The Little Things

It doesn't take much to get us excited. Yesterday, Gene & Carol brought two new whisk brooms and that's about all it takes. (We use whisk brooms to sweep up the Toothless Wonders' feeding stations so other horses don't try to vacuum up the leftovers and swallow a lot of dirt or sawdust in the process.)

During the past few weeks, there has been some discussion on several Internet forums about how a specific medical crisis was handled at another horse welfare organization. We're not going to discuss the details or opine on who was "right" or "wrong" but, eventually, the discussion turned to criticism of the farm's appeal for donation of bandaging materials. "If they can't afford bandages, how can they afford feed, hay, vet care, etc etc etc?"

If you've visited the Traveller's Rest web site, you know we also appeal for donations of "little stuff." And here's why:

Not many people are able to donate, say, $1,000 for a load of hay. But most people that want to help can manage a bottle of fly spray, several rolls of vetrap, or a few tubes of antibiotic ointment. Now, if only 100 people donate one $10 item, that's $1,000 not coming out of TREES checking account for "little stuff." $1,000 that can then be spent on hay, vet bills, senior feed, etc etc etc.

In addition to allowing TREES to not spend money on small items, those donations very often cost the donor little to nothing as well. The item might be something they've had sitting on a shelf for months or years. It might be something that was on sale, or even a BOGO deal. Maybe its something that just didn't work for the donor's horse, but is perfect for one of TREES' residents. (We also have to note the benefits of recycling/repurposing in these cases.)

Coming from another angle, we never want visitors to feel their gifts are "too small" or "not much." Every - and I mean every - donation contributes to the overall well-being and happiness of TREES' resident geezers. That includes donation of "stuff," time, services and good old moral support.

Celebrate the "little things." We do!


(PS......we owe quite a few people thank you notes for gifts received during Nate and Mona's rehabs........we acknowledge being very behind in that department. We haven't forgotten your kindness and are grateful for your patience. )

The Apprehension

For the second time in six years, TREES is faced with the very real possibility of not being able to help a new resident.

Forrest arrived Saturday suffering impaction colic. The situation probably existed for several days, at least, before he arrived. His emaciated condition, accompanied by severe dehydration, made the situation a tenuous one from the moment Forrest arrived.

Despite the fact that he was perky and alert on arrival, and despite the hours the veterinarian spent with him over the past two two days, things do not look good for Forrest this morning.

This is the heartbreak of "rescue." Knowing we cannot "save them all." The difficulty is knowing when to say when. Is today "when?" Should we try one more treatment? When does trying "one more thing" become unfair to the horse whose life you are trying to save?

And..........Why do people wait so long before asking for help?

It might be minor, but assume its major.

There is a theory that horses are more prone to colic in winter. Another says that colic is more likely during dramatic changes in weather. Yet a third implies that elderly horses are more likely to colic than younger horses. Put all those theories together and we should have had a disastrous winter so far. Fortunately, that is not the case. {{tap, tap, tap on wood}}

Yesterday morning, however, we did have a minor episode with Fred Astaire, or Freddie to his friends (and sometimes “Fernando!” on the days he feels the need to display his tail-in-the-air floating gaits.)

Freddie seemed perfectly fine Tuesday night at the 10PM feeding. He finished his senior mash, made a snake-face at Britches, and went off to munch on the night’s hay ration. Normal bedtime routine. At 6AM Wednesday, nothing seemed amiss. The early morning hay snack was welcomed with nickers, though in hindsight perhaps Freddie didn’t eat with his usual enthusiasm.

At 8AM, Freddie was not at his assigned breakfast station. That was not terribly alarming since, every now and then, he makes an attempt to usurp Britches’ position in the breakfast line-up. What was alarming, however, was his reaction when he walked around to his regular position. Freddie looked in his dish and walked away! This is a horse that has never refused a morsel of food in the three and one half years we’ve known him.

After the rest of the herd was fed, another check on Freddie found him standing several yards away from his full breakfast dish, looking just a little “off.” He stood with his head low, eyes squinting. Then he made one small circle, acted as though he might lie down, but resumed his previous stance instead.

