Last night, I was mucking out Chance’s stall when suddenly I saw a little black fluffy creature skeet by followed by my dog. I stick my head out of the stall, thinking (or hoping) it was the barn cat, only to see that my dog has cornered a skunk! I yelled for her to “come”, but it was too late.
The pungent smell wafted towards me; it was so thick that I literally felt that the skunk had sprayed me in my mouth. I grabbed Sadie, and with the help of the farm owner’s son, began to wash her. I poured tomato juice all over her, followed by Dawn soap, and lots of water. Thankfully, due to having her Rambo jacket on, she did not get much on her and the tomato and Dawn concoction worked! The next thing was to tackle the corner of the barn where the skunk sprayed- tomato juice, Dawn, water, and due to the freezing temperatures, salt.
That was an interesting start to my evening at the barn!
The low temperatures has caused the 6+ inches of snow, surrounding the barn, to have a thick layer of ice on top. Poor Chance has been stall bound for almost a week. Even on a sunny day, when we try to let him outside or hand walk him, he goes straight back into his stall after a few laps. However, his legs are looking good, he is full of personality, and his eyes are bright.
This week is his second week on the Marquis. I have noticed that the twisting is not as prominent when I am walking him but that could be due to Chance concentrating more on walking due to the ice and snow- fingers crossed that it is due to the Marquis though.
I started him on a new blend of hay- an alfalfa mix- and he can not stop eating it. I am hoping that the blend will help him gain some weight back especially since he is unable to access any grass right now.
I am hoping for some warmer days to melt this ice and enable Chance to get some exercise!
The Chances We Take 