That's what they call it when you have to stay in and you can't go play in turnout or even go for walks. It can get pretty boring but the good thing is that my mom comes and fusses over me and gives me treats and loves me up and stuff. Plus she does interesting things that are fun to watch.
She came out today shortly after I'd gotten my alfalfa. I was munching away when I looked up and there she was pulling one of those big cart things that she puts my poop in when she cleans my stall. In it was a big bag of shavings, my lunchbox and a bunch of bags and packages. I wanted to sniff them all and I stretched my neck way out my stall door so I could while she took them out and piled them up nearby. Then she pulled my bucket dinner out of the cart and gave it to me. That was nice. I ate that while she cleaned my stall.
She also put a bandage on my hurt leg. It was supposed to hold a funny squishy thing on it. The squishy thing was cold but it kept sliding down so she took it off soon and got some of those cold crunchy things out of my lunchbox and wrapped them in a cloth. Then she held the cloth against the sore part of my leg. It felt kind of funny but I didn't mind. I kept pretty still and just kept eating while she did that. It was really cold, colder than the water is when she hoses my leg but it felt kind of good. Mom said it would help so I let her do it.
She held it on there for a pretty long time then she stopped and cleaned some more, then put it back on for another long time. When she finally took it off, she got a towel out of my duds closet and dried my leg off. Then she put some wet stuff on my leg. It came in a bottle and it felt warm on my leg. It also smelled kind of funny. Mom called it DMSO and she wore these funny little gloves while she put it on. The gloves came out of a box. They were small and rubbery and when she pulled them on they made a snapping noise. They were a lot like the gloves my doctor wears sometimes. After she put the stuff on, she peeled the gloves off and threw them in the garbage can outside my stall. That's what he does too.
I was all done with my bucket dinner by now, and she was done cleaning so I figured she'd be going home but instead she started puttering around in my stall. First she put a wrap on my back leg that wasn't hurt. That was kind of odd but it was okay. I've had wraps on before at the racetrack so I don't mind them. Then she reached into one of the bags she'd brought and pulled out a stall snack! I like stall snacks. They go in a little container that hangs in my stall and I can lick and lick and lick them and they taste good. Lots of times I try to bite them but I never really can very well so I just have to lick. That makes them last a long time and it gives me something fun to do in my stall. Mom put it in the container and hung it up but I was too interested in all the things she was doing to start licking it just yet.
Then she got a plastic case that rattled in an interesting way and she went out into my paddock. She started fooling around with my paddock door and she pulled a long metal thing out of the case and attached it to a latch that's on the outside of it. The metal thing made a funny clicking noise as she turned it and I went over to the door and poked my nose out to see what it was. It was so interesting. It smelled kind of like my bit but it was a funny shape and it made that sound. Mom called it a ratchet and let me sniff it all over. Then she kissed my nose and went back to what she was doing which was taking that latch apart. I guess she fixed it because now there's a window that opens on the top part of my paddock door so that the door can be closed but I can still stick my head out and see what's going on and get some fresh air. That's kind of neat though I'd rather be able to go in my paddock. Sometimes when you're on stall rest though, you just can't.
Next she brought the bag of shavings into my stall but instead of opening it up and spreading it around, she stood up on it! I rushed right over to see what she was doing now and I saw her fooling around with my fly spray contraption. I have this box in my stall that hangs up near the ceiling. It sprays fly spray out all by itself every so often. The fly spray it uses smells good and it really helps keep the little buggers off me. Every now and then Mom puts a new can in it and I think the can must be what the fly spray comes out of. That's what she was doing. She let me sniff the new can and then when she took the old one out, she let me sniff that too. I also had to sniff her feet on top of the bag of shavings. It seemed really strange to see her up there.
She got that taken care of and stepped down and then she opened it up and spread it for me. They were the fluffy kind of shavings that I used to have before she switched to the little small shavings. They make a nice soft bed and I figured she probably wanted to make sure I had one while I was hurt. She's always thinking of me and doing nice things for me.
I was having a nice time following her around my stall. I still had lots of alfalfa but I wasn't even interested in eating it because we were having such a fun time. Every time Mom ducked out of my stall under the chain thing, she'd pet me and give me a kiss and then she'd ask me to back up so she could come back in and when I did, she'd give me a cookie. She had a whole pocket of cookies and she kept on giving them to me. It was so nice. I kept poking my nose at her pocket hoping that she'd get the hint and give me more but she only gave them to me when I did something she told me to. So I made sure to pay attention.
When all her chores were done she checked my leg to make sure it was dry and then put a wrap on that one. So I have pretty wraps on both my back legs. They feel okay so I don't mind. She put some more alfalfa in my stall for me and told me to be a Good Girl and that she'd see me in the morning. So I'm stuck in my stall with the window open but I guess it will be okay. At least I can see and visit with Cocoa and Mickey and I can hang my head outside.
I'm feeling a little sleepy now so I think I'll lie down in my bed and take a nap. That's what you do on Stall Rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment