Yesterday morning, when I went out to feed the horses, I noticed that Hap had some sort of drainage coming out of his jaw. My friend brought her clippers over and we found an impressive abscess underneath all the hair. I thought he had somehow managed to catch strangles, a highly infectious disease which is usually self-limiting in healthy horses. His vet came out, examined him, didn’t think it was strangles, and really, really wanted to take x-rays, to rule out nasty causes of the abscess like an infection in the bone, or a chip off the jaw.
I hauled Hap to the clinic this morning. My friend came along to provide moral support if it turned out to be something particularly nasty, and practical assistance if Hap decided to be a butthead. Fortunately, Hap’s evil twin did not show up, and the x-rays indicated the jaw bone was healthy. However, his teeth badly needed floating, and there was a possible fracture of one tooth. This was that tooth, which popped out as the vet started to float that side. She is quite confident that this fractured tooth was causing the abscess, and is glad that she got it out before it caused even more problems. As it is, I have to figure out how to get SMZ down him for a month. SMZ is a sulfa drug much used as a horse antibiotic. Horses don’t like the taste, so one spends a lot of mental energy trying to come up with novel ways to disguise it.
I was so euphoric as I drove back that I drove onto an icy patch on a hill before I realized it and got stuck. Even four wheel drive didn’t seem to be help. While I was assessing the situation, and trying to figure out a solution that did not involve Jack, a man in a truck stopped to help me. He had two shovels, and it took about five minutes to shovel enough sand over the ice that the truck was able to pull out the trailer using the lowest gear of the 4WD. Hap stood quietly in the trailer the whole time.
I bet I can’t get anything close to what this tooth cost from the Tooth Fairy.
Horses got fangs!!!!
i just came across your site by almost-randomly clicking a link at Glorfindel of Gondolin. i’m not a horse-person, but i am an outdoors/beautiful skies person. and i am also a story person. i will be visiting more often (and telling my friends who are horse-peoples).
very nice site.
that’s impressively freaky-looking! glad to know Hap is otherwise okay.
Very entertaining story!
Good grief – I remember how much pain I was in when *I* had an abscessed tooth. Think what poor Hap must have been putting up with. Was he still eating OK? How fortunate that it popped out on it’s own!
Are you still planning on attending the ATC on Saturday? The theme is “dream” or “dreams”. I’m making some cards (entertaining more than ethereal) and plan on being there. If you want to make a day of it you could come up to my house before or after having lunch, see my new “baby”, go the the butterfly garden, see a movie, or whatever!
Becky
Ye Gods, Elaine, this is awful–and beautiful–like an artwork–simultaneously. I’m glad you got help on the ice patch and I know the tooth fairy would find this item priceless. Unfortunately for you, I’m sure the vet/tooth fairy did assess a price. But I’m glad Hap is OK and you are, too. I’m mentioning your site today as a good source for great sunsets.
I’m w/Jack, that’s a fang! Wow!
Gotta add my 2 cents on creative ways to give meds. Here’s my favorite trick.
Take a big 60 cc syringe, chop the top off (where the needle usually sits) leaving a dime sized hole. Mix powder drugs (if it’s a tablet I grind it up to powder) with good old Karo syrup or molasses. Spoon this into the syringe while keeping a finger over the hole you cut. Insert plunger, tip up, let air bubble float to top, take finger off, and you’ve got a nifty tube ready to go, much like a tube of wormer. I’ve used this often and it works as good as anything. Hope Hap’s feeling better!
So how big is that tooth? Did you measure it? It looks so big! I’m glad Hap’s okay and you, too :))
You can suspend the smz in water and then spread it around on top of sweet feed. I use a large syringe, 10 smz tablets and about 50 mL of water. The smz tablet breaks up easily in the water. Keep it shaken or it will settle and pack down. Just squirt it onto the feed and pour som fresh feed on top. My horse eats it dow readily.
very sad story poor u and the horse