Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wednesday

Everything is going great with the horses! Sandy has improved dramatically over the last 2 days. He actually ran from me when I tried to put his halter on to take him for a walk. He's starting to eat faster too. Before I would put hay in his bucket and it would literally take him all day to eat. Then dinner time would come around and he'd get more hay and be in the box stall over night eating. He was spending so much time in the box stall eating and not getting outside to walk around or visit with the other horses. So now at least he's getting around more. His poop is normal now too...although there is still sand coming out but mostly it looks normal.

We are still having donations come in too! I am so thankful for them because without that money Sandy would not be here today! As stressful as the first few days were this has been such an amazing experience. Just alone the people that have come forward that I have never meet to help these horses has given me such a new outlook on life & people!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday's Update

Things here have calmed down a lot! Sandy had the last of the IV fluids and the catheter is out so now it's up to him to keep up the pace....I have no doubts he won't! He is eating & drinking great! I probably didn't have to give him that last bag of fluids but we had it, it was paid for, and wasn't going to hurt any! :) He was restless and it was hard to get him to stand still for 2 hours while the IV was going...he wanted to eat! He's still passing a lot of sand! At this rate we could have a nice sandy arena to ride in! LOL!! We went on a nice walk tonight and it was awesome to see how strong he is getting. Saturday when I was walking him, he was so weak and his hind legs were giving out! I have no doubt that if we had not started fluids when we did he would have died! Both horses have such sweet dispositions considering the lack of handling they've had. I think Parris will be ready for lunging this week. I'll get her out in the arena and see what she knows and hopefully she won't drag me across the arena!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Sunday Update

I am so amazed at what a different horse Sandy has become over the last 24 hours. He has a great appetite, he whinnied at me this afternoon when I was feeding the other horses....he wanted some too! :) We're doing more IV fluids today. I want to get ahead of the game since it's so hot today and make sure he's really hydrated. He'll have another small dose of fluids tomorrow and we should be on the road to recovery. He's about 300 pounds underweight, the vet said.



The dark gray appy mare is soooo sweet & friendly! We think she might be a appaloosa pony~POA~Pony of America. I've decided to call her Parris!



Saturday, August 23, 2008

Saturday Night Update



What started out to be an intense day ended with such relief! Sandy was growing weaker as the day went on and I was not having luck force feeding him water. About 5 PM I called the vet to see how much IV fluids would cost. Too my surprise it was very affordable! I was thinking thousands...but it actually was a few hundred bucks. Thanks to the donations we received today (thank you Mom, Dad, & Teri, Don & Libby, & Matt & Kim!!!) we were able to make it a reality. We were able to do it at the house and made up a cowboy IV pole and started pushing fluids through his veins. He started to perk up about 1/2 way through. When the IV was done and we got him unhooked...he Pee'd!!!!!!!! It was very concentrate but the fact that he did with 15L was great. The vet said it could take 20 - 30 L of fluid before he did. He even started to eat more than I have ever seen him eat. We'll push another 15L in him tomorrow and I just pray this will jump start his road to recovery! I think tonight I will be able to sleep soundly! In this picture below, to the left, is the wet spot from his urine!

Saturday's Update

The vet called this morning to give us the results of the blood work. Sandy's kidney levels are above normal but considering his condition we anticipated that. They are not high enough to say he is in kidney failure but high enough that we have to get water in him and get his kidney's going. So now we are putting water into a turkey baster and forcing him to drink. If we had the financial resources we could put him on IV's but that's just not an option for us....it's a few thousand bucks!
He did pass the mineral oil finally and does not seem in pain at this point. Since the mineral oil procedure puts him into distress we'll leave his belly alone and start getting the water down him. His liver levels were also above normal but it's, hopefully I can explain this and have it make sense, an enzyme the liver puts out that indicates muscle bruising. The vet is not sure why he would have bruising but again the levels are not dangerously high. So now our job is to water him every hour! Pray this works!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Another Update

Things don't look encouraging! We had the vet out again today and gave him another mineral oil & Metamucil treatment to keep the sand moving out. We also drew blood to check his kidney & liver levels to rule out organ failure. It seems that procedure ends up putting Sandy in a great deal of discomfort hours later. He hasn't perked up on tonight's dose of Banamine either. He was rolling & pawing and I have not seen him do that yet. He's had a few good bowel movements tonight, mostly sand. The vet could tell by the color of his gums that he isn't feeling well. We'll have the blood results in the morning and will be able to decided whether we keep fighting or humanely let him go rest in peace!

The Last Bottle

This is a true story my mom wrote years ago about one her Appaloosa mares. My mom told me tonight that listening to my stories with Sandy a.k.a Pistol reminded her what she had gone through with a this particular mare & her twins! I pray the outcome is not the same for Sandy! Grab some Kleenex! It's a tear jerker!

