It has been said that horses will find ways to hurt themselves even when wrapped in bubble wrap! Well, I spent a ton of time getting the trailer set for PB to travel in a box stall and went over every surface to make sure there wasn't anything sticking out or sharp or dangerous. When he was delivered from Godolphin, he came loose in a box stall, so I felt sure that he would prefer this form of travel since we had at least two 9 hour days of driving!
To help him get in the groove, I had decided to travel a shorter distance on the first day, from Aiken, SC to Southern Pines, NC to see my friend and fellow trainer Laura Amandis. The plan was to drive the 3+ hours and spend the afternoon training PB alongside Laura and her horses. I was soooo looking forward to this!
So, with everything but the kitchen sink loaded. I pulled out at 7am this morning and PB seemed a bit unsettled at first, but later was quiet in the back of the trailer. Steve Houghton, my Barn Groom, is traveling with me thank goodness. And he LOVES coffee. So after we got thru Columbia, SC and to the exit that took us to the back roads to Laura's, we stopped for a potty break and to coffee for him and tea for me! I opened the drop down window to check on PB and much to my shock, his face was cut open! I mean really cut open!
I had no idea what to do! I was in shock. So I just closed the window and went into the convenience store as I had to pee really badly! I honestly was freaking out and trying to hold it together as I knew that showing my emotions would not help the situation! So I headed to the bathroom and told Steve to buy some superglue! As I headed back to the trailer, I came to my senses and grabbed some vet wrap and non-stick pads. With Steve's help, I put the skin flap back in place with coconut oil as I wanted to keep it moist and wrapped him up figuring our next stop would be a vet in Southern Pines!
Once he was bandaged and tied so he could move all around the trailer, I got on the phone with Laura. She directed me to Southern Pines Equine Services and gave me their phone number. I called them and they were wonderful. They said to just come straight there and they would take care of him! So an hour and a half later we were at the clinic and getting my poor boy stitched up by Dr. Jim!
An hour and 25+ stitches later, PB was all patched up! Dr. Jim did a great job and his staff was wonderful! PB even made their FB page for the before and after shot of the day (or week or something!) They said his face would heal up nicely and it was just a flesh wound as there is not much in the face except for skin and bone, and thank goodness he didn't break any bone!
With his boo boo tended to, they wrapped his nose with special sticky wrap and we were off to Laura's As you can see that bandage didn't last too long, lol! And I had to go back to my creative vet wrap around the halter with gauze underneath! He was such a good boy! So patient and good during this whole ordeal! He is resting comfortably in a very nice paddock with a very nice big fan and a bag his favorite hay mix! As for me, I am a bit more relaxed as Laura took us out for a great dinner at Pineneedles! YUM! And now some rest before the first long day on the road!
Tomorrow's goal: Arrive safely at Phillip Dutton's Training Center in PA to stay with my good friend and famous author of World Class Grooming, Emma Ford!