Once I got closer it became apparent to me he was unwell.
He was groaning and in pain. I got very worried and I tried to get him up by pulling him up under his chin, pushing against his back and even pulling his hooves. I didn't think to take the time to get a halter or rope.
He kept groaning and stretched out his neck and put his chin on the ground. For one awful moment I thought he was going to roll and twist his gut.
I went over and banged on the gate calling him like I was going to let him out, but he looked at me with such a painful look. I threw hay into Wildairo's hay bucket knowing that he always chases Wildairo off when I do that. Just more groaning. I then pushed a carrot into the side of his mouth and he was kind of forced to munch it. But when offered one he wouldn't take it. I called Brad on my cell phone but couldn't reach him. I'd walked over to the corrals so I had to walk home which seemed to take forever because I cannot run any more, (replaced ankle).
Once home I managed to reach Brad who informed me he wouldn't be home for hours and said I should call the vet. I wrote down the number of our Ritzville vet and in case he was gone the Moses Lake vet's number too, and drove back to the corrals to find Foxsun still looking pretty sick. I remember in the past when Foxsun has groaned, refused to move and looked pretty pathetic, but quickly recovered, so I decided to try a few more thing before calling in the cavalry. I went back home and got some Phenylzone Paste. I planned to put his halter on to try to pull him up to see what was wrong with him and if necessary give a squirt of the Phenylzone paste. You see it would take a vet awhile to get out to us because Ritzville is 35 miles away and Moses Lake is 50 miles away. I was so frightened and was trying hard to keep it together.
When I got back to the corrals Foxsun was standing up with his head buried deep into Wildairo's hay bucket. Wildairo was standing in the corner looking like he just got a whooping.
The old boy was standing with his four legs planted under him in a regular fashion and seemed to be in tip top shape for a horse that looked to be at deaths door a few moments before. I swore at him and went to visit Echo.
When Brad got home he took the horses their grain and reported back that Fox was standing with his head over the gate and shouting for his old horse dinner. He must have had a belly ache. Meanwhile I'm still trying to recover from my huge fright.
4 comments:
Sunni colicked once and I was never so scared in my life! I was useless...just a puddle of tears! Thank GOD the lady who boards them ran inside and called the vet. He came out, tubed him, we watched him, and he was fine the next day!!! Turns out, he was full of sand from the previous place I boarded him!!! Now they are all fed here in feeders, but they still DUMP their hay all over! I'm so relieved he is okay, and Foxsun, too!
I'm glad he turned out okay. That's scary!
You did good!!! That's all I ever do when I find them like that. If it resolves itself I don't call the vet. I just give them a tiny dose of Banamine..1/10th of what is required for their weight, so it won't mask the symptons. It almost always clears it up and stops the guts spasms. (It is a smoothe muscle relaxer--so it calms the gut). Bute is a pain reliever. I also give them a trailer ride to get the manure moving through and keep them on their feet, but it probably wouldn't be necessary.
If it's a twisted gut, displaced gut, or like Cheryl had, sand colic--then it takes it to another level.
I'm very glad to hear he had the good kind of colic!!! I know that must have been a huge relief for you.
Cheryl,
When it's not covered in snow it's sandy and dry here. I'm sure he eats some sand even when he's out in the pastures. Even though we try to keep the hay off the ground the horses throw it around. I think he may have sand in his belly. I'm going to see if I can do something about it.
Andrea,
Yes it's scary having sick horses. You have been so many scares yourself lately.
Linda,
I'm going to get some banamine to keep on hand. Thanks for the idea. The phenylzone was all I had on hand. I bought it when Foxsun ate too much green pasture one spring and had four sore feet. It's a good thing Foxsun doesn't suffer in silence.
Post a Comment