Lame.

Just when I had scheduled the appointment for the final fitting of the new saddle, Crispin came up lame. Really lame. About a 3-4 on the scale. *sigh*

He was already better the day I got the vet out (about two days after). Maybe a solid 3. Unfortunately the vet I would have liked to come out was on vacation, so I had to make do with another one. She couldn't really find anything, but thought that maybe his left pastern seemed a little warm. She gave us some bute and said he had to be 100% in 5 days or I would have to call her back for a more thorough exam and  x-rays.

I though the pain was in the hoof. I though I felt a pulse and had hoped for an abscess but she said no, no sensitvity of the sole. Hmm, like I said, not my favourite vet.

Of course he was still off 5 days later. Down to a 1-2 maybe, with apparent lameness turning left. So, I called the vet out for x-rays (this time the "good" vet).

We did a lameness exam with flexions (no reaction there), next to nothing on soft ground, a little lameness on pavement and obvious lameness in turns to the left (he's off on the left front). So, we're back to the hoof again.

The vet took x-rays of the hoof and came up with a concussion of the coffin bone. He'd expected a fissure but thankfully it seems to be neither a fissure nor fracture but still it's 6-8 weeks of no riding. Crispin is allowed to go out on single turn on a smaller pasture, but other than that it's stall rest on soft footing for at least 6 weeks.

 The scale:

• 0) Lameness not perceptible under any circumstances.
• 1) Lameness is difficult to observe and is not consistently apparent, regardless of circumstances.
• 2) Lameness is difficult to observe at a walk or when trotting in a straight line but consistently apparent under certain circumstances.
• 3) Lameness is consistently observable at a trot under all circumstances.
• 4) Lameness is obvious at a walk.
• 5) Lameness produces minimal weightbearing in motion and/or at rest or a complete inability to move.

Trail riding

Apart from all the guinea pig drama, I had some of the best moments yet with Crispin during those last two or three weeks. We finally hit the trails for real and he has been nothing but great! I'm totally thrilled with his trail qualities.

We have some really nice trails here but none of them are easy to get to. There is always the Autobahn to cross *scarry*



and the the Canal.



Plus there is usually a lot going on (Boats, Biker, Dogs, Cars... you name it). Unfortunately, in the past Crispin was already super excited just to leave the property as it was, without needing any more distractions or scarry stuff to wind him up even more. I guess that's basically why it took me so long to really go out there.

But after being quite excited at the start of every single trail ride it seems that all he really needed was just a few more real trail rides to figure out this whole trial riding thing. By now he's mostly relaxed from the start. He walks, trots and canters without any problems and is happy and relaxed no matter where he goes (the middle, the end or even the front). On our last ride he even lead over the Autobahn!

Guinea Pig Drama!!!

Here it is, one more guinea pig post. And oh my, what a drama it was finding Zorro a new partner. There even was bloodshed! Poor old girl got bitten by a nasty stranger:

But let's start from the beginning. After Bob died, I pretty much started looking for a new partner for Zorro right away. Guinea pigs are just so unhappy being alone and they feel unsafe without one or more other guinea pig(s) around.

Since Zorro has lived with a neutered male for years and isn't the youngest piggy anymore, I though the most sensible choice would be to get her another older neutered male for company.

Not an easy thing to find. But I did find a rescue that had a few older males to adopt in Unna (a 70 km drive). So, I packed up Zorro and drove to Unna. She was supposed to chose a partner herself. She did find one she seemed to like, so I packed up both piggies and drove home.

Couple of hours latter I was on my way back to Unna again. Turns out the male (about twice Zorro's size) was scared of her and quite agressive towards my little girl. Not cool! So he had to go.

The next pig I got from the rescue was an older neutered male used to living with a group of girls. Very confident fella. He started to chase and mount Zorro right away (to show his dominance) but she wasn't having any of that. They started fighting and Zorro got bitten in the nose. Maybe I should not have seperated the two after that, but I was so shocked by the nasty cut that I did. The male went into an extra cage over night and back to Unna the next day. (Thankfully the bite healed quickly.)

Thinking about it, I realized that Zorro simply wasn't used to not being the boss. With Bob she'd always been the boss and honestly, I never even realized that this wasn't the way it's supposed to be with guinea Pigs. Bob and Zorro were always so harmonious with each other.

Back in Unna the rescue lady and I decided to forget about the old males and try two young females as new partners for Zorro instead. So, I packed those up and went back home. Determined to make things work out this time.

During the following week I tried to get the three girls to play nice with each other. The two new ones lived in a seperate cage and I only let them meet zorro on neutral ground. Unfortunately, Zorro was in no mood to meet any more strangers. And to make matters worse, one of the little ones was quite a dominante little thing herself. Whenever they met, she simply chased Zorro for a bit and Zorro was just terrified by her, running and hiding. Another deal breaker. And even though I really, really like that little pig, she too had to go back to Unna.

Thankfully, the other little one was a perfect fit and she gets to stay! I call her Io.

Io:

Io is about 4-5 months old and very shy. She was a little scared of Zorro at first but at the same time interested in her. At first Zorro was also a little scared of little Io, but only for a day or two.

Zorro and Io day two:

They have been living together for two weeks now and everything seems to be working out just fine. There was no fighting or chasing at all, only some gestures of dominance from Zorro here an there. Perfect. 

Amidst all that piggy drama I also extended the cage.

Before:

And now:

Notice, there is now room for three piggies...

...to be continued!