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Green grass... mud...
rain... December???? This is great! As a California native who
experienced Christmas as lush and green with occasional thunderstorms
in the San Francisco Bay Area, I can fully appreciate and enjoy
the weather we have had up until now. I hear that this weather,
in the 40's, is supposed to last at least until Saturday, and
that is GREAT with me.
On the other hand, the mud makes things a bit slick for the
sanctuary horses Bob Cook, Haiaku, and Precious KC. Haiaku has
trouble getting to water since he prefers not moving much in
his turnout, and Bob Cook limps and slides, then limps and slides.
I guess the thick, dark sludge makes the farm look a bit dirty,
and the lack of sunshine paints a bit of a dismal picture that
lowers the spirits of even my equine companions just a hair.
DT continues his healing process. We alternate wrapping, then
keeping it open to the air, always treating it but longing to
see a permanent scab cover the wound. He doesn't seem to favor
the leg even one little bit, and riding DT demonstrates the
fact, as he is always ready to get up and GO GO GO under saddle
as well as in his turnout. We recently turned out a two year
old filly with Bob and DT and Asha, which has sparked some excitement
among the group and DT is twitterpated by this young thing to
say the least! I guess nothing is ever too dull at our place.........
We came home on Sunday (our family day) and decided to have
a Packer party with our family and my in-laws. During the second
quarter it became quite apparent that it was time to go out
and do chores, as the Packers were giving the game away (to
say the least they stunk) and we all were writhing in a bit
of disappointment and frustration. I went out the scoop out
the feed and went into the barn to open the stall doors for
Precious and Haiaku, but there were four eyes staring at me
from one stall. I saw a chestnut head and a big bay head and
approached the stall. Someone had dropped off two horses while
we were away at church that day. Someone was bringing us two
horses, one of which was starved almost to the point of death.
When I saw the big bay horse I almost dropped to my knees. I
started crying out to the Lord, "Oh my God, Oh my God...
" and my mother in law came running. She, too, gasped in
disbelief at the horses. The chestnut, a two year old that was
no larger than a yearling, was a bit thin but on the low range
of acceptable in condition. The big bay had hip bones sticking
several inches above any remaining flesh on his rump. You could
clearly see both sets of ribs - upper and lower. The spine also
lurched several inches high, with no flesh attached to it. The
tail bone was evident from several feet away. This gelding's
head was HUGE in comparison to what was left of his body. His
coat was matted in spots, with clear evidence of rain rot all
over the top of his rump and hip area. To say he has parasites
is a gross understatement.
Immediately I moved the horses to a larger area. WE gave them
hay, and, apprehensive about feeding grain, decided to feed
a small amount of Senior pelleted complete feed. The bay gelding
consumed the feed as though it were afraid it would be stolen
from him. Suddenly, he retreated into the barn and began the.......dreaded......choke..............
He cleared his airway and I immediately knew we had to make
adjustments to his feed. He just was so hungry he inhaled his
food too quickly and ended up choking. I saw him begin movements
indicating that he was colicking. He was kicking and biting
his sides. He laid down, but did not roll. I knew it was time
to call a vet and ran for the phone. My family, tucked inside
the living room, almost rolled their eyes up into their heads
as yet another crisis began. They are used to it. They have
almost become sickeningly immune to my emotional state when
yet one more neglected horse needs immediate help. I ignored
their "looks" and called one vet, who said he wouldn't
touch the case - the horse needed to go into the equine hospital
immediately. I called the next vet, who agreed to come over.
She brought IV fluids, banamine, bute paste, electrolytes, and
the works. Taking his temperature revealed that he had a below
normal reading, typical for an emaciated horse. He was not dehydrated
so IV fluids were not warranted. Electrolytes were put in his
drinking water and bute administered but his colicky behavior
had cleared and he was back at the trough eating hay, so it
did not warrant banamine. We phoned the sheriff, who came out
the next day to file a report. Since we know the culprit - the
people who starved this horse, we needed verification that a
vet had treated the horse and noted his condition, and needed
the sheriff to go out to the farm to inspect the premises and
remaining horses to be sure there were no other horses in this
condition. The sheriff reported that the other horses resembled
the sorrel Paint filly .......... not great, but not horrific.
They did not pursue taking the horses into protective custody.
Three days later, this gelding is making a comeback after 48
hours of my own personal worry about whether or not he would
survive. He choked on hay and then again on a carefully soaked
ration two more times after the first episode. He was able to
cough it up both times, and then back to eating. Now that he
knows he can have all he wants to eat without having it taken
away, he has relaxed and the choking has not occurred at all
since Tuesday night. I can say that he was added to a prayer
list in Tennessee and the Lord had a hand on this kind old horse
in no uncertain terms! I love happy endings.........of course
I will tell you when the happiest of endings occur - when he
goes to his "happily ever after" home when he recovers!
Another day in the life of ASAP.....
On a good note, the holiday
newsletter is on its way out to you. We hope that will happen
this week. You will be able to access it on line.
It has been one year since Wolfie passed. On December 4 I remember
the first snow fall and Wolfie leaving us.........and his memory
is forever engraved into the hearts of my children, my friends,
and everyone who ever met him. Mayatuk is so much like Wolfie
in terms of personality, and has just recently found his "howl",
although he doesn't "talk" as much as Wolfie did.
My husband thinks that is just fine!!!!
My mother has had a series of falls since Sunday. Luckily she
has Life line so both times she fell she was able to summon
emergency services by pushing a button. The first fall produced
contusions of her ribs and arm. Yesterday, just as I was leaving
to take my son to get his driver's permit, Lifeline phoned us
again with another emergency summons from my mom. I rushed to
La Crosse (it takes about 20 minutes) and had a feeling that
I should phone an ambulance. By the time I got there the First
Responders were there and the ambulance was just arriving. How
scary to not know what you will discover... and it was not pleasant
to find my mom on the patio out back with a pool of blood around
her. It seems that she was on her way back into the condo when
her sock caught on the doorway and she fell and cut open her
head above the eye. Being the proud Norwegian that she is, she
did not want to put her hair into the pool of blood so held
her head up while she pushed the Lifeline button and yelled
for help. She laid outside in 40 degree temperatures for 30
minutes before help arrived. We were all so terrified that she
had broken a hip. Thankfully, emergency room diagnostics showed
no broken bones. She got stitches above the eye and they also
discovered a UTI that she is being treated for with antibiotics.
My sister and I have decided that until the Parkinson's can
be treated more effectively that Mom needs to live with her
and I. We will take turns, week by week, having Mom live with
us for now. We are happy to do it. Mom has given us all her
heart and soul for so many years - it is a joy to give it back
to her now, and it is our turn. Please pray for all the horses
and for family - both yours and mine - and get ready for a blessed
holiday season!
Susan
