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You know those Optimistic/PollyAnna expressions…trying to prompt a positive outlook on life?

There are lots of them that are available…..

Always look on the bright side of life (accompanied by a spritely whistle)—(okay…that one’s from Monty Python)…..

…..a cheery outlook makes for a cheery disposition…..

…..happy is as happy does…?…I don’t know…..

There are millions of them…..

I didn’t want to use any of them a few days ago…when I checked on the horses before going to bed and saw that everyone was fine…except for Addy…..

She was sprawled out on the ground…flat…with her neck extended…..

When I panned over her with the flashlight…all I saw was her black-heap laying stretched out on the ground…..

I was just sure she was a goner…..

…..absolutely sure…..

…..positive…..

Given our not so distant history…yep…I had her written-off straight away…..

Lots of tears…(lots of them)…..

Her temperature was slightly elevated…her breathing was normal-ish…her gum re-fill time was okay-ish (but it’s hard to tell with a flashlight in the dark)…and she had vaguely/decent gut sounds…..

…..colic…poisoning…something else…I don’t know?…..

…..pick a card…any card!…..

I swallowed my tongue and kicked into automatic…my older daughter and I started the standard treatments…..

…..why do these things always seem to happen on weekends…in the dark…and late at night?…..

Addy wasn’t thrashing…she was alert and wasn’t comatose…we gave her an IM (intra-muscular) shot of Banamine (a fever reducer and a muscle relaxant)…..

…..and I started my vigil…with regular checks…..

When I finally went to bed…it was after 3:00am…..

…..I really didn’t expect to see her up…or alive…in the morning…..

…..I was already resigned to loosing yet another friend…..

You know…you just get to this very very numb place…..

…..I’d rather rant and rage…I would…but it’s just not productive…..

…..numb hurts less…..

So I waited until the light came up with the sun a few hours later…..

…..and DAMN if that beast wasn’t standing & casually eating…..

Addy appeared fine…absolutely fine…with the exception that she was not weight-bearing on her front right…which she was holding up like a hurt paw…..

…………………………. (Abscess?) ………………………….

…..I cried a lot that morning…not just from the relief of seeing Addy standing…but for the too many horses who we’ve lost…..

I time my crying for after the fact…when it doesn’t get in the way….

…..horses…they constantly break your heart…..

…..but…an abscess?…I can treat that…..

 

 

 

 

 

#montypython #pollyanna

#hoofabscess #colic #poisoning #botulism #im #intramuscularshot #banamine