Hard days on the farm
One of my favorite things about the market is that I get to show off the good things we do... the product of our hard work. But sometimes it's hard to ignore the hard days that go into making it to market days.
This week had many of those hard days...
First, one of our horses has had a sore hoof since we took him in a few months ago. It would get better and then worse. I was doctoring him one day while he was eating his dinner, and he started to choke. This happens sometimes in older horses and we take precautions to prevent it, but his alfalfa got stuck and expanded like a rock. His airway wasn’t blocked, but he couldn’t swallow and kept gagging. We tried for hours, but it ended in a late night trip in the livestock trailer to our vet’s house down the mountain. It was scary, and we are grateful for his quick actions that saved Stanley.
Back to his hoof…
We connected with a new farrier who is amazing. He discovered what another had not, a hidden abscess festering under the surface. It has now been opened up, drained, cleaned, and packed. He is returning on Friday to check his progress.
For now, he is in a makeshift stall in our driest equipment shed. He is not happy, but he is healing!
THEN (phew!) We had an adorable calf born yesterday. I wasn’t home, but Tom found him and he was perfect. I was gone for a few hours, and when I came home I found him almost unresponsive. He was darn near frozen. I distracted momma while my son helped me heave this HUGE baby into a garden cart while we escaped before she noticed.
I ended up in the tub with him, holding his head up while I used warm water to raise his body temperature. Then he got another hour under the blow dryer. After 4 hours in the bathroom and a big bottle of colostrum, he was good as new. We took him outside to get him walking and then reunited him with his mom.
It was a beautiful moment because I think she thought he had died. She was laying in the same spot where she last saw him, and when she heard him call to her, she came running full speed.
Stay tuned to our Facebook page and I’ll post that video later this week!