On March 20, 1975, an event took place which I will probably never experience again, nor can I say, will I ever want to. It was an event which Larry, my husband, and I had been waiting for eleven months, but the outcome was totally unexpected.

The previous April, I had bred my registered Appaloosa mare, Centurion’s Shy Anne, to a beautiful Appaloosa stallion. I had raised Shy Anne from birth, as I still owned her mother, Centurion Freckles, affectionately known as Deabilene. My future dream was to breed this little filly and carry on the family line. So, when I had Shy Anne bred, my dream was becoming a reality.

After months of pampering my “pregnant little girl”, the time was drawing near. We had been watching her very closely; waiting for the slightest sign that the time was at hand for her to become a mommy.

On this particular night, we had noticed that Shy Anne seemed restless and her appetite was quite diminished. About 11:00 P.M., we went out to check on her once again, and sure enough, she was pacing her stall, getting up and down, searching for the right place. It was time!

I immediately rushed into the house to phone my dad, who I wanted with us in case an emergency arose. He had worked with horses practically all of his life, and he was just as interested in Shy Anne’s first baby as Larry and I.

Just as my dad arrived, Shy Anne had picked the place for her baby to be born and layed down to give birth. At 11:30, the foal appeared…it was a colt, a little boy! I had wanted a filly, a little girl, but my dad had wanted a colt. We had even placed bets on what it would be. Well, my dad was right. Shy Anne had a son: a little brown colt.

Immediately, Shy Anne got up to welcome her new son to the world. She nudged him, licked him softly, and gave a few soft nickers of love to him. Then, quite suddenly, she layed down again. It surprised me but I figured, she must just be exhausted from all her work. Larry shined the flashlight on her, to make sure she was alright. Then, to our complete amazement, another set of hooves was slowly making their way into the world. With all of us standing there with our mouths hanging open, we witnessed the birth of another baby! It was a filly! A little girl! Just what I had wanted.

Each of us spent about 30 minutes going from one foal to another, rubbing then down with towels to help dry them off. All this time, Shy Anne was walking from one foal to another, trying her best to give each one equal attention and care. She seemed to be as confused as we were in her attempts to care for two babies.

A normal, single-birth foal will usually not take more than one hour to stand up by itself, but an hour came and went, and both were still on the ground, gazing at their new surroundings. Almost two hours later, the colt discovered that he did have legs and awkwardly pushed himself up. There he stood, all four legs spread apart, wondering what to do next. Larry and I carefully guided him to his mother so he could begin drinking the nourishment he needed. Then, with my dad and Larry helping the colt, I decided to concentrate on helping the filly.

I went over and sat down on the ground next to her. As I sat there stroking her soft body, I could tell that she was weaker than her brother for she had not made any attempts to stand. I knew that she must get some nourishment soon, or else she would continue to become weaker. Quickly, I went to the house to get a baby bottle, then came back and started to “milk” Shy Anne. I fed the bottle to the filly which she drank quite eagerly.

It was now 4:00 a.m. and I knew we had done all we could for the time being. The colt was doing fine, and the filly, though still weak, had a full belly of milk which would hold her for a while. We decided we would let them be alone and get some rest; which seemed like a good idea for us, too.

At 9:00 a.m. the same morning, the vet arrived to check the threesome. He seemed surprised that both foals appeared healthy. Then he gave us instructions to feed the filly ever hour on the hour until she could gain enough strength to stand and feed herself.

So, we spent all of our time rotating the hours among us and bottle-feeding the filly. By Sunday, my dad, Larry, and I looked like walking zombies due to the lack of sleep. The filly had not tried to stand yet, but she continued to take in all of the milk we offered her.

Late Sunday afternoon, I noticed the filly seemed to be weakening. She no longer would raise her head from the ground. I laid her head in my lap and let the milk trickle down her throat. She seemed to be giving up, but I was not going to let her! I would just have to keep giving her the milk, and she would eventually perk up…she had to!

I decided to call the vet, as I could tell she was running a temperature and becoming more listless. An hour went by, and the vet finally arrived. He checked her completely and told us that all the milk we had given her was still in her stomach. This meant that she must not be fully developed internally because her body was not breaking down the proteins and sending the nourishment through her body. I fought back the tears, as I had watched the vet give her a direct I.V., which he seemed sure would help.

At 10:00 that night, Larry came in and told me that she had taken all her milk for that hour, and that I should try to get some sleep. My dad decided to spend the night and he would take the next hour’s feeding.

I was awake when my dad came in after his 11 o’clock feeding, so I got up to ask him how she was. He said she had gotten all the milk down her but her condition had not improved; she was still weak and listless.

