“That’s the fourth one today. Did you get new hay?”

Yes, I got new hay. Along with everyone else is Central New Mexico, apparently.

New hay is actually a misnomer. This was eight bales of lousy hay that I paid too much for. It wasn’t moldy, it wasn’t even particularly dusty. It just looked spent. Weak. A little bit gray around the edges. Of course I went against my better judgment and fed it anyway, because I’d just paid almost $9 a bale for it. I have no idea what was in that hay, but within 24 hours, Belle had broken out in hives and Volare had a bad stomachache. I don’t even know if the two incidents were related, but after I talked to my vet, I got another brand new load of much nicer stuff. For which I also paid nearly $9 a bale.

Luckily, Volare’s colic passed quickly with a dose of banamine; two days later, Belle’s hives were completed gone. Was it the hay? Was it something else entirely? I started using fly spray on Belle—maybe she reacted. Volare is super sensitive to weather changes, and indeed, the temperature dipped a bit (from 97 to 85) that day and some stormy weather blew in from Colorado. Or maybe he just had a gas bubble that needed to pass. Or maybe it was the hay.

Taking care of horses is an awful lot like being a detective. The only information you have at first is speculation—maybe this, maybe that. Then you have to begin eliminating possibilities. I used the same brand of fly spray last summer and Belle did not get hives. Volare’s had three bouts of colic in the past year, one serious enough to send him to the horse hospital, so maybe it has nothing to do with hay, but is a more systemic problem. In fact, unless we find hard evidence (allergy tests for Belle, endoscopy for Volare), we’re left with the process of elimination and speculation. I do wish they could talk. Then all three of them (Baleno’s persistent “lameness” issues that seem somewhat undiagnosable) could clue me in on how to make them happier and healthier.

Although it’s unrelated to the topic above, I just have to share with readers how wonderful Little Belle is turning out to be. We went on our first ride outside the arena today. Volare (solid citizen that he is), piloted by my friend Kathleen, led the way as we walked along the irrigation ditch and out onto the 500 acre alfalfa field that abuts my back fence. Not only did Belle walk confidently forward, she wanted to be in front of her babysitter. Her ears were up the entire way. She was really happy to be out there. Jim and the farm guys were stacking hay in the bed of a pickup. One was standing on top of the stack and another on top of the hay already loaded in the truck. It could have been scary, and Belle surely looked, turning and facing the men and the hay stacks, and scooted a little sideways, but then she kind of said, “well, that’s okay I guess,” and on we went. She’s turning out to be a truly smart, fun little horse.