I missed last Wednesday, because we drove down to the Florida Keys for a week. It was lovely, but when you own a farm leaving for a week is a logistical nightmare.
I hire a really good farm sitter, but I never expect anyone to come in and be able to care for the place the way that I do, so I spend the week prior to leaving getting everything set up so that it’s straightforward and easy.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always do things the most efficient way. It’s my farm and I’ve got all day to get everything done. But, I want to keep my farm sitter around, and I’d never expect her to spend all day piddling around here.
Returning from vacation is always an adventure, too. I’ve returned from vacation to find out that 3 of my 4 horses are positive for leptospirosis. Yay!
Beau has had a couple bouts of uveitis, and in horses that’s a good reason to test for leptospirosis. I decided to test the whole herd, because they all live together and also because it doesn’t cause a lot of symptoms in horses. Once uveitis has set in, it’s too late to save the horse’s vision, but if the infection is caught early enough it can be treated successfully. Only Beau has an active infection, but Newboy and Spots have been exposed and will need monitoring. Jack is currently negative.
The best treatment is to never let them get it. Leptospirosis is spread through water, so my current project is to get rid of all the spots where water pools when it rains. We’re in a pretty sandy area, so luckily there aren’t many. It’s still a big job, though, and is definitely cutting into my horse riding time.
Since my two Thoroughbreds, Jack and Newboy, “officially turned 9 on January 1st, I should probably get to work on their training. Their bodies are absolutely sufficiently mature to handle full training. Happy Birthday, Boys, you’re going to work!
true story, my horse had a bit of a sore eye right around christmas and this post may or may not have sent me into a little bit of a paranoid texting conversation with my vet about “but what if it’s chronic uveits omg!!” ….. probably i should drink more coffee haha. or less? idk….
anyway tho, sorry you had to come back to the lepto in the horses but hopefully clearing out all the standing water will be totally worth it in the long run! wishing you a happy new year full of fun new training for the kiddos 😉
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It’s only chronic if it keeps re-occurring, so you’re probably safe! I am planning to write up a whole post about leptospirosis, what lead to me testing, the treatment plan, and all my research on leptospirosis… I’ve researched it extensively because I drink too much coffee! 😀
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Sorry to hear you that this on return from your holiday. All the best going forward.
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ugh that sucks glad you had a good vacation BEFORE all that. And the term ‘standing water’ makes me shudder since my farm has more water than land right now!! I hope eveyrone recovers as well as can be expected!!
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