A Happy Hippo

The vet was out this afternoon, we never did find any real smoking gun telling us why Gabe suddenly developed chewing problems, but he does have several nasty ulcers on his cheeks from sharp points on his teeth.  This was kind of surprising as he had his teeth done just last year and he is not quite 6 yet.  I think he must have jabbed one of these ulcers with a bit of hay or straw making it very painful to chew.  Regardless, the vet filed off all the sharp points and aligned his bite so Gabe is a back to being a Happy Hippo now.  He had no trouble plowing into the hay when all was done.  He thinks he should still get some soaked hay pellets and was disappointed when I said, "Fat chance Mr. Hippo!"

This was a new vet I decided to try.  It can be hard to get vet help out here in an emergency and they won't come at all if you are not a client so I like to try to maintain relations with more than one vet.  I really liked Dr. R.  She was very knowledgeable, personable and easy to work with.  She is a horsewoman herself so she understands them and got along well with everybody.  She is rather fond of donkeys as well, but then who could resist.

She is also willing to treat my dog on the farm which most vets won't anymore.  Tanner is so profoundly terrified of vet clinics that taking him in is a horribly traumatic for all involved.  He got his shots as well this afternoon with no stress and we discussed some options for relieving his arthritis pain.  I am very grateful for that.  

We went ahead and gave everyone on the farm all of their shots for the year, I even managed to get a hold of Moss long enough to jab her a couple of times.  Tessa's teeth are in great condition and didn't need work which was a small break.  Hopefully, fingers crossed and prayers to heaven, we wont need to see any more vets for the rest of the year!

The donkeys were, of course, deeply interested in all the goings on with the horses.

"WHAT are you doing to that horse??!"

"You'll find out soon enough Em...."

I had to leave them locked up until it was their turn.  You wouldn't believe the kind of havoc a couple of young donkeys could wreck upon a bunch of veterinary paraphernalia.   I shudder at the thought.

The Poor Hungry Hippo

Gabe was acting a bit odd yesterday afternoon.  He kept calling to me, nickering at me, begging for food.  I'd just filled the hay boxes, Tessa was perfectly happy, the donkeys were happy, Gabe looked and acted totally healthy so what the heck?

I finally went out to check the hay again and then just stood back and watched.  I think that simply really watching an animal is about the best diagnostic tool there is.  It only took a moment to see that Gabe was having trouble eating.  Every time he tried to take a bite of food he would jerk his head up, rub his nose, toss his head...he finally stood back from the hay, whinnied at me and pawed at the ground.  There is obviously something wrong in his mouth.

I  got his halter and a flashlight, checked everything I could, flushed his mouth out with water from a syringe, but couldn't find or fix the problem.  I took his feed out of the hay box and left it on the ground, he was able to pick through and get some food that way.  He is now getting meals of soaked hay pellets and he still manages to eat quite a lot of so he is in no danger of starving.  Lord knows he could stand to lose a few pounds, but....

The vet is coming out tomorrow to check him.  I think I have spent more money on vet bills in the last 6 months than I have in the previous 30 years.  Argh!

Ah well, I've talked them into doing the regular Spring shots as well so I don't have to have them back out again in another month.  That's something I suppose.

A very grumpy, hungry horse...

Mother & Son

I Got Another Donkey!

Ha!  I bet that got your attention didn't it?  I really did get another donkey though, see...

I found him in my mailbox this afternoon.  One of my very excellent readers sent this little guy to me.  This blogging thing sure does have some advantages.  Mainly, the incredible people I have come to know as a result.  It is a tremendous gift.

I believe that this particular little brown donkey is made out of felted wool, although my knowledge of such things is near to non-existent.  Beautiful isn't he?  So much like another little brown donkey we all know and love so well.

And I don't even have to buy more hay for him.  Thank you Bow Street Flowers for this wonderful addition to my donkey family.

Wardrobe Malfunction

"Gosh Em, what's happened here?"

"Don't ask.  Just put that darned thing away and get me out of here!"

"Hey, wait up! Don't you want me to fix that?"

"Hmmph, I know you, you're gonna put this on the blog.  How embarrassing.  I'm out'a here!"

"Aw, c'mon Em, everybody has a rough morning now and then, we all understand.  Hold up and I'll make it better."

"It's a rare, beautiful day after all.  Time to let your real wardrobe shine."

A Foot Update

It feels like progress has slowed a bit with Ramsey's foot.  The hoof wall is still growing fast, but the sole has a long way to go yet.  I think there is still a lot of dead tissue that needs out grow out before we get healthier hoof.  The back of the hoof wall keeps curving in toward the frog more and more as well.  I don't know if that is caused by the internal damage to the foot or the constant bandaging.  Since it has not happened on the other side of the hoof, I suspect the former with the latter possibly being a contributing factor.  I will share these photos with the vet, see what he says.

Right after I took these photos, I massaged some of my ointment into the foot and all of that scaly stuff on the side finally came off.

To me, it looks like the coronet band has become oddly stretched and elongated.  I have not ever seen anything like this before.  I really think it is the result of 3 months of constant bandaging and I have been trying to think of different ways to wrap the foot that would allow more air circulation, but I haven't come up with anything yet.  It has to be foolproof so I haven't dared experiment much.

In spite of how odd everything looks, Ramsey seems very sound on the foot.  He moves easily and freely with no limp and no sign of pain so I am not terribly worried.  I have been trimming the foot just a little bit each week, hoping to maintain it in tiny steps rather than trim it all at once weeks from now.  I think we will see much healthier growth once he can go without a bandage.

Speaking of bandages, I had been trying to stretch out the bandage changes to every 3-4 days, but I think I am going to have to go back to doing it every other day.  The back of his heels get so dry that the bandage rubs and chafes, making it sore.  I am still using my beeswax salve on it, which has really helped, but it needs to be reapplied more often.  I don't want him to get sore and I certainly don't want it to get infected again.  His heels were looking really good, but we seem to be losing ground so, back to every other day.  Not only is this time consuming, but between bandage materials and medicine, it costs about $10 every time I change it.  Oh well.  I have been trying to make the bandage lighter, but....

When I did this bandage change, I noticed that Ramsey now has a tiny white spot.  I don't think it is genetic though, it certainly wasn't there before.  It looks to me like a tiny scar, which often grow back in white.  It makes me wonder if this could have been the original injury that caused all of this.  I always assumed that it was a stone bruise that started everything, but it is possible that a puncture wound in the leg could have been the route in for bacteria. 

Both of the donkeys love to scrounge and nibble in whatever brush they can find, Ramsey could easily have punctured his leg on a twig or thorn.  Given how tiny this spot is and how thick and dark Ramsey's fur is, I doubt I would ever have seen it.  The actual scar under that white fur is about the size of a sesame seed.  

Ah well, now Ramsey can boast of a light point after all.

Crazy Wind

This insane weather has everybody a little nuts.  We had arctic freeze last week then the temps shot up into the fifties long enough to have everything melt and get several inches of torrential rain.  Now we're headed, at warp speed, back into the deep freeze.  The horses and donkeys were just plain nutty this morning.  The horses didn't want to run around in the God-awful semi-frozen mud, but they couldn't contain themselves either.  They were bucking, kicking, farting, rearing, all within little ten-foot circles. 

I just barley managed to pry the donkeys out of the barn for a brief time, but the killer wind had them racing back in no time, also bucking, kicking, rearing and zooming .  I wish I had gotten the camera out faster, it's hard to describe what's its like to have two crazy donkeys zooming around the interior of my little barn like a pinball machine gone berserk.  This little video is after the worst of the chaos...

Sorry I had to cut it off, but I still need that glove!