So on and so forth. 

That’s been my week in a nutshell… A day late and a dollar short.  So, here’s my photo that was supposed to be here yesterday! 

In honor of my boy, Sunnie, I chose this one.  He was not really enjoying the snow but was being patient while I snapped some pictures.  But, I say “in honor of” because of his long trip to the Big City yesterday to the veterinarian’s office.  My lovely boy had a huge laceration on the inside of his hind left leg, just near the hock joint, below the gaskin. 

When all the mares came running for their morning meal, my boy was no where to be found.  I waited and waited, and worried more and more until finally he rounded the corner at a slow walk.  I knew something was up.

He meandered up to the hay pile (he’s the head dude and thus everyone saves him the best pile), and started eating.  I looked him over from outside the fence and saw a strange drizzle of fluid running down the inside of his leg, like a spiral of syrup.  I climbed in and sure enough, a round laceration about the size of a tennis ball. 

I hopped on the quad and drove back to the house, grabbed a halter and fetched him from the pasture.  No way was I going to keep him in there with all those moody mares.  They’d take advantage of his helpless state, (we’re mean like that, aren’t we)?  I brought him up to the house and put him in a small paddock with the llama and a six month old ewe lamb.  They would be good company until I could figure out what I could do, if anything.  That’s one funny thing about me, if I can fix it, I will. 

My mother in law came over and took care of my baby while I irrigated him with chlorhexidine (that’s your word for the week) and water solution.  I could tell that with his shaggy winter coat, there was no way the wound was going to stay clean and the hair would stay out.  I also was getting a bit more concerned the harder I looked at it as it was so deep.  If this laceration was in the joint, he could be lame.  That’s not what I want on a horse I just got back from the trainer’s in August from sixty excellent days of work!  He’s my fancy riding horse now!  So… Being that my truck is currently out of the country with my dear husband, I called my dear friend with a truck.  She came right over and we left for the Big City, taking it easy over the mountain so as to make sure Sunnie could stand comfortably.

We made it to the vet forty five minutes late, they of course dismissed it knowing where I am coming from (and I think they like me anyway) and got us right in.  The area around the wound was shaved, then the wound was irrigated.  The vet (after sedating Sunnie) stuck his fingers in to feel just how bad it was, and good news, it missed the joint!  The bad news was that he would need two sets of stitches.  One on the inside fleshy part, and one on the subcutanious outside (skin).  After that, a round of tetanus, a round of penicillin, some aluminum spray, and we were back out to the trailer.  I received some sulpha pills and some good advice on how to get him to take them, some bute paste for pain, a large syringe (for the pills) and a large bill.  Well, not too bad considering… I could have gone to the “equine vet” in town who only touches equines and paid out the ear.  Being that I’m not all “equine vet, let me pay for your facility in large bills” type, I like my excellent large-animal-down home-cowboy logic-get’r'done-vet who does just as good of a job as anyone.  Didn’t I tell you I was practical?

So, my boy is sutured and healing, in pain wandering around the paddock hoping for more oats with each sad face.  Oh, and he’s on some herbal supplements from this awesome place.

Here we are in a much happier setting.