Boosters and Health Check

Last Friday was vet day again and I was prepared. I had a list of questions and could hardly wait to get them answered. Let me back up to the week before last. Almost 2 weeks ago on Friday night I went to feed Velvet her last meal of the day, but she refused her feed, she seemed very tense and I could see fear in her eyes. Needless to say I felt panic creep over me, but I did not lose my head. My first thought was early onset of colic even though she was not showing any normal signs. I thought what will I do, but then I knew, she was still standing so we went walking and walking turned into trotting and then trotting turned into a playful horse who was bouncing around at the end of the lead rope. Happy that she bounced back to normal, but concerned, because I still was not sure what had happened. I only fed Velvet a nibble of feed, since it could have been colic related and allowed her access to hay and water. I went to bed uneasy and went out to check on her 3 hours later and she was still fine. Velvet was fine all weekend and if you have read the previous post she was jumping off the foundation wall.

Monday morning I made an appointment with the vet to get Velvet's boosters and prepare my list. Friday morning was the big day! The vet came and I explained the incident and the vet's first thought was choke. As soon as she said that I knew that was it. I had seen that fearful look in my old mare years ago when she had choke. Anyway, the vet said make a warm mash out of her feed and then proceeded to check her throat. The vet discovered an unusual bump on the larynx tube. She went on to explain that she thought one of the rings on the Larynx may have been crushed due to a hard blow, so I will be feeling it periodically looking for any changes as time passes. Continuing with her exam, the vet checked her hernia situation and as I suspected it has not changed and there is a little fluid sac, very small, which may be permanent. The vet offered another option for hernia treatment if Velvet did not grow out of the hernia, so to speak. This treatment consists of injecting the area with an irritant causing the tissue to grow closed. I read about this and I think I prefer this option over surgery, but it has its own set of risks, but there is still time for the hole to grow closed, so I will just keep rubbing the area and hope that it closes on its own in the meantime. Alright 2 questions down and a couple more to go. Next was leaping off the foundation and will it cause damage? Velvet did not demonstrate while the vet was there, but we discussed the possibility of injury being so young, so we are resolving the matter by filling in the drop off. I already have it half way filled in and hopefully the rest of the way done this weekend. My other questions answered themselves just through normal communication with my vet. From day one my vet did not care for the name I chose for Velvet, but I liked it and it suits her well, so I did not care in the least. This was my vet's second trip to see Velvet and as she petted Velvet she rubbed her fur the wrong way showing the funny pale blue coloring under her sparse bay top coat and she smiled and said she had a beautiful color like her own mare. She went on to explain that her mare was the same when she was younger and looked so pretty when she moved, because the muscle movement was exaggerated by the hair movement which showed the light undercoat. Velvet got her boosters without too much fuss and we headed to the truck for the bill. While we were there my vet pulled out her phone and showed me her two horses and while she wrote the bill I sent to get the pictures that I had. First I showed her how skinny Velvet was the day I brought her home and then I showed her Velvet's parents, finally the best photo of all. The photo from the website that I chose Velvet from. She studied it for a moment and said what everyone says when they see this picture..."Are you sure you got the right horse?" I always say of course, there was not another foal on the website that had those black knees! Velvet has really changed since her first photo. Check out the slide show and the pictures in my blog for Velvet when she was still in Canada and what she looks like now.