Whenever we have to euthanize a horse it takes a lot out of us. There is so much that goes along with the end of life. There is our own grief and our own emotions to deal with, no one likes to make that decision. But it isn't like euthanasia just happens, in situations as with Regis there is a lot of thinking, agonizing, over-thinking and always feeling like it is taking up space in your mind as you try to come to terms with what the right decision is. Then you have to talk about it what feels like a million times. The decision needs to be discussed with the owners as obviously the final call is not ours but theirs. Then it needs to be discussed with the vet and arrangements made. In the end it feels like we've thought about it and talked about it non-stop for a period of time and it is mentally exhausting. Add grief on top of that and mentally you feel completely drained.
I saw our vet again today for a horse that seemed to be headed towards a case of cellulitis (her owners told us she has had cellulitis before). Obviously you want to head something like that off at the pass so we had more quality time with the vet. I said to him today that it felt like we couldn't see or talk to him enough lately.
The crowing point of the day today was dealing with a cast horse. Missy, the adorable bay pony, decided it would be a good idea to roll right next to the run-in shed. Not only did she end up wedged against the wall of the run-in she had her hind end in a low spot and she was stuck. I saw her walking near the run-in while I was scrubbing a water trough. A few minutes later I happened to notice she was still down on the ground by the shed. I thought this was odd so I went to investigate and found her stuck and unable to get her feet under her to get up. I put a halter on her and tried to help her get some traction but had no success.
Jason came to our rescue. He managed to squeeze himself in between her and the shed and while I helped her front end he somehow managed to basically lift her back end. Missy got up and very gingerly started walking away to rejoin her friends. It was obvious she was very sore so I buted her and called the vet (again) to let him know we might need to see each other (again) tomorrow. We've checked her several times this evening and she is doing her usual things, grazing and hanging out.
Missy is up there in age, pushing 30, and she already has pretty good arthritis in both hind legs. She lived and worked on a dude ranch for most of her life and they pretty much worked her into the ground. Luckily for Missy she is now owned by a very kind family who treats her as the treasure that she is.
I didn't need anything else to fret about but now I have added Missy to my worry list. It just comes with the territory when you have a farm full of special needs horses. Needless to say I am looking forward to better days ahead.
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Faune and Stormy grooming over the fence
Chimano and Fonzi grooming
Maisie and Lily grooming
Kennedy, Clayton and Toledo
Lily and Cuffie
Tiny, Stormy and Rampal
Heading out, single file: Lucky, Lightening, Noble, Slinky, Snappy, O'Reilly and Spike
MyLight and Missy
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2 comments:
Hugs! I hope you have a completely peaceful and relaxing weekend.
As the horse vet's assistant, I was once at the scene of a cast horse for about an hour before the vet could get there. (An alert neighbor had let the owners know that one of their horses had been down for a while.) He had been struggling for so long that he had a prolapsed rectum from straining and had torn up the side of his face (and eye) that was on the ground. I wasn't able to get him up. But word had spread in the horse world - and a short time later the cavalry arrived in the form of a truckload of horse handlers from a nearby farm and they got the poor guy on his feet. He showed his appreciation by trying to bite all of us. Can't say as I wouldn't have done the same thing...
I hope your weekend has been uneventful!
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