Positive Update

Saturday morning Daisy was doing better than she was on Friday. Best of all, I had the brilliant idea to offer her regular water along with her flavored water.
On Thursday, she had the choice between regular and flavored water all day, and she chose flavored water every time. So Friday I had just given her flavored water. And she drank such a small amount that I was very worried about her. Saturday, I offered her regular water again... and she drank! Girl can't make up her mind. 

The vet was still very worried about her dehydration, but by the end of yesterday she'd drank 5 gallons of water. Her banamine pain killer wore off yesterday (Saturday) at 11:30am. I had planned on having the vet come that afternoon, and the vet said to avoid giving her more banamine if possible. It was possible; Daisy was really not in pain! I monitored her all afternoon. She'd paw a little bit, and  I'd take her for a short walk, and let her rest again. The time between her pawing got longer and longer, until she wasn't show any signs of discomfort anymore! I ended up not needing the vet to come out, because she was so obviously doing better. She wasn't completely interested in eating like normal, but she wasn't in pain. I went to bed relieved. I checked on her again overnight and got her to drink. We've developed a routine over the past couple days where, if I squirt water in her mouth (with an old dewormer syringe), she'll drink some water. Then she stops, and after a moment I squirt water in her mouth, and she drinks out of the bucket herself again. As of yet, she hasn't drank of her own accord.... but at least she drinks when I 'help her'. I'm sure she'll go back to it on her own. 

Today (Sunday), she's been doing well. She mostly stood in her wooded paddock in the sun and relaxed for the day. She ate a couple flakes of hay, and has drank about 3 gallons of water... not an ideal amount, but she's also had very little to eat in the past days. (She had 2 flakes total today. Normally by now she'd have had 6-7 flakes, and drank 5+ gallons of water) She's clearly lost weight, but we'll just have to move forward from here. 

She's been off of grain since Thursday, and so I'm planning on giving her half her normal grain tomorrow morning, and probably her regular amount tomorrow evening, assuming she's doing even better. She's not 100% better yet, but she'll get there. 

Thank you for your kind words and prayers. :) Some people have horses that are prone to lameness... mine just happens to be prone to colic.

Abominable Colic

I actually looked on thesaurus.com to see what word I could use to describe the colic Daisy has been experiencing for the last soon-to-be 48 hours. The initial word that came to mind was "evil". 

On Wednesday I took Daisy for a long ride, because it was absolutely beautiful out. Afterward, I gave a riding lesson on her--which was 90% walking, with a few trot steps. 

Thursday morning, I awoke and my mother informed me that Daisy was outside rolling. Followed by pawing. My heart sank.

I hate colic. With a passion. I rarely use the word "hate" but for once, I am. Because that's how I feel.

I walked Daisy on and off for many hours. When she was loose in her stall, after awhile of standing there looking pained and shifting weight from one hind leg to the other, she would resort to pawing, followed by attempting to roll, which I wouldn't allow, so she would move to kicking at her stomach and going to her half-door and pawing at it violently, until I could finally get close enough to clip a lead on her and walk her more. I squirted vinegar in her mouth, because in the past, the vinegar helping her stomach digest helped us avert colic. If I hadn't been so dumb and lazy, perhaps I would have just put vinegar in her water regularly when she came home last week and therefore avoided this. I don't know.

  I called the vet, gave her banamine, and waited until it kicked in. Before I gave her the banamine, she already seemed to be doing a bit better; I wonder if the vinegar helped. I provided a bucket of luke-warm water from the house, with juice in it attempt to placate her. Over the course of the day, once the banamine kicked in, she ended up drinking around 5 gallons. She seemed to be her normal self mostly, everything was 'functioning' and her attitude seemed improved. I gave her another 'dose' of vinegar in the evening.

I got up at 3am Friday morning to check on her, since the banamine had worn off by then. She seemed fine, so I tossed her some hay (I'd been giving her small handfuls all day once she had the banamine; it only amounted to two small flakes). I got up at 7am and gave her half of her normal grain (so 1/4 quart) and another handful of hay. I went back to bed, and when I awoke at 9:15 she was at it again. More walking, though not as much as yesterday, more apple cider vinegar, more banamine. The banamine didn't seem to help as much today as yesterday. She didn't paw and roll, but she lay down sleeping often and seemed distant. Over the course of today, she's only drank about a half gallon of water. This makes me very worried, and makes my heart ache.

I just went and gave her another dose of banamine, at 11:20pm. This was my last dose, so unless she makes a miraculous recovery by tomorrow morning (I have faith), the vet will come out.

:( 

I'm hoping and praying that this will pass very soon.

(Not Quite So) Wordless Wednesday

The woman who ended up being Daisy and my driving instructor posted these photos from County Fair to facebook a couple weeks ago. They were taken at the open game show following my 4H shows.

The photos where I'm riding bareback were taken during the first event of the show, Sit-a-Buck, where riders sit on a piece of paper and whoever holds the paper there longest, wins. 

You have to sit deep, hence my terrible posture ;). Daisy and I have always placed in the top two or three.

In this particular class, we were placed second. It was a bit unfair because the person I was riding against didn't canter any faster when they said hand gallop, so she should have been disqualified, but.... life's unfair. ;) 

Below you can see Daisy's canter command for when I ride bareback... in the beginning, I always grabbed her mane to stay balanced as she transitioned into the canter, and now she knows when I grab her mane that we're going to canter... no other aid needed.

The rest are from pole bending.

Nothing New to Report . . .

This morning, as I came out to give Daisy a flake of hay.

Our days are pretty monotonous, and so I have trouble finding something new and exciting to share. I brought Daisy home on Thursday, and she will probably be home for good now. (Until May, when I go to Canada for my trimmer courses). 

She's such a typical mare. On Thursday when she came home, she was chipper on the ride. Once she was home, loose in her paddock and stall, she gave me the nastiest look she could possibly pull every time I came near her. Then yesterday evening I came in to give her her last flake of hay around 8pm, and she was sweet and kind and huggable and kissable. 

Yesterday's ride with her was interesting. It was a bit windy, and she was more energetic than I had expected. We rode 3.7 miles. She was fighting me when I tried to slow her at the canter, which hasn't happened in a long time. She is the energizer bunny for sure.

Today we're experiencing high winds, so our ride was limited to a short ten minute bareback jaunt down the driveway. 

My chivalrous barn cat, Grönemeyer.

Onwards and upwards as usual,