Flurry of updates

I'm concentrating on doing well in this block so that I'm eligible for research funding, so the blog writing has been a bit slow.

I'm learning all sorts of facinating things, including I'm pretty sure we should be riding cows instead of horses - they are just so much sturdier in all sorts of ways - their plural membranes are stronger and when one lung collapses, the other one doesn't automatically do so, (unlike horses), their bones mend really well (unlike horses), even if their diaphragm is paralyzed they do just fine!!!! Yeah...definitely need to look into that. (and yes, I've been the article from Europe of that girl trail riding/jumping the cow).

-Stop sitting so much. Stand and move. You wouldn't believe how your cardio system responds to laying prone or sitting. There is SUCH a difference in physiological response to just standing. Don't have time to cover it all, but stop sitting on your A$$. I'm using a folding music stand as my standing desk at school and it works PERFECTLY to hold an ipad and my keyboard. It's portable, non-intrusive etc.

 

Some more quick updates (lecture going on right now is review so I have about 5 minutes to get something here and post it!)

-Tess got snarfed by Harley again, dispite my best efforts. It was fairly traumatic for Tess, me holding both their collars while the german shepherd was still able to inflect some glancing puncture wounds. One on her shoulder was quite deep - I could see the muscle layer, but the next morning there was heat and swelling on the joint, where a more superficial cut over a joint on her front foot was. Took her to the vet, got antibiotics and NSAIDs. While I was there had them take a second look at Tess's tooth that sustained damage from a snarfing that occured when she was 4 months old. Bottom line - the 4th premolar, which I've been worried about has "turner's tooth" and could be fine, dead, need a root canal, or need reconstruction. I had my vet look at it while she was out for her spay and he said it was a slab fracture and was fine. Glad I went ahead and took her to the hospital here and school and got a second opinion. She'll need dental radiographs to determine whether the tooth is OK. I'm really really hoping it's OK. Dental work is not cheap. Second issue - the first molar that is just behind Premolar 4 is missing. Gone. No idea where it is. Probably related to the trauma as well, it could be retained and happy, absessed, moving it's way up to the nose etc. Needs to be taken care of. Radiographs will help us determine a plan of action for that too. Although, now the more I think about it, I wonder whether the "baby tooth" that was knocked out that I thought was the premolar prior to the adult one coming in, was actually the molar 1. In that case I know exactly where that molar is - gone. And no further surger would be required on that issue. So, need to make an appointment with the dental service and have then access, including radiographs and then I'll decide what absolutely has to be done. As much as the money matters, I'm also worried about putting Tess through a major procedure. Based on what I observed Tess doesn't handle surgery and associated pain well, and I don't want to put her under without a really really good reason that directly related with her welfare.

-Needless to say Harley got a muzzle. In this case, it wasn't an issue of a supervised play gone wrong etc - this was Harley actively evading control in order to attack. Not OK. There's only so much behavior modification that can occur, and I'm done with Tess being traumatized, hurt etc. The attacks come out of the blue, are unpredictable etc. The muzzle is going well, Harley doesn't even notice it, doesn't modify her behavior. Tess is terrified of Harley now, since the latest attack and spends most of the time avoiding being in teh same room and hiding in her kennel. Harley ignores Tess for the most part, and the muzzle is actually helping the situation - Tess is no longer the dog that's always in the other pen and thus of great interest and I can be calm about their interactions without worrying that Tess is going to be hurt.

 

Couple more things:

-I have a ride and tie practice tomorrow - Whoo hoo!

-Farley continues to do GREAT. We are on track to do the LD the weekend after next :)

-Fitted Farley for boots yesterday and she's gone up a whole size in the back and front :)

-My fittness plan is going very well - no injuries, no decrease in motivation, the weight is staying off, and I feel great. Still planning on writing you a post to give you the details :)

 

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