Poor Joy...She has good days, then bad days. Today is a bad day for her.
Her front left ankle is so swollen and puffy. She is limping heavily on it. She either did it yesterday evening or it's from her "play time" in the sprinklers. She got 2 cc of bute this evening. I hate giving it to her because it's SO HARD on her stomach and digestive tract, but she definitely needed it tonight.
Her right eye now has something going on with it. The lower lid is swollen and "fallen away" from the orb of her eye. Sort of swollen and hanging out. I had some ointment which I put on despite her protestations. (Is that even a word??) I then tried to put on a fly mask and her reaction was "Oh HELL no!" She was NOT having it.
She is still eating good, finished her hay in short order and hobbled out to the pasture to join her buddy Angel, who lives in the pen next to her.
I did take new photos. You can see Angel behind her in one of the photos.
Another thing I noticed...for the first time, I saw Joy pee. Now normally, I wouldn't even mention it, but her urine looked thick, like syrup, and very milky. (Maybe that's normal...) To me, it looked like she was having difficulty peeing. She was all hunched up with the weirdest body posture I've ever seen. The volume wasn't what I'd expected either. Poor old girl...
6 comments:
She gets VERY uncomfortable when she's in heat. I think she has some internal issues with that. Yet another thing causing her pain, poor girl.
You have definitely put some pounds on her - she looks much better through the barrel. It also looks like finally being on a deworming program this year has caught up to her and she is looking much less wormy.
She looks so good compared to the first pics. You've done a tremendous job with her.
Can horses become diabetic? Your description of her urine reminds me of diabetics. It gets thick and smelly. The hunching reminds me of bladder stones or something like that. (I'm thinking small animal comparison here.)
I did notice that Joy doesn't seem to be exhibiting any joy. I've always told friends and clients that you'll know when it's a pet's time to go if you quiet your mind and listen with your heart. They'll always let you know. I think Joy is saying that. Of course, I could be wrong. But I think it's easier to catch body language and expression with a camera. As humans, sometimes we only see what we want to see.
On a lighter note... Can Charlie and I come live with you? We're having a tough time finding a happy boarding facility in our part of Oregon. Either drama and stupid rules that keep changing, beautiful facilities with no turn out or turn out but the inside of the barn looks like it needs to be pressure washed. Your place looks absolutely beautiful!
Sure you can come live with me! LOL! I've got to warn you though...I'm just as bad at spoiling and "mothering" boarders horses as I am my own. I haven't boarded enough to have learned to stay "disconnected".
Joy HAS been pretty "squealy" lately...perhaps she IS in heat.
No, Joy doesn't have joy in those pics. She was having a really bad day yesterday. She didn't want scratch, or brushed, or talked to...NOTHING. She ate fine, but just dragged around. She was clearly very uncomfortable and unhappy.
This morning, I ran the two fat toads in off their pastures and Joy trotted up to the barn with a springy (sort of) trot, tail flagged, head up and ears forward. When she got to the barn, she turned a blew. She definitely had joy this morning! I gave her some more bute, because that little display probably would have sored her up. I got it in her despite her protests.
Good days. Bad days.
The bad days darn near break my heart.
The good days make is soar!
Ok, I'll be packing up the kids and animals in the next couple days...
Really, it would be a long drive as my hubby works in Portland. Hopefully we'll be getting our own place in the next 2 years. Just waiting for his company to go public so we can sell some of our stock for a huge down payment on a farm.
Hi Karen...
I've known some very uncomfortable mares during heat cycles. Not just the physical discomforts but mental as well. Some were administered Regu-Mate to help relieve the symptoms. Poor girl, it can be miserable. Chin up.
Thanks for caring.
Poor Joy, she looks a lot better though you have done a lot for her. I am sure it is hard to watch the bad days when you are doing everything you can for her. There is just so much going on with her it is unreal! Now her eye, poor poor mare.
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