Yesterday was Tumbleweed's first teeth float. Our vet runs a special every year in February for 10% off to try to get ahead of maintenance care before the really busy foaling season starts up. We called Wednesday, and they were willing to come out Thursday, that's how open their schedule is right now. In a month, you'll be lucky to get one out in three weeks.
So, Tumbleweed has a perfect jaw for chewing in a circular motion, as they should. Yay. He had sharp points. No surprise. They all do. And he had a baby tooth that was loose, and was pulled to allow the permanent tooth to make its way in.
He was such a good boy during the whole physical and teeth float. While he was sedated they also gave him his vaccinations. He is ready for the big world of travel and training. My vet said as he was finishing up, "Now, there will be no excuses." So true. But so far, he hasn't ever provided enough bad behavior to need an excuse anyway. He's a good boy.
Epona was next, and she also got a short physical and vaccinations. There had been some conjecture that her growth might be stunted a bit from her rough start, but our vet said she isn't showing any signs of that. He said she'll mature to 15.3 or 16 hands, so no growth stunt there. My daughter was a little disappointed with that news, as she'd been hoping for a shorter horse this time around. At the same time, she was relieved that Epona has come through this unscathed.
I had been cleaning out my tack room before they arrived and found unopened bags and buckets of milk replacer powder and pellets. I sent them off with the vets to give to some others who might be in need this season. Sadly, there will always be a few orphan foals. My heart goes out to those in that situation.
After the teeth float, we put Cowboy and Tumbleweed out for a day of sun and fun, and then we went on another hike with Lucy. You may wonder why Piper doesn't come along, and it's because she is terrified of getting in cars. Loki had a bad shoulder, and he didn't like getting in and out of vehicles, so he passed that onto her.
There was sunshine.
Lots of snow and ice.
And Lucy found a souvenir she tried to take home.
Today is another lovely day of sunshine, so we will be trying to find another hike, maybe go to breakfast at Chaps (my favorite restaurant I wrote about a few blog posts ago), and enjoy this wonderful day together.
Life is good.
