Another day at the vet

It seems to be a known fact in the horse rescue world that emergencies come in threes. It's true, once one horse has an issue, others follow close behind it...

We had to take Soot into the vet clinic this morning. He was acting very strangely, acting a bit colicy, but mainly just looking off. He would just stand there and then just lay down and not move. His heart rate was elevated and we could hear a very distinct murmur. He was also breathing heavily. We gave him some Banamine to ease his pain which helped a little bit. We called the vet, who could not come out due to other emergencies in the clinic, so we decided to drive him in. Colic is not something you want to wait on. The sooner the treatment starts, the better the horse's chances of survival.


Once in the clinic he was examined and blood drawn. He was diagnosed with a grade 4 heart murmur, you could even feel it with your hand on his skin. Due to it's intensity, the vet is not sure if this is a symptom of a larger problem. Sand could also be heard in his intestinal tract (a factor horses on the West side of the country have to deal with). A fatal amount of sand can build up in just a few weeks, and some horses seem more predisposed to it. But the vet was not totally sure that the sand was causing any of this colic that Soot was experiencing. The vet could also feel an impaction in his colon, but also some small intestinal blockage. Dr. Ballard was not sure why there would be two impaction sites, he is concerned there is possibly another underlying issue for Soot.

To be as aggressive as we could, we all decided that the best chance for sweet old Soot is to put him on IV fluids immediately to try to clear out the blockages. Soot will stay on the fluids for the next 24 hours. Time will tell if he will get worse or begin to improve. I will, of course, keep everyone updated.

Soot gets tubed with oil and water and to check his reflux.

His exam.


On the brighter side little Sunday is doing wonderfully! He is nursing more aggressively and his eye is responding to his treatments. We visited with him and saw him nurse off of Sitka as she was laying down. He was very insistent. He even galloped a little in the corral around his mom and bucked twice! He is looking very strong. Watch him the video below!

NOTE: We are still accepting donations to the Sitka and Sunday Fund to help us cover their vet care. Anyone who would like to donate, please do do on our website by following the link above. At the time of this posting, there is $1025.00 in the Fund, with a goal of $1500.00. HUGE Thanks to EVERYONE!

Nursing!

Taking a nap together.

The dogs in Shiloh's truck waiting at the vet. "When are we going back to the ranch so we can run and play?" We have to leave them in the truck with the engine running and the air conditioner on.