Boys will be boys. In December, Ben played a little too rough in turnout and got himself a nice swift kick to the left knee by one of his buddies. His knee swelled to the size of a grapefruit and had a minor laceration. Our Barn Manager, Lori, put her equine bodyworker skills to use immediately and applied equi-tape to the knee to bring the inflammation down. Luckily the injury didn’t cause any lameness, but we dealt with swelling for several days. Dr. Devine from Pilchuck came out to examine it and determined that he just needed stall rest and time off.

Ben had to be separated from his herd mates and placed in a smaller turnout for a few weeks. He was unhappy about this decision, but the injury has healed completely and he is now back in his regular turnout with his friends Anderson, Valor, and Owen. Ben lost a bit of his topline after having that time off, but he is back in full work and is building that up again.