Another Blowout

I woke up a few times during the night and listened to the rain pouring down.  This morning dawned damp and misty.  We went to the barn to do chores before the rain started up again.  Jackson had made a complete turn around during the night.  His abscess burst and he was walking normally.  His manure was back to normal too and my, oh my, was he in a feisty mood. 

I'm telling you, there is nothing like epsom salt poultice and a diaper to bring an abscess to a head.  I was asked about the poultice -- I have a picture of the stuff on my post about Tuffy's abscess.  I use infant size disposable diapers and smear a handful of the green gel in the middle of the diaper.  Then I wrap the diaper around the foot so that the poultice is on the sole.  I figure walking around will smear it so I don't worry about spreading it in the diaper.  Then I cover the whole thing with lots and lots of duct tape to make it water proof and strong enough to walk around on. 

I took off the diaper from yesterday and it was, as I suspected, full of black icky stinky stuff.  I soaked Jackson's foot to get it clean -- all the poultice and abscess gook was in the frog and the coronary band and the heels.  Yech.  It was a cold wet morning so Jackson was more than happy to have his foot in warm water.  I dried his hoof with a towel and put another poultice diaper on to draw out any remaining infection.  Tomorrow I will most likely transition him to an EasyBoot until our farrier comes up next week to do their regular shoeing. 

I spent the afternoon down the mountain in San Juan Capistrano with a friend.  We sat in a restaurant talking over a margarita, an artichoke, a couple shared salads, ice tea, coffee...  Yeah, we were there awhile.  I love this friend.  We met through a shared dressage trainer many years ago and have discovered that we are alike in many ways from small fast cars to politics.  We talk about horses, cars, work, husbands, family... everything.  It was the perfect way to spend a rainy day.  I am so lucky to have a great husband, a great horse, and a great friend. 

Here's a photo from yesterday that I didn't use.  The weather was picture perfect before the storm blew in.