What did you do today?

[Nanno]

Phil and I just got back from our annual "goat vacation" this afternoon. We had a great time in spite of some cold weather early in the week and I was happy to see that our other goats were well taken-care-of when I got home. The gallon of Nubbin's milk that we took with us on vacation stayed fresh and un-goaty the entire week, so once again I found myself thrilled at the nice milk goat we have.

On the not-so-pleasant side of things, I came home to find both my horses have what appears to be vesicular stomatitis. It's been going around Colorado all summer but hasn't been in my area at all as far as I know. I had to call the state veterinarian, and he'll send someone out tomorrow to run a test and then tell me what to do. Jet has lesions all over his mouth and tongue and can hardly eat. Skokie's mouth is fine but his sheath is grossly swollen and covered in lesions. They both got Bute for the pain and Skokie's swelling. If they have VS I'm curious to see what things the quarantine entails. Thank goodness the disease is not easily contracted by goats! Although since it is possible, I'll be making sure to wash hands, use gloves when handling the horses, keep the goats locked away where they can't access the horse water or corrals, and I'll have to be careful to keep feed buckets separate. I'll probably be going through a bit of bleach over the next couple of weeks!