That was it. Time to call the vet clinic. Colic is one thing we do not fool around with when it comes to elders. While some colic episodes can resolve themselves, we’d rather have a vet evaluate early. The clinic’s office manager let us know a doctor would be out in about half an hour. We used that time to put Freddie in a small clean paddock so we would know at a glance if he passed any manure, and filled a bucket with warm water in case the vet needed to “tube” him. During this time, Freddie pawed the ground a few times, something he does not normally do and another possible expression of pain.

Upon arrival, Doc B performed a general exam, noting the Freddie’s color was good, his heart rate was normal, he had good gut sounds, and he had no fever. A rectal exam, though, revealed some “doughy” feces in one area of his colon, near the pelvic flexure (where the colon makes a 180-degree turn,) rather than well-formed fecal balls. This might be the problem.

After administering a little sedative and a dose of banamine, Doc inserted a NG tube, first to ensure Freddie had no reflux, though there did seem to be excess gas, then to direct some “maglox” (generic version of Maalox) directly into his stomach. Freddie immediately perked up. Then came the hard part. The waiting. Horses cannot vomit or belch so if things can’t move from front to back, they can’t move at all. Horse owners may be the only people on the planet that pray for poop. Meanwhile, Freddie could not have anything to eat. If there was an impaction, adding more food would make things worse.

Finally, at 5PM on the dot, a beautiful pile of meadow muffins appeared. One portion of the pile appeared softer than normal and was a large sticky ball compared to the normal size and texture. There it was - the “doughy” feces Doc B felt earlier in the day. Another pile at 11PM looked almost normal, but again with a few “doughy” looking, but smaller, balls.

As of this morning, all seems well. Freddie ate a small breakfast with gusto and munched some hay as dessert. Now dozing in the sun, he has no idea how badly he scared us yesterday.

The moral to Freddie’s story is: Know the signs of Colic (pawing the ground, laying down and getting up repeatedly, thrashing or rolling, biting or kicking at the flank, etc.) Perhaps more importantly, know what is normal for YOUR horse. Freddie did not exhibit what might be called “classic” signs of colic, yet he was brewing a potentially urgent condition. If you suspect colic, early veterinary evaluation may mean the difference between a simple resolution and a prolonged, complicated treatment. It may even mean the difference between life and death.

Horse-sized Place Mats!

Traveller's Rest would like to thank all who donated stall mats to the cause.

The mats, however, will not be used in the ordinary way, providing a comfortable floor in a stall. Rather, they will serve as over-size place mats. Many of our dentally challenged horses drop food while eating. This, in itself, would not be a significant problem if they did not try to vacuum up the leftovers once their food dishes are emptied. All residents are served soaked food, so you can imagine how much dirt or bedding might cling to the "plops" that hit the floor at meal time. We have always tried to keep feeding corners swept clean, so there is not much to stick to dropped food, but since the floors are dirt there is still a concern that the horses might be swallowing dirt or other debris which could lead to "sand colic" (or dirt/gravel colic depending on your environment and just what your horse is likely to swallow.)

Through no fault of his own, Rienzi is our biggest offender. Not only does our clown prince have a serious malocclusion, but his previous home was a paddock he shared with goats and pigs. After picking up a mouthful of food, he still looks around to see whether or not his "roommates" are coming to share the meal. As you can see, this habit distributes his food in an impressive arc around the dish.

Rienzi's "bite:"

Here is Rienzi's mat after he decides he's vacuumed all he can. He does a pretty good job picking up the dropped food. If he were eating on dirt or in a bedded stall, he would pick up a lot of debris with each meal. He is still pushing a lot of food off the edges of the mat, so we will need to dedicate two mats to this particular feeding station.

The remaining mats will be cut into triangles that will fit in stall corners below the feeders. We'll still need to sweep up around feeding stations after meals, but this should make the job much easier in addition to providing a little more peace of mind concerning what is going into residents' stomachs.