well as I do. It really does help.

The best thing is the generic kind is $4 for 100 pills. Since he has to take 10 pills at a time, the price is definitely right.

We have ticks around here that leave really gross bites. They swell up and get icky. And ticks are disgusting all by themselves.

AMEN to that.

It's fly spray time. Sigh... I hate putting that stuff on the horses, but it's what works. Envoy is getting better, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I bought my first bottle of spray yesterday. It's expensive this year.

It hasn't the nastiest smell. I swear just talking about brings up memories of the
scent and it's enough to gag a maggot.

Any way to get it in a larger amount? A lot of times bulk for anything is cheaper. I have a feeling you're going to need a LOT of bug and fly spray this year, unfortunately.