Wonder what he thinks

Ben had a very busy day yesterday filled with appointments! He began his day with his toe trim! He had a very good report from his farrier which is always great. His toes are holding strong & for the first time his front toes have concavity! His hind toes have always had great concavity to them but he has always had somewhat of flatter fronts in comparison. After going on 4 yrs now barefoot his fronts have finally decided to catch up. His farrier believes that with his new turnout schedule of being out all the time has played a big role in the improvement in his toes. After all toes need circulation for well being & movement is the best kind! After his toe trim he had some down time in between his next appointment which was his massage, so I gave him a nice flake of his alfalfa for him to munch on while he waited. Just as he finished his flake his massage therapist arrived for the next pamper session. His massage went very well with only very minor areas that needed some attention. His knees apparently are doing extremely well & felt great! Thank you to his new joint supplement. As a reminder he takes Steadfast by Arenus & started off at the loading dose for a full month but now on the maintenance dose. This is the only thing he takes for joint health so no pain medications given or any kind of injections. He is sound & comfortable! He used to take the Cosequin ASU Plus but I didn't feel it helped him the way it should have. After a lot of research & having tried many other joint supplements through the years the Steadfast is by far the most impressive. Arenus is a very good company that does a lot of research into the products they create. Another reason I'm a fan & he also takes the Assure Guard they make for stomach & hindgut support.

After his massage he had a few hours until his next appointment. So he had some relaxation & then it was time for his Vet visit. His vet visit was short & sweet just the way he prefers with minimal disruption to his routine. He was allowed to get a vaccine finally since the vet at the hospital was pleased with his progress. I also wanted to run some routine blood work to see how everything is functioning especially since he had been very sick for a while. I typically run blood work on him every 6 months in hopes to catch something early If it shall arise. The last time it was run was December 2 months before he became very ill & it was perfect. Now 6-7 months later the results are in & everything is again perfect just like it had been before. This was a huge relief for both of us. He has been on medications for a long time for his stomach & completely new diet so this shows that he is handling the medications & new lifestyle very well. For his vaccine he typically would receive a dose of Banamine to alleviate any residual soreness associated with being vaccinated but this year due to his ulcers both his vet & I agreed to not do it this year. He is out day & night so that should help prevent any soreness since he will be constantly able to freely move about. He seemed like nothing happened today a day after so thank you 24/7 turnout!

So overall Ben had great visits with mild sassiness (he likes his opinion known) & narcoleptic moments! I often find myself just watching him wondering what he thinks about everything. He has been through so much seen so much more than most people will ever see. Wouldn't it be great if we could ask them what they think about something or what is bothering them. That would certainly make it easier if we spoke the same language, but we don't & they have a special & unique language of there own. It is our job to learn & listen. Horses are very expressive & let their feelings known in subtle or strong ways. A whisper to a scream. It is our jobs to hear the whisper before it becomes the scream.