Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Lame! No, really.

Quick update.  Got a text from the barn manager today that the pony is lame on the same foot that had scratches.  Yesterday I had hosed her legs off, scrubbed them and treated the one with something called Iron Horse spray that the local tack store said 'should work'.  Today, foot is swollen and she is lame.  Barn manager gave her bute and I'm going to try and go out tonight and hose off the foot and treat with Desitin.  Poor pony!  I will try to take pictures if she's still swollen and gimpy.

Called the tack store to see if I could return the spray that I used ONCE and that may have caused my pony to go from normal with a few scratches to puffy footed lame.  Nope.  They said I had to contact the manufacturer.  Sigh.  Please, please, please...if you are a small business, please understand that you should think hard before saying no.  I pay higher retail prices to support you, but when you won't take back something that not only didn't work, but may have caused my horse a problem it doesn't make me want to give you my money.  I know it's hard when you're a small business but I have run many, many small businesses and know that when you have a customer who will spend money every week in your store and ONE TIME they want to return something that they used ONCE, you should just suck it up.  Okay, rant about tack store over. 

To cheer me up, I got my saddle fitter to send me a picture of the saddle I will be getting.  This one has red trim where mine will be blue.  So, imagine the trim in a lovely shade of royal blue.  So. Pretty.  I had a momentary panic attack where I realized that getting the blue means it could affect the resale value.  But then I calmed down and realized that I'm having this made for *me* and it's okay if sometimes you don't think about resale value.  From a fashion standpoint, this will mean the pony will need some blue items instead of pink.  But I love blue and she'll look great in blue so I'm okay with that.  Plus, it means I get to do more pony shopping this summer.

Hairy Pony Belly.  Somebody isn't getting worked very hard these days!

6 comments:

  1. At our barn in Indiana, we all use this concoction of Desitin, triple antibiotic ointment (like Neosporin), athlete foot powder, and Tinactin (athlete foot ointment). Works really well if you can get the area shaved or as hair free as possible before applying the goop.
    That fungus tends to attack my mare's lower legs every summer.

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  2. I have had good luck using supplemental copper when Ponehs start getting things like scratches or thrush, nutritional supplementation is slower acting but something worth looking into. You can get just copper from Uckele, I start giving it anytime I notice a bit of ick brewing and never have had to use topical gunk.

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  3. The blue piping on that saddle look slick!

    My horse came to me with bad ick along the front of his cannon bones, lower down, as well as his pasterns. I tried shampoos, and concoctions, Veterycin being the most effective.

    The best preventative turned out to be keeping his legs dry + daily vigorous currying on the affected area. Don't know if this disturbs the "bug", or it increases circulation, or maybe both, but he hasn't had the problem since, in over two years.

    Good luck!

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  4. Sounds like you and I agree on customer service! That kind of thing really drives me nuts.

    Hope the scratches clears up quickly for her--I know all my west coast friends can't wait for things to dry up a little out that way.

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  5. Ugh scratches are awful. I drive drafts and the feathery legs are prone to scratches. I hate to say I've never really seen them go away. You want to clip the legs and keep them very very very very clean. We used MTG ( test it first, may cause baldness) or Oil of Oregano which is a natural remedy. Very very very clean and dry.

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  6. Boourns! : (

    Scratches suck. Not that you need more advice or remedies, but we used to use Furacin on scratches at the polo club. Boss claimed it worked...(I think the paddocks just eventually dried up... : P ).

    As for your product return, did you call the manufacturer? I did that with Fiske's hoof and hide balm when Moon had an allergic rxn (after 2 applications) and they refunded my WHOLE purchase price!! : O So maybe the tack store doesn't want your business, but the manufacturer might realize the value of positive comments! (mention you blog!!!).

    Finally, hope the Princess starts feeling better soon. We all know how much it sucks to be out of the saddle!

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