Have you ever had one of those days that starts out great and seems like nothing could go wrong, but then all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose?
Well today was one of those days.....
My morning started off great! Woke up when my alarm went off (normally I'm up and hour before it goes off), got some laundry done, swept, mopped, vacuumed, cleaned off the patio and refilled the bird seed. All went nice and smooth, and surprisingly fast. So then I get in the truck and head to the barn, realizing I must have left my martingale in Florida because I couldn't find it anywhere yesterday. So, I decided to stop over at the tack shop. Picked up a few things, happily less money than I thought, plus a free pair of gloves!
Finally I get to the barn. My horse looks a little sleepy and didn't eat all of his grain yet (mind you this is now 11:30- 12). Honestly, none of that was surprising. He had been out all night last night with his friends and is historically the slowest eater on the planet, literally takes him the entire day to eat his breakfast...
(Sweetest horse ever. Pic not from today.)
Anyways, I pull him out, brush him up and get his wraps and boots on to lunge. I notice though that his breathing is a little heavier than it usually is. My horse has heaves though, so more labored breathing is his norm, it was just a touch extra today. I figure that it is due to having just getting back from Florida and he is just adjusting to Tennessee weather and allergens.
Tennessee has some of the worst allergens, I literally die. Because of its geography Nashville is a bowl pretty much. That means we get the pleasure of collecting all the allergens, and then they just stay here.
Back to the story though...
So, in my head I'm thinking that allergies are part of the issue. I put my dog in the bathroom area so I can work my horse without worrying about my dog. I throw him on the lunge for about 10 minutes, give him a chance to cough up any mucus he might have in his airways. Well he only coughs once or twice. Great right?? Not so much. His breathing is now more labored and starting to stress me out. I bring him back in, put him in the crossties and pull out the nebulizer. I use the nebulizer on him and he seems to get better, back to what I started with today. I go to let my dog out for a little bit while this was going on, she managed to lock herself in the bathroom during her insistent barking and scratching at the door... fantastic. Owner can't find the key.... They literally had to pick the lock to get my dog out, all because she was being dramatic.
So anyways, I tack my horse up and get on to ride.
Rides going great, other than when he just about lost his marbles over a horse standing in a field that he's never seen before... (really need a face palm emoji here). We work through that little issue and continue with our ride. I notice he's a little more behind my leg today than I would like, but again he's probably tired from being out all night and the labored breathing. Then I start noticing he has this little "gurgling" sound happening. I look it up, it could be his esophagus flapping while he's breathing. So, I stop working him and decided to just take him for a nice long walk to cool out and catch his breath.
Well, problem.
I walked him for over 15 minutes while on his back, his breathing never really got better, it stayed pretty intense. (Normally after you ride him and he gets it out of his system he breaths like a normal horse after cool down.) Like I said, not getting better. So I get off, untack, and throw a cooler on because it's a little chilly. I decided to take him for a hand walk to see if that helps. Again, walk him for at least 10 minutes, no change. So then I begin to panic. He's still "gurgling" and now it sounds like he is burping too. I know thats not possible, but there's no other way to describe it. I call my vet to see what's up. No answer at first, just what you want when you're starting to panic. I bring him back to his stall and he immediately goes to his water bucket for some water, pees, and then wants to eat some hay. (He had already pooped once at the end of our ride and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.) I put him in the crossties to see if the airflow through the barn will help. He starts pawing, is antsy, and trying to do weird yoga poses to stretch his abdomen.
If you're a horse person, you probably know what I'm starting to think in my head at this point... Oh no, he might be trying to colic.
I lose it.
I am now in full panic mode. I undo the cross ties and start hand walking again. Thankfully this is when my vet was able to get back to me. I walk him into the indoor, he tries to go down and roll, as I'm on the phone. Vet says give him banamine, I say OK. Then the vet says, I'm out of town, maybe you should call another vet thats closer just incase so it's faster. I say no problem, give the other vet a call, they have to call me back, great.
I bring him back to the crossties so he can't lay down. Then I try to find the banamine... Let me tell you, it felt like eternity to find that stupid stuff. I looked in my med kit, upstairs, in my trunk. I couldn't find it! At this point I'm just running around like a nut. I rip pretty much everything out of my trunk, low and behold, there's the banamine; 2 inches to the right from where I looked before.
Well then I need a syringe and needle. Back upstairs I go. I grab one of each and head back downstairs to draw the banamine. Well shit, drew it too fast, have a lot of bubbles, need to get those all out. Felt like that took 5 minutes to do.... get the bubbles out and get it injected, great. Problem... I only has 6 cc syringes, vet said to give him 12. I look at what I have in my hand, better get a new needle just incase. I go back upstairs and grab another needle, go back down stairs and look at the syringe. There's blood in it from the IV injection I just gave. I should get a new syringe.... Back upstairs I go to get a new syringe. Go back downstairs and put it all together, remind myself to draw it slow so I don't het a bunch of bubbles. Perfect, in it goes. Keep in mind, I still have my dog being a complete A-hole barking her head off in the truck because she wants to be out and is mad at me because she isn't right next to me or running around....
