Yesterday we took Strider into the vet to get a laceration three stitches. I thought once I fixed the dilapidated fence that the horses would float on a cloud of safety. Nope. Went out a couple days ago and Strider had a one inch cut under his eye. I cleaned it with betadine, put some antiseptic ointment on it and it looked good for about 36 hours until it started healing in the wrong way (the skin was aligning unevenly). I had previously scheduled a salon appointment at 4:15, and normally a 2:30 vet appointment would be fine since they are all in a five mile radius from my home. It would have worked until..... the vet was an hour behind schedule and the laceration took three stitches instead of one and Strider needed a tetanus update. When we left, instead of dropping the horse off, I drove the horse trailer and Wilder and his friend to the salon. We parked in a bank parking lot that was big enough for the trailer and horse and I gave Wilder my debit card to get cash out of the bank and while I ran over to the salon where I was 10 minutes late.When I was done and paying the gal behind the counter told me how mature the boys were and how they regaled her with horse stories and getting cash for the first time out of a cash machine at the drive through window. As we left the salon, Wilder's friend told me he "was not really a salon type man." When I looked at the magazines in the waiting area I could see why. Probably not so keen on the fancy hats of the royal wedding, how to keep their man satisfied and getting ready for bikini season. They are good sports.My vet visit cost $229. Anyone considering horse ownership because it is "fun" and "you have always wanted to have a horse" needs to realize how dang expensive their upkeep is. And you can't scrimp, they are big creatures that take alot of maintenance and if defered can cause your horse to be good for nothing but the glue factory. Hooves, teeth, worms, vaccines... monthly, quarterly, annually. Dollars, dollars, dollars. Sorry this got a bit rant-y. My horseshoer just was out telling me horse ownership horror stories --he sees alot of them, and some are hard to hear.
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Before I retired I didn't know a thing about horses only they were beautiful animals, although I was always scared of them because I had a bad experience with one when I was young. When I bought my ranch I thought I'd look into getting a horse now that I was retired had the ranch and thought maybe I could get one. But whoa, I read a few books, even did volunteer work at a horse rescue place and soon found out how finicky and costly they could be (around $150 a mo. for one plus vet bills) I found out. And I thought dogs were bad. I have my cat which is enough for now and even he's kind of expensive since I get him the $25.00 bags of dry food and cans of around $1.00 each. I really shouldn't complain. Maybe my next low cost animal will be a hampster!
Did you know it costs $50 to euthanize a $3.50 rat? No animal is cheap anymore. I feel your pain, I have my own horror stories regarding pets this week alone...
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