A Day Late

Today first. Art and Carolyn came to lunch today. They know horses and cattle so well that on occasion when we are gone they can do our chores. Thank you so much. It's wonderful to have friends who know what they are doing with the critters.Now for yesterday- vet day. I couldn't post a blog because my computer was in for an oil change and tire rotation- or whatever Ron did to make it healthy again. Thanks, Ron.
The morning sky was covered with lumpy clouds. It was beautiful, but eerie. It also made the day very sticky and hot.

Here they come- Dr. Darling and Lauren. The dogs always greet everyone who comes to the sanctuary. We call them the Barkanacle Choir.

Lexi was the first to be evaluated. We had done a good job in stopping the infection and keeping the injury site clean, but it was decided to put a drain in so we could continue to flush it.

Lexi gets 13 SMZ tablets twice a day and her wound gets flushed 2-3 times daily. Lexi is a very brave horse. She never gives any trouble with all the poking and prodding we do.

Next Calli's knee was checked. Wasn't much to do there, as Aaron's trimming helps more than anything.

The mobile vet truck is ready for the day's work.

Lexi is getting a drain put in so we can keep it flushed. That way we can make sure no germs settle in the bottom of the wound.

Lexi was sedated for the minor procedure and didn't mind a bit.
Then it was dental time. She's an older girl and floating her teeth will make eating easier.
Here's a sentence you don't hear often, but we heard it twice yesterday. "Please, hold her tongue." OK. Whatever you say. Tongue held.

Lexi was put in the "drunk tank" to sober up a little, then it was Calli's turn. Calli would get wads of food stuck in her jaw. Her teeth were really bad. Jim asked how old she was and Dr. D said somewhere between 30 and 100.

Here we go again. "Would you, please, hold her tongue?" The reason there is blood is that one very rotten tooth had to be pulled. It was where the food wadded up.

This tooth was bad. We gave it to Lauren for a good luck tooth to take to vet school with her. We told her mule teeth were very rare and brought lots of good luck. (Not to the mule, however.)

Almost done, Calli. Hang in there. Everyone worked in the shade of the tree. All the animals are sedated before the dental work. Into the drunk tank with Lexi she went.

While the girls were sobering up, Frankie's tumor was evaluated.

Jim held Moon Dancer nearby so Frankie would have his friend. He was very patient and quiet, knowing Moon Dancer was right there.

Moon Dancer and Jim consult with Dr. D.

It was decided to biopsy the tumor. It will take about a week. Then we will decide how to proceed. The tumor is surrounding the jugular vein and carotid artery. There is no easy solution.

During this time a rather large spider hopped on Dr. D's back. He walked to Lauren and asked her to get it off. She's not a spider fan and really whacked it. Everyone was surprised, except the spider. He was gone. Somehow we missed getting a picture of Brandie getting her teeth done. We moved Lexi and Calli to their turnout, did Brandie and put her in the drunk tank with the cattle. (When Dr.. D saw Banjoe and Julian he said they needed to go to Jenny Craig. He'd never seen such HUGE bellies).

Then came Harmony. She really needed some work, too.

Harmony was a really good girl, a little loopy, but good. Harmony is a beautiful Arab mare who usually doesn't like any horse near her, so we put Brandie away before we put her in the sobering up pen.

Almost done, girl.Chance is a 3 year old off the track Thoroughbred with a fractured knee. He was raced as a 2 year old and his bones were not ready for the hard running. He had some dental work about a month ago, but he is not flourishing. It was decided to leave him in the calf pen so we could feed him all the food he would eat. Harmony was still in the pen when we put him in. Surprise! Surprise! They are getting along so well we decided to leave them together.

Now for the most difficult part of what we do- saying good-bye to those who are ready to wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge. Braveheart came to us starved to bare bones, with his mane rubbed off trying to reach food. He had over a year of good food, lots of love and knowing he belonged. His body could no longer process food. He had his teeth done, special food and all his shots. He belonged to a herd. He went to horse events as one of our equine ambassadors. He was a special Arabian boy. We will miss you, Braveheart.

When Tawny and Jonathan came it was with the hope they could have one final summer. Jonathan flourished. Tawny did not.

Tawny was 34 years old and had spent his whole life with Jonathan. When he came to Home At Last Tawny and Tory bonded and Jonathan had the freedom of the whole sanctuary. They didn't visit often, but when we led Tawny to the horse trailer, Jonathan appeared at the gate and stood near his friend until the end. Jonathan had never come to the front gate before when we took out horses. Today he spent most of the day beside the barn watching the gate. He didn't call out to Tawny like Tory did, but he did stand watch. Good-bye , sweet boy. We will miss you following us around hoping for just one more treat.
Thank you to Helen and Ron and Savahanna for their support yesterday. As always, thank you
to Dr. Darling and Lauren for their competent and compassionate care. Thank you, too, to North State Rendering for their kindness and consideration. Without all of you we couldn't do what we do.