Day 89

Well, it looks like so far we got lucky.  Both horses are fine, no signs of colic or laminitis.  Col is obviously upset that he has been getting only hay for the past 24 hours, but Little Love seems to have accepted her fate.  I made them both a bran mash for the evening (vets orders) and I am sure when Becky's husband delivered those buckets, both of them were happy.  Horses seem to love that stuff even if it really isn't the best nutrition for them.  But it does help with digestion, so hopefully it will have that effect (not that either one has had a problem so far, knock on wood). 

The two horses have also been confined to the smaller area for now, so they don't get to gorge on grass at all - another issue that had Col thinking about busting through the fence we made.  I could actually see him looking at the fence and thinking.  This horse and his Houdini skills...  He did leave the fence and gate alone for now, so I'm hopeful he will hang in there one more day to be on the safe side.   We don't have electricity and hopefully don't need it either...

Little Love had an appointment with the osteopath today.  It was lady that was recommended by a friend and the minute she stepped out of the car, I had a good feeling about her.  I also knew immediately that Little Love would accept her and allow her to work on her body.  It's hard to explain, but sometimes I just know.  Anyways, the lady was very thorough and wanted to know every detail about Little Love's life.  I told her pretty much everything, including the episode with the food yesterday.  She could feel some of the signs of over eating (don't ask me details, but at one point she had both hands on her gums - for example.  She really examined every inch of this horse). 

After everyting she has gone through, Little Love is really tight in her lower back as well as in her right shoulder.  She also has a lot of tension in her withers.  This is something that was already caused by her old saddle (something her old owner acknowledged but did not act upon as she really liked "her" saddle).  The saddle I have for Little Love now is not exactly great either.  Good thing I'm not riding!  I feel that if I do ever get back on her, I want her to have more muscle to actually carry me.  At the moment her back is really weak.  Also, I would like to get a saddle that actually fits her.  I can adapt, if necessary.  But, since I am in no hurry to ride her, I'm in no hurry to get a saddle.  I probably won't even go there until we have moved country.

The osteo worked on Little Love for an hour and Little Love loved it.  She really needed some body work and this woman was very gentle and considerate.  I really, really liked how she connected with Little Love from the beginning.  She also could immediately see what kind of a horse she was, it was amazing.  A few times Lilo didn't like something and she immediately "voiced" her opinion.  The osteo really respected that, which in turn gained Lilo's respect and this helped with cooperation. 

While she was working on Little Love, the osteo and I started talking more and more about what I was doing (or rather not doing) with Little Love and realized that we thought a lot alike!  It is rare here in Switzerland (and probably elsewhere as well) to encounter people who actually are on the same sort of journey as you are, so after the osteo was done with Little Love, we ended up talking for 1½ hours!  Amazing.  In the end we were both in tears recounting our experiences in the horse world and how we really hoped that people would find their way to truly seeing horses as the sentient beings they are.  There is nothing like meeting a kindered spirit!