My knee injury, Odin’s knee injury, Bragi’s colic all in one week!
Good grief, March has been maddening. Thankfully not all of it though. I had a great riding lesson on Odin and a couple trips to the tree farm to practice trailer loading, going somewhere and having nice walks on the roads in the tree farm. Oh, and we bought a canoe! Plus, I finished knitting a couple projects and started on new projects.
And then a week ago Monday, I started it all by having an uncharacteristic clumsy moment, tripped or slipped and fell bashing my right knee. I got to spend an afternoon in Urgent Care then emerged with a brace and instructions to brace and ice every hour for two weeks.
I didn’t read the instructions until after I drove home. My right leg is my driving leg and I cannot drive while wearing the brace. Thankfully I can work from home so driving is not required of me at the moment. Randy helped me feed horses and chauffeured me to pick up a prescription. I am lucky!
Friday evening, I was hobbling well enough to feed on my own and discovered that Odin had cut his knee. I sent a photo to the vet, who said it was fairly superficial but to watch it to make sure that he wasn’t sore or puffy, etc. Odin hates hoses so he got a quick lesson in bucket washing. Luckily the cut healed nicely with a little TLC.
Then Monday morning at breakfast time, Bragi just wasn’t right. He wasn’t the first one seeking breakfast like normal and when he did come in, he pawed instead of ate. Bad news.
I called the vet and took the hay bags to their outside pens because I didn’t want him to go down in the stall then have difficulty getting back up again in the smaller quarters.
Bragi got an impromtu lesson in receiving an oral dose of banamine, per the vet’s instructions. We have been working incrementally on standard veterinarian procedures. Bragi is very sensitive about needles and ordinary procedures that most horses tolerate with a little patience and kindness. Bragi needs more patience and kindness.
Banamine (for pain) administered then wait. The vet called me an hour later as planned. Bragi was standing but still very uncomfortable. I confined him to the round pen then waited for the vet to arrive.
Since he was shivering or quivering, Bragi got an impromptu lesson in blanketing. He didn’t mind that at all. The vet arrived and he got an impromtu lesson in tubing.
Bragi minded the tubing since a long tube goes up the nostril into the digestive system. I was glad to see a little protest because to me that means he still has a little fight and will to live. In other words, the pain hasn’t completely taken everything from him. Through the tube, the vet administered about a 1/2 gallon of oil to get the impaction moving.
The only thing left to do was wait and keep the vet informed. I checked on him about 45 minutes later. Lying down. Napping? He normally naps about that time of day. Left him alone and checked again another 45 minutes later. Still lying down, now I’m more worried.
Called the vet; she advised giving a half dose of banamine and getting him up to walk around to see if that would help the oil move through his system. He protested getting up and resisted walking but pooped almost immediately. What a relief, probably for both of us!
An hour later I checked again. He seemed almost normal but there was no additonal poop. Of course, he hadn’t had any breakfast and the vet said it could take 24-48 hours for the oil to work through his system.
I let him hang out with Odin for a couple hours then moved him back to the round pen for a dinner of very soupy mash. By then he was banging at the rails demanding to be let out and so he could eat Odin’s hay. Fat chance buddy.
Instead he took out his frustration on the trot poles in the round pen by chewing on them. This could be how he developed the impaction so I removed those from reach. So then he grabbed a mouthful of dead leaves. Jerk! I raked the round pen and advised him to eat his sloppy mash.
In the evening, he looked a lot perkier and was impatient. The vet said I could give him a 1/3 of his hay if all went well overnight.
By morning he pooped 5 times! Yay! That is pretty close to normal for him. I gave him his allotment of hay and more soupy mash. He banged at the rails demanding more, sort of like Oliver Twist but cheekier. That’s my Bragi!
This morning he left me 7 piles of poop. I think we can go back to our normal routines.