At midnight, the alarm clock went off to remind me it was time for me to go feed her. I dressed quickly, prepared the bottle, and started to the barn. When I got to the door, I looked down at the small lifeless body lying on the warm straw. With tears streaming down my face, I bent over her and rubbed her soft neck.

“You just couldn’t do it, could you, girl?”, I said to her. “You sure gave it one hell of a try, though!” And she had… we all had.

I said my good-byes to her; she had tried so hard. I gave her a final stroke on the head. “No more suffering, little girl”. I got up from the straw and walked slowly back to the house, holding the bottle still full of warm milk.

CheriƩ A. (Gump) Lacher

March 1975

Friday's update

The Banamine perked Pistol up last night. Every time I went to check on him during the night he was standing which is a good sign. He is still pooping sand and their is some food starting to come through now. I never thought in a million years that I would be down on my knees examining horse poop! The Banamine is given every 12 hours and I can tell when it's wearing off because his head drops lower & lower and his demeanor changes. The vet called this morning to check on him and suggested we change his name to Sandy!! So his new name is Sandy! :) I have a call into the vet now because the mineral oil has not come out and it should have by now. After the vet check yesterday I thought we were out of the woods but now that I understand the importance of getting the sand out and making sure he doesn't go into full blown colic...we have a long road ahead of us!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Banamine got here just in time! Pistol is showing signs of colic..shaking his head, looking back & kicking at his belly. He has awesome gut sounds, is passing gas, and drinking so we've got good signs that everything is moving on out. It's going to be a long night over here as we keep an eye on him through the night!

Update on Pistol

Pistol, the light gray horse, isn't feeling well tonight after the mineral oil procedure today. He's passing 100% pure black sand! He's laying down a lot and not eating. He looks miserable! We've got a dose of Banamine on the way to help relieve his pain. Poor guy...my heart aches for him!

I have had more e-mails come through to me today from horse rescue facilities. It's looking real positive that we can find a good home for these two! My neighbor also donated money for their care. I just can't get over the generosity that has been shown for these horses! They have a lot of people fighting for them! :)

Vet Check

The vet check went great! What a relief! The white horse who we have named Pistol has a great prognosis! Despite being very thin & weak has a lot of spirit left in him! The vet could tell by how Pistol was acting with him that once he get's to feeling better he is going to be a handful...I think the name Pistol will suit him well! :) Pistol had his teeth worked on which will help him chew his food better and digest & absorb the nutrients. He has quite a bit of sand in his stomach so the doctor put a tube in through his nose to his stomach with mineral oil & Metamucil which will help move the sand out through his rear end. He'll be on a special diet over the next month to help get him back into shape. The vet said he's probably around 15 or 16 years old and is Arab & Appaloosa mix. The two "A's" can make for a big pain in the "A". :) I can't express what a relief it is that he has a chance!

The black mare, which is still nameless until I get to know her personality, is in good shape. We did not have the vet examine her today. We wanted to concentrate on Pistol. We'll have her checked out next week. She's eating, drinking, & pooping normally!

Our good friend Allison Reynolds came over while the vet was here to give me moral support!! She knew just the right questions to ask and help me through this process! She's bringing over a nice care package for the horses too....good yummy hay, new halters & lead ropes, & worming meds! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Allison!

I'll continue to post updates & pictures as the horses improve! Thanks so much for all the support!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

2 Rescued Horses

Today Chris & I rescued 2 Appaloosa horses that were being severely neglected! We had been feeding them on & off since May and then got out of the habit when we moved our horses closer to the house. These horses were located at the very corner of our property...basically we shared a corner fence. On Sunday we happened to drive by the house and I got a good look at the horses and was I shocked at their condition! Monday morning I was on the phone to animal control! I got some good pictures of their condition and sent them to the supervisor at Animal Control. Today an officer was able to make contact with the owner of the horses and she was willing to turn them over to me. In the meantime I was having a heck of a time getting a vet to come out for horses that we didn't own....liability reasons! I called the vet back and told them we are now their new owners! :0 The horses are with us now and have settled in nicely. Tomorrow we have a vet coming out to give me an assessment. The black horse looks decent, I think we will be able to find a good home for her quickly. The white one is going to need some doctoring & TLC.

On Monday night I sent out an e-mail to every horse person I know...roping friends & clients of Chris'. I have had such an amazing response to that e-mail. We've had people donate money for their vet care and our local feed store is going to donate hay! I've gotten some great leads to horse shelters too! It puts some faith back knowing that people will help when it really comes down to the nitty gritty of things! I decided to start this blog to keep everyone updated on our progress with these 2 horses!

Thank you Teri, Allison, Kahoot's, Alicia, & Chris Richardson for your help & suggestions!

Stay tuned!! :)