The "Neigh"bors and other thoughts ...

Howdy Y'all. Yep its me "Copper" starting to pick up on the southern twang that is so common
in texas. Well the other day I was keep'n a eye on the owner and check'n out the new fillies in the
neighbor's pasture. Whew..... they sure have some pretty cute ones. Anways I happened to over hear a conversation ( I really wasnt eaves dropping ... just munch'n on grass) and I heard
the owner Lea Ann talking about "strangles" with the other neighbor over the fence line.
Well that certainly got my attention!! I'm sure that many of you folks are not familiar with "strangles", so I will tell you a little about it and why it makes me real nervous to even be near the fenceline next door.
Strangles is a highly contagious virus that can settle in your throat and actually "strangle" you so that you can not breathe. It starts with a runny nose, a slight fever, and then gets worse and worse. You get huge bumps( kinda like mumps) under your jawline and neck and that fills with
fluid and yucky stuff. After a few days if your lucky this burst opens and then you start to heal and get better. However when you have all the yucky stuff draining that is when your the most
contagious and it can spread to every horse that comes in contact with other horses, it can be
transferred from when another horse that was sick and took a drink out of the local watering hole....... boy I am so glad that I heard Lea Ann and KD talking about it because now I can
tell the rest of the herd to stay clear of the fence line of my neighobrs and whatever they do
not to touch noses over the fence either!!!!
What a scary thing!!
Well its time to hit the hay for now, got a big day ahead. Guess I have to go out on a job
tomorro to visit with at least 200 kids that are at a daycare near Austin Texas. Sure hope they
have some treats like apples and carrots to give me. Cause after all that work I will be for sure
hungry!
Till next time
Your friend
"Copper"