First i found that my old mare Star , which I've been desperately coaxing along to hang around a little longer before galloping into the big pasture in the sky, had not ate her supper from the night before. Which is very unusual. I promised myself that as soon as she would stop eating i would do the humane thing.
She went of her feed a couple of times before in the last year but after a day or two she started again, i guess sometimes she's just not feeling good.I got days like that...
Well yesterday she just seemed different. I spend loads of time with my animals and watch them closely.So when they're behavior changes i notice right away.
After looking at her more closely i noticed a lump between her front legs on her chest, about as big as an egg.It was hard as a rock but didn't seem to be painful when i touched it. Well, that wasn't there the night before! So i decided that something bit or stung her during the night. I've never seen a bee or hornet sting look like that so i ruled that out.
Next thing : snakebite!!
I haven't seen any snake around the house this year but that doesn't mean there not here.
Anyways, i dumped the uneaten feed out (since it had soured over night) and gave her a fresh ration of sweet feed.
She took a little bite and i thought "Yes!!" but then she turned around and walked of.
Not Good!!!!
So i went down to the local Co-op and got a big bottle of penicillin and gave her the maximum dose.
I watched her close all morning and noticed that she was constantly drinking water. She also came back numerous times to check her feed but never ate any.
By noon i was afraid that this might be it.I'll not let her stand over a trough full of food and slowly starve to death. I could see that she wanted to eat but just couldn't.
By this time i was pretty upset. I know that she doesn't have much time left , she is about 28-30 old , that's quite ancient for a horse. I lost several pets during the years either of old age or sickness but it doesn't make it any easier.
Also I've got the problem what to do with her .This is not a little dog, this is a 8-900 pound animal.
It requires a little more than a shovel . Nobody in our neighborhood has a backhoe, also, we don't have enough room here to dig a huge hole.We can take her to the dump but i just can't handle having her buried in garbage! what to do, what to do ? Then my son called and i told him about the situation.
A couple of hours later my daughter-in-law called me back. She apparently talked to her mom and she is willing , when the time comes ,to bury her in her pasture ( she has a backhoe !!) and since she is working for a vet and has put many horses to sleep over the years, to send Star, quietly and with dignity to the big pasture in the sky. The relief !!
Late in the afternoon i noticed her nibbling around on the sweet feed. She also looked a little more alert. YES !!! maybe, just maybe....
Well, stepping out of the house all excited , i tripped and , can you guess it ?, sprained my ankle!!, this time the right one.This was one of the times where I'm grateful that we live in the country, far away from neighbors ( well, at least out of screaming distance), because the words coming out of my mouth!!! a sailor 's got nothing on me!!!
I laid there, on my back (talk about deja vu ), cussing and crying at the same time.Frustration, pain, worry all pouring out of me.
The pain!!Uhhhh
So now i got two bad ankles and i don't know if you ever seen what it looks like , someone limping both sides.It looks like a footsore duck.
Happily i can report that this morning Star is looking much better and is eating again, she still drinks a lot of water and the lump has gotten bigger, about the size of a small orange, but softer. If i could, I'd do the happy dance , but.....
If you look close you can see the lump between the legs.
I had calmed down enough by last night to start a new pair of socks to go in the shop.
It's a pretty easy lace pattern, only four rows repeat with every second row a straight knit row.I made several mistakes anyways, guess i was a little preoccupied, and had to frog several times.
oh, by the way , i also broke my glasses yesterday. Thank goodness i still got my old pair. They are not as good as the new ones but they'll do till i can get the other pair fixed. All in all, a horrible day!!!
2 comments:
Wow, you seem to need a big hug after a day like that, so {{{{{HUG}}}}.
About Star: is that an abcess? Could it be drained? Did she get kicked? Weird. I'm glad she's eating again--she might have a few more years in her. There was a horse at the previous boarding barn that lived to be 37. Blind as a bat, so swaybacked he looked like a cartoon horse, but he had piss and vinegar in him up until the last day.
I hope things go better from now on. You've had your "three", I think. :-)
Wow, that really is a bad day. I can't believe your other ankle is sprained.
I hope your horse is going to be better. I can see the lump in the photo.
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