I take my horse for a little walk and the other vet gives me a call back. They can't get out there for a couple of hours because they have had 4 other horses come in for colic.... Fantastic! Put my horse back in the crossties, get in my truck and try to hook up my trailer. Felt like an eternity! It took me at least 20 times before I got the hitch placement right. Every single time, 1-2 inches too far forward or 1-2 inches to far back. I start cursing like sailor and lose my mind. I'm just telling myself this has to be a joke, how in the hell can I be off by that little every. single. time....
Finally get the trailer hooked up, load my horse and get on the road to the clinic. Get to the clinic, he seems better already, probably the banamine kicking in. Rather be safe than sorry. I get him unloaded and they take a look. (naturally my dog is barking her head off again) His gut sounds fine (phew), but he still isn't breathing great. They take his temp, its slightly elevated (nothing alarming). They draw some blood and give him some meds to help his breathing. Instant relief for him. Vet says he was probably being dramatic because he couldn't breath. Understandable but cool, being dramatic must run in the family I guess. At this point he wants to take a nap and decides to do this weird massive stretch for his entire back and right hind leg, thankfully infront of the Vet so I don't freak out. Vet laughs and says I can take him to graze while we wait for the blood work.
He's happy as a clam munching away. Blood work comes back, slightly elevated white blood cells. Vet gives me some more dexamethasone to help with the breathing and SMZs to help rid of any possible infection or inflammation, most likely from allergens at this point. All cleared and good to go, can't wait to see that vet bill..... I load him back up and bring him home.
He seems to be doing OK at this point. He's back in his stall, drinking and eating. He had pooped again on the trailer ride to the vet, and they said it looked good. He hangs out for a little bit then I give him his grain because he is still doing good and eating his alfalfa. He's eating his grain, I go grab the SMZs and throw them in. He immediately stops, looks at me, and backs up. He's pissed. So I walk away, hoping he will just eat them. He doesn't, he tries picking around them. I take them out of the feed, put them in a syringe with water and just squirt it in his mouth. Now he's even more mad and starts pouting in his stall.
I go and start cleaning up the mess I made while panicking earlier. Eventually he goes back to picking at his grain, hay, and alfalfa. He starts to look a little uncomfortable again. At this point he had been at home for over an hour. He would go back and forth from all his food options and pouting. I decide to pull him out and nebulize him again while I clean his feet and battle with the thrush he developed (just add it to the list). Nebulizer finishes, he's happy again and eats some more in his stall again. We go back and forth for a couple minutes trying to decide what to do with him, ultimately deciding to turn him out because thats what's best for a horse with a breathing issue. This way he can keep moving and will have fresh air all night. It's not until then that I remember they had cut the grass around the barn this morning and finished after I was done lunging. This was the first time the grass was cut this year... no wonder he was having such a hard time breathing. Poor guys allergies were through the roof! He's outside, eating grass, and seems happy with is friends.
I finally get the last of my stuff packed and get in my truck to head home knowing I'm going to be stressing all night until I get back to the barn to check on him in the morning. Meanwhile, I have an action plan brewing in my head to help my poor guy out.
This is when it gets even more fun. My dog has a very sensitive stomach. Well today she decided she had to make up for all the months she missed going to the barn. Not only being the biggest jerk on the planet and not listening, but also eating literally everything.... She was even licking a bottle of neatsfoot oil at one point. I wanted to kill her.... Anyways, she almost throws up in my front seat 4-5 times, because why not..... She keeps it together, I just crack the window for her every now and then to get some fresh air. She does however manage to let a few rip and nearly chokes me out with her fumes.
We stop to get some dinner. I at this point have had just a pop tart to eat today. That was at 8am. It's now 8:25 pm. I am starving! I take out the one small container and start eating some (yes as I'm driving, which you should never do.... but it only required on hand.) Well, as karma would have it, I dropped some on my lap. A very sticky, sauce filled piece of orange chicken, now on my leg and seat.... again, great. Cleaned that up once I got home.
Get out of the car, arms fully loaded. My dog sees another dog and tries to go after it. (She's all bark with no bite, none the less, very annoying and rude.) We get inside and I can finally sit down, eat, and decide to inform you all on the day I've had.
I put some dry food in her bowl, because god knows she isn't getting the nice dinner because she already ate a feast of unknown items like mud, poop, and grain at the barn and I don't need to make it worse. It's now 9:30 at this point. She starts heaving like she is going to throw up and goes and dives under the guest bed to throw up (her favorite spot.... nearly impossible to clean). I run in after her and literally drag her out from under the bed before she even has the chance to puke. Throw on my shoes and her harness. In my pajamas and robe outside we go. She just pees, walks around then stares at me. So we go back in. I continue writing this as she lays down behind me.
Here she goes again.
Acting like she is about to throw up. She just tried to go back to the spare room, but I was smart and closed all the doors so she can't go puke on the carpets like she oh so loves to do. So now at 10:10pm, here we are again, making "I'm about to puke" noises, without actually puking. Just making me stress even more.... Will this day ever end.... and can I just fast forward to tomorrow to go check on my horse and know that he is ok. And will my dog just throw up already and get it over with....
Stay tuned to find out....
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