Standing in her noble shelter, peering over the edge with just the top half of her face above the wall, Trixie resembles a hippo floating beneath the surface of the water. But unlike hippos, one of the most dangerous land mammals, Trixie is sweet sweet sweet. We could tell she was a nice mare when we first met her, and the few weeks she has been at SAFE has only solidified that truth for us.
She recently met with our vets at Rainland for her first check-up in a while, and was her mellow self during the appointment. She had a float to help file down the sharp points of her teeth, got vaccinated, had blood drawn to check her insulin and ATCH, had her feet and knee examined, and had a microchip inserted – all in addition to a routine once-over. Because she had been out with a stallion, we will also run a pregnancy test in the next few weeks to cover our bases. Her bloodwork came back with elevated ATCH, so we have also started her on a daily tab of Prascend, which she gobbles up with gusto each morning out of a slice of carrot.
In addition to being seen by the vet, Trixie has also had not one but two trims since her arrival. Because of the state her hooves were in, more frequent trimming at the beginning has been an important step to get back on the right track. The deep abscess tracks in Trixie’s hooves will take some time to heal up, but she remains sound both in and out of the Cloud Boots she wears in to protect her hooves as they recover. Her knee definitely features some arthritic changes, but she is moving comfortably on her limbs for now, so we will continue to monitor her and add in vet suggested support as needed. Trixie was a riding horse in her past, but given the wear on her body, those days are behind her. No matter – she will make someone a lovely companion horse.
Speaking of companions, she has made a friend in fellow companion horse Mirana. The two of them call to each other from across the road where their paddocks are, and happily munch grass together — two retired ladies appreciating the finer things in life, like rolls in the tall grass and scratches on the withers. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about!
