Power's On

Twenty Four Hours Later

Thank goodness the traffic lights were out on my road's major intersections, because I am not at all sure there was any other incentive for the power company to get us up and running before Wednesday.  Apparently, there are a lot of homeowners still waiting for electricity while we are finally back on the grid.

I had already called the police to ask if there was any way I might be able to get water for my horses if the outage continued into the week.  I figured I could make it through Tuesday morning, but that might have been it. As it was, the Boys were drinking rainwater stored over the last month or so--not exactly the freshest.

I used part of my household emergency stock to wash my hair and take a sponge bath so I'd be presentable for church this morning. Blessedly, I have a gas stove, so I was able to heat the water first.  I also have the gas fireplace in the living room and took good advantage of it to stay warm through the long night.

Of course, non of my animals had any idea we were in an energy crisis. I do think the horses are a bit put off by my headlamp--my nighttime chores' illumination--but other than that,  they all expected total care on my part.

But I did skip part of the job.  Tucker has an abscess in his right hind hoof and should have been soaked in hot water and rewrapped with Icthamol.  Since his wrap from Friday was still intact, and he was nearly sound, the darkness, cold, snow, and miserable conditions put me off on that task.  Fortunately, he was quite sound today when I heated some water up on the stove--before the power was back on--soaked him while I cleaned his stall, and then wrapped his foot up again. One missed day didn't seem to cause any problem for him. Could be that my vet got the abscess opened up enough that it burst out through the hole relieving the pain.  Since I am a little limited in how much thorough hoof examination I can do--the knees don't quite last too long holding up a hoof--I did not really explore the bottom of his hoof before I wrapped it back up.

Poor Chance is desperate to get out. Dr. Klayman says he looks fine but wanted him on limited turnout for the week.  I don't have a small paddock for that at the moment, so the compromise was for me to start lunging him.  One day was fine, but then came the snow.  It is now sloppy, wet, and slippery out there. I think in a day or so the afternoon temperatures will warm enough to melt the horrid white stuff and all I'll be left with is wet, so I'll probably be able to get Chance out soon. In the meantime, he is just going to have to be content with strolls in the rather short aisle of the barn (30 or so feet) as I don't want to risk him out in the yucky mess outside.

Toby has a sore spot on his back and I have some DMSO/Cortisone to rub on it. Dr. Klayman thinks it's from some kind of trauma. Either he rolled on something or....somebody's hoof might have hit him there.  X-rays are an option but for now "wait and see" is a far better approach.

It was such a relief when the power came back on. Out here, when I lose electricity, I lose water as my pumps do not work. How nice it was to fill the Boys' buckets with fresh, clean water!