Remedies

Emma hasn't had to wear the grazing muzzle at all today.  I may put it back on her when I go to bed just for my own peace of mind, but I think she is getting past her cleaning need.  I have been doing everything I can think of to make her more comfortable and feel safe.  She is feeling a bit threatened by the horses so they have been further exiled form the barn...

Fortunately, I had these grates on hand as they are what I finally came up with for my slow feeders (I'll post some new pictures of them one of these days.  I have made some changes and perfected my design and they are working great). 

I think that the thing that is troubling Emma the most right now though, is that she is in pain.  She has some slight discharge and she is having a lot of trouble urinating.  When I checked her this morning, the little bit of her vulva that I can see is completely black with bruising.  I think the birth was hard for her and she has a lot of internal bruising and tearing along with a lot of generalized soreness.  I spoke with the vet again and we decided to give her some banamine (pain killer for equines) for a couple of days.  I gave her the first dose this afternoon and it seems to be helping.  She is more relaxed, seems happier and less stressed.  I am watching her and baby very closely for any signs of infection.  

I made up a batch of my homemade hand/body lotion to use on her udder to help ease the soreness and chafing there as well.  It is made from beeswax, olive oil, sweet alomnd oil and vitmin E.  It makes a really nice lotion that can be used on even the most sensitive skin and as a lip balm If any of you are interested in trying this, it is easy to make (skip this part if you want to go straight to more baby pictures).  I hand this stuff out at Christmas sometimes and everybody has loved it and requested more. All you need is:

• 3-3.5 ounces of beeswax
• 1 cup Sweet Almond Oil (side-note:  this oil is also great for cooking, especially stir-fry as it has a very high flash point and zero cholesterol)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3-4 vitamin E capsules
• Fragrance or essential oil if desired (I skip this for animal use)

I mix all of the oils, vit. E and fragrance together in a jar and I use a large yogurt container to melt the wax, which I do in the microwave. Be careful melting the wax, I do it with 30 second blasts in the microwave.  It usually takes about 2 minutes, but check it often.  Once it is melted I pour all of the oil into the plastic container and mix.  If it doesn't mix smoothly, you will have to heat it up a little more.  Just put the yogurt container back in the microwave for another 30 seconds.  Once everything is warm enough, it will mix together smoothly and easily with no lumps or cloudiness.

The melted wax on the left and the oils on the right, ready to pour into the yogurt container....

 The warm solution all mixed and poured into the tins....

The finished product after it has cooled and set.

The beauty of using the yogurt container is that clean up is a cinch, I just toss the container.   The wax in this makes very hard to clean up otherwise.  It can be done, but I don't have the patience for putting that much effort into a yogurt container:)

The recipe above is more of a ratio then a real recipe.  If you want the end result to be harder (ie, if you want to pour it into those little lib balm tubes) then use a 1/4 - 1/2 an ounce more wax.  If you want it softer use less wax.  You can also try different kind of oils if you want, but this is what I have found to be the most popular. 

Now, back to what you're really here for...

I may need a new camera, it cant keep up with a warp-speed donkey...

I know I said I would tell you his name today, but I think I need another day to be sure.  Hopefully, this little guy will be around for a long time.  I want to make sure that his name not only suits him right now, but is also something he can grow into.