Why can't horses just go ahead and be invulnerable as well as strong?

Oh for pete's sake.  I couldn't wallow in the joy of my vacation for ONE FULL DAY?  No.  No, disaster had to strike right away.

At first I didn't think it was my disaster, and I was totally sympathetic.  I heard through the grapevine that a friend's horse colicked.  I tried to get in touch with her but couldn't, so I grabbed a sleeping bag, a pad,  some snacks, and some water, and I drove out to the farm to trade off turns walking the horse around.  Unfortunately, by the time I got there, the horse was dead.

Yeah, that was a cheerful reunion.

I expressed my sympathies, gave hugs, and decided to go check on my own pony while I was there.  I got out a soft brush and started grooming him.  In the fading evening light, I admired his sleek new summer coat and thought how good and healthy he looked.  And then because it was that time, I got the worming tube out and started to give him his dose.  He, of course, resisted a little bit.  He threw his head up in that defiant "NO!" horsey posture.  As one does.  And then I saw it.. a dark area under his jaw.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" is what I thought.  But no, no.  No kidding.  Explodey horse head, round three.  Blood, pus, and other yucky things which it was rapidly becoming too dark to see were hanging out in the vicinity of his formerly, if briefly, intact lymph node.

I called the vet.  Then I called the vet's cell phone.  Then I texted the vet's cell phone.  You should be proud of me, I didn't use profanity in any of those attempts.

Best case scenario at the moment is that she'll prescribe a round of a different kind of antibiotics, and they'll work.  And no more pointless cultures, because we've tried that multiple times and learned zilch.  Though she is of course the expert, not me, so if she really wants to try another culture I'll pay for it.  But I'm expecting a big fat zero in the "things we learned from this test" results.

Anyway I was sad, then I was miffed, then I was worried, and now I am waiting to hear back from the vet.

So how was your day?

Non-poseur dancing baby

I discovered a previously unknown talent today. I can make a baby dance. David, who spent the first several days of our visit in an unhappy state of mild colic / teething, today felt much better. And he wanted to DANCE. 

Now, David can't stand up yet. Or crawl. He gets from one place to another by rolling vigorously. But if you hold him up he can push up with his legs pretty well. Other kids might use the opportunity to get into trouble, reach illicit items, or try to impress the girls by taking a few steps. David, however, is using his knee bending skills to boogie down. Seriously. The boy has mad skills, as long as he gets a little help. 

So I spent a large portion of today causing my nephew to dance. He totally dug it, as evidenced by his huge smile. I don't know about you but I am powerless to resist a happy baby, so we danced until my arms pretty much gave out. I bet his tiny little quads are sore too. 

I think that was the most dancing action I've seen since JD and I took a swing class. Yay for dancing babies!