Relief

I became worried when I first saw Rags yesterday (Friday) morning, and even more concerned when he refused his small breakfast of horse chow. Rags and Hap got their spring shots on Thursday, and although Rags has had painful reactions in the past, he has been fine the past couple of years. However, I had never seen a horse this miserable from shots before. It was easy to tell where the shot went in: he had a huge lump on his butt.

I called the vet and she said to give him two grams of bute. (Bute is the standard pain killer for horses. I always keep a tube of it on hand.) I rearranged my plans for the day so I could stay home and keep an eye on him. Horses’ digestive tracks are designed to eat continuously, and bad things can happen to the gut if the horse refuses to eat for any length of time. If he started to colic, I wanted to get the vet out immediately. I made many trips to the field to check him when I couldn’t see him clearly. Fortunately, Hap has never had more than minor soreness from shots, and he seemed to be thrilled to try to eat two horses worth of hay. Rags followed Hap around, which was a good sign, but never put his head down to eat for more than a minute or so at a time.

Rags was still so shut down and depressed at five that I called the vet again. She said to give him another two grams of bute, and call her immediately if he started to colic. He did eat a handfull of horse chow but ignored his hay. I felt a bit panicky at 7:30 because he didn’t seem to be responding to the pain meds. His respirations were high and his coat was slightly damp to the touch, a bad sign on a temperate day in a horse that hasn’t been exercising. At least his hydration and capillary refill seemed to be okay. I took Jack out to see Rags about eight and discussed Rags’ condition with Jack so he could check the horse at 11:30 before he went to bed. I felt a little better because his respirations had slowed and he seemed cooler to the touch. He also reacted to Jack’s presence by lifting his head a bit and pricking his ears. (Note to self: get a horse thermometer!)I stalled both horses so I could see what Rags was eating and wouldn’t have to search for a sick horse in the dark.

I decided that to go to bed early (not a problem, because I was emotionally if not physically exhausted) and wake up at 3:00 to check Rags. When I did, I found a note on the counter from Jack that Rags had seemed better at 11:30 and had eaten some hay. He seemed much better to me when I went to check him. He quickly slurped down the beet pulp I had prepared, while Hap inquired why he wasn’t getting any. Rags’ coat was dry, he was carrying his head at his normal level, and his eye was bright. He was so much improved over what I expected that I put some hay in the tire feeders, and let both horses out. Rags immediately joined Hap at the feeder, and started scarfing down hay.

I took this photo of Rags this morning. As far as I can tell from my spot checks out the window, he hasn’t come up for air since the sun rose.