11/19/2018 - Diagnosing Penn, Part 3

I am blessed with a wonderful Barn Owner who lets me do things like borrow her truck and drive it to another state and put 600-700 miles on it in one go. TWICE. The first time was after my oil pump failed in 2017. After my truck’s brakes died on our way home from VA, the first call I made was to emergency services, the second was to her to start to arrange transport for Penn to get to his MRI and to get home.

While mom and I were driving back to VA on Monday, Husband called. We had dropped the truck off at our favorite local shop without telling them it was coming, and left it with a big to-do list. The shop had finally called him back. They were concerned because we left them quite a list, and they basically said that with Thanksgiving coming up, them already being 2 weeks deep in existing work, and the amount of parts and labor and comprehensive look over that the truck needed, it could be 3 to 4 weeks before we got it back, and then we're getting into Christmas holiday time. Maybe they were concerned about the amount of time it would take to finish... but really, like we’d say no and have it towed somewhere else? Nah. But that did change things for Penn.

The best shot... has moisture on the lens. Facepalm

We had planned on going to the MRI Tuesday and taking him directly home to PA, with the understanding we’d probably be home before the MRI was fully reviewed and a treatment plan conceived. We were planning on bringing him back a week or so later… whups, not anymore. I’d have to borrow a truck for another 2 days on someone else’s M-F schedule, which I didn’t want to do because I only have 1.5 vacation days left for the year. I made a bunch of calls: VEI agreed to take Penn overnight and squeeze him into someone’s schedule for whatever treatment was decided on (easy to do because he’d be there already), and Barn Owner agreed to let me keep the truck for an additional day.

We got to GP Trainer’s by late afternoon after a nice drive that only had a few driving shenanigans from other drivers. GP Trainer's barn is technically closed on Mondays- no boarders, lessons or riding, just staff taking care of the horses and doing projects that can’t be done with clients around. GP Trainer’s assistant made an exception for me- I needed to drop off grain no matter what, but she said I was allowed to ride if I’d like. So ride I did!

"Hey I'm walking in a field, neato!"

I had planned on schooling in the indoor. When I got there, some of the maintenance staff were working in it and I turned around to go to the outdoor, which also has glorious safe footing and it was a beautiful day out. When I got to the outdoor, I found it had been freshly dragged. Not wanting to disturb it either, I got on and decided a walk through her fields on a pseudo trail ride was just the right thing to do. Penn hasn’t been on a trail ride since May, and she has tons of level field to stroll through.

Just a pretty pic of her indoor and the sunset.

I went for a quick 15 min walk, tucked him back in his stall, packed the trailer with all the non-essentials I needed in the morning, and high tailed it out of there. We were in and out in an hour and 15 min!

I did look over his grain situation while we were there. GP Trainer feeds breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and lunch is fed outside in the turnouts in winter. I found an overturned feed pan of alfalfa pellets out in Penn's dry lot, hahaha! They didn't go over so well then. I figure he ate about half of what they gave him, and I bagged the leftovers and put the rest of the bag in my trailer while he was eating a much more satisfying grain dinner with some of his regular supplements.

Cute face that says, "I do not like alfalfa pellets, Mom!"

The evening was fairly boring, mom and I had dinner and turned in early because a 7:30a MRI appointment meant leaving GP Trainer’s barn by 5:45a, which meant arriving there by 5a, which meant a 4am wake up!