The weight tape says that she has put on approximately 120 pounds in the nine weeks she has been here. I asked him if he thought that Faith was gaining weight at a good rate, and he said that she is doing excellent and is coming along at a perfect pace. Music to my ears...
As many of you know, I have been very concerned about her colic episodes over the past week, and Dr. George and I both think that stomach ulcers are to blame. The only way to check for ulcers is to have her scoped. I will have to haul her to the equine hospital, (which is an hour and fifteen minutes away,) at the cost of about $350.00 for the exam. If we find she does in fact have them, treatment with GastroGard is about $37.00 per day - for 30 days. OUCH! So, before we head that route, we decided to run a few blood tests to see if something else could be the problem.
We quickly learned that Faith's demeanor towards Dr. George has definitely changed since they first met in February. She has somehow managed to grow an attitude towards needles, and was a bit of a stinker when it came time to draw blood. (I can't understand why - she has only been stabbed with them a few dozen times since she's been here...) Dr. George was very quiet and patient with her, and once I covered her left eye with my hand, she settled down and let him do his job. I'm the same way with needles - they don't hurt as much if you can't see them. :-)
We should have the results back by tomorrow, and we'll decide on the next step from there. If she needs to be scoped, I'll call the equine hospital tomorrow and set up an appointment with them.
The 4-H kids braided Faith's mane last night. I wanted it done because it keeps falling on both sides of her neck and is difficult to keep groomed. They did it because, "she's a girl and she needs to look pretty". I'm OK with that. :-)
She didn't colic last night, and was eager to go outside today. However, she is getting more and more pushy with each passing day, and wouldn't leave me alone so I could take a picture of her. I would walk away from her, but then she would catch up and cut me off. Then I'd leave her paddock and go to the other side, and she would figure it out and meet me in that spot. At one point, I actually ran away from her, but she trotted and followed me. Mission failed, I gave up and sat down. She came over to me and proceeded to sniff my hair, face, pockets, jeans and boots. Not until she realized that I had absolutely no treats on me, did she walk away and head back to her hay. Picture finally taken. God, I love this horse...
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WoW!!!
ReplyDeleteShe looks like a different horse!!!!
Her hind quarters have filled out considerably! She is no longer extremely ribby, and you can't count each verebrae individually!!
What a fantastic recovery!!
Looking good!
ReplyDeleteShe looks wonderful, what a huge change in Faith. Glad to hear that she is getting perkier and more demanding. You have done a wonderful job with her. She is really a beautiful mare.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my Huey home for a few months, he developed colic (thanks to his former vet, a man who needed to change careers). The vet who came to treat the colic told me that Huey might have ulcers and recommended dosing him with Pepto Bismal. I got an industrial-strength size bottle at Costco and a large drenching syringe (a turkey baster works, too) and drenched him for a couple of weeks--until the bottle was empty.
ReplyDeleteGastroGard is very expensive. Talk to your vet and see if he would be okay with your using Pepto.
As to Faith, she is GORGEOUS ;o) Her attitude needs to be managed, though. You want her to be manageable when she's back to normal. And for the hair growth, use Vitamin E oil (you can get it in bottles at WalMart and places like that OR buy a bottle of the capsules and poke a hole in "one a day" and squeeze the oil on the spots. If there are a lot of spots, I would recommend the bottle ;o)
I know this sounds like some health nut giving you all this homeopathic stuff, but when it comes to money, I'm all about saving. And I know what works on my horses and am passing the information along to you.
Carrots and hugs to Miss Faith Thang from my house. And a pat on the back to you, too ;o)
I first want to say you have done an amazing job with her i love reading the updates as they come in. I know quite a few people that swear by miracle clay to help with ulcers and various other problems its a dynomite product.
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