Shiloh Horse Rescue: At last, we are back at Shiloh...

Monday, August 24, 2009

At last, we are back at Shiloh...

It's good to be home and back out at the rescue. We enjoyed walking the pastures and saying hi to all of the horses. Everyone looked good and Felipe did a great job...

We have been concerned about our Draft Mule, Fred Mertz, for a while. Last month he spent a few weeks at the vet clinic where he just wasn't feeling himself. His blood work showed the possibility of a tumor or growth somewhere, but he is not in pain and we are closing watching his quality of life. He is very old and is now having a hard time getting up once he lays down. He can almost do it but at the last minute his crippled hind leg and hip aren't strong enough. Once he is up though, he is off wandering and eating off of the hay piles. He will be getting another steroid shot and a Legend shot this week to see if that will perk him up again (it really did last time). We do have another vet day coming up on September 1st, where we will may have to make some hard decisions about him with our vet. As long as he is not in pain and just needs some boosting at times, and continues to enjoy his surroundings, we can handle that. But, once we feel his quality of life has become very impaired, we have to consider having him put down. Everyone loves Fred and he has been a great addition to the rescue, let's all hope he gets over some of this and can continue to enjoy his Shiloh Journey a bit longer...

After his bath this morning, we moved him into a deeply bedded barn stall. He can wander in and out, but this will give him a little more comfort and ensure that he gets everything he needs.

He ate a bit laying down, his appetite remains good. (His thin condition is due to his badly atrophied hips from an old packing injury and his possible growth.)