Diary of an Extreme Cowgirl

yep on leap year.
He was released today and is now at a trainig barn in Placerville, Ca.
A friend offered to pay for a few month board at a nice place that can cover all his meds.

So, he is settled in his stall at Presicion Horse Training :)

They ended up not putting in the drain the other day.
His fever came down but there is an infection near the incision.
They didn't want to accidentally spread that infection closer to the colon, but because the temp came down they wanted to give him another 24 hours to kick it himself.

They took one or two staples out and it was draining a bit from that.
Yesterday his fever was normal, 98, lowest its been since before this whole thing started.
So if he can keep this up it would be great. He is still eating well and his poops are starting to be normal round clumps.

I think I have ulcers now lol.
Yesterday I was in so much pain, Migraine and upset stomach.
Sick when eating, sick when not. Just didn't feel good.

Today I feel a bit better but haven't been able eat since yesterday morning.
I will see him tomorrow.
They should be calling me soon with todays update.
I am usually there everyday to walk him.

Well he is not out of the woods yet.
I just got off the phone with the vet a second ago.
I couldn't go see him today cause I have a tire blow out.

Yesterday they ultrosounded him again, he keeps running a fever. low but still there.
It showed no real infection but something is buggin him.
They are putting in a drain right now, because they believe he has fluid in there that is leaking from his colon.

The drain should help clear that out. He is still eating and pooping though, which I am told are good signs.

He loves his hay and fresh grass by the barn. I walk him around abit and graze him about 5 min a day. I believe the techs do some too.
So keep the prayers coming, we both need it.

I think I am going to have a heart attach before this is all over, just so scared.

Today I asked about if it was a good idea to treat horses for sand even if you think they don't need it.

They said yes. There are many things you can do.
The problem with sand is that it can just sit there, and clear slowly or not at all.
You can't tell without an xray, but to have a program where every once in a while to do sand clear can help.

Its not the beat all end all solution but it helps.
Mischief would eat and then poop, but the sand/dirt settled to the bottom and just sat there like a beach.

Some horses will start to get a taste for dirt and will eat it. but they think he is not one of those.

They did say that there is dirt and sand in hay, grass, pastures etc. Horses can get it everywhere and depending on the horse will determine if its a problem or not.
So much to learn... argh..

I just wanted to get the word out the sand colic can happen to any horse even when you don't think it can.
A hard lesson.

You don't know you have a problem horse until its almost too late. I got lucky. I will be treating my other horses with sand clear or pyllenium soon, just in case.

The main thing I learned is, Sand is dirt and dirt is sand.

Ok so today I am so happy I could just cry.

When I came to visit he was bright eyed, happy to see me and terrorizing his feed bucket lol

The techs pulled alfalfa leaves out of the flakes and filled a few buckets then they got a ton of fresh long grass and soaked it in water.

Then they sprinkle the alfalfa leaves on top to get him to eat both. Well hes wise to that and is picking the leaves out first lol...

There were some complications during surgery but so far so good.

His colon tore 3 times while moving it during surgery. Most times, even in humans, a torn or nicked colon is a death sentence. Let's hope that Mischief keeps up the good luck.

Oh, it turns out that he did not have just 5 inches of dirt, it was 50 lbs or dirt!

When they realized that it was much worse then expected they have to make his incesion bigger.

Yes, we got really lucky.

My friend took the pictures, but she caught one of the rare moments when I was not grinning ear to ear

I came to a payment agreement with the Hospital.
All Hail Loomis Basin Equine Hospital!!!!

UCdavis would not see him without a huge deposit. You heard me, Would not even see him.

Loomis basin is very friendly and understanding that most people can't pull 5000+ out of the back pocket.

But back to the subject.

at 6pm the surgery will begin.
I emptied my back accounts to pay the surgens fees.
Wish "Mischief" Luck...

I wish I could say that 2008 has been better, but for a while now I have been noticing my lil 2 yr gelding has not been right.

Most people just said it was from growing or just boared.
But I kept having a nagging feeling something was wrong.

Last week it became very clear I was right.
My lil guy lost half his body weight in the span of 1 week, but he was still eating.

On Feb 14, Valentines Day, I barrowed a rig and rushed him to the equine hospital, Loomis Basin Equine Hospital, with pictures of him the week before to show that I am not crazy, something is wrong.

They found 5 inches of sand/dirt in his colon. 5 inches. They think he got it during the summer, and it was not emptying but his system coaped with it till now.

they put him on IV and meds, he perked up
3 days of Mineral oil and psyllium to pass the sand.

Todays update

He is not passing the sand fast enough.
The colon in so full it is displaced to the right side and it can't empty well enough and thats why he started to go downhill fast.

Unfortunately that downhill spiral is what convinced many people that I was not crazy, that there was something wrong. The vet explained that when you see sand colic it is not always sand as we know it.

All dirt has some kind of sand. So sand colic is really dirt like material, and some horses do not empty the dirt well without help. For 5 inches to get in there they said it had to have started in early summer and accumulated over time.

Only 2 choices.
$4000.00 Surgery with about 90+% success rate
or
Say goodbye

I can't do payments on $4000 :(
I wish I could.
I need a miracle but I don't think there will be one soon enough. :(

Please everyone, even if you don't think your horse is in a sand place. I was told that most of the worst cases are from horses that live in box stalls so PLEASE every once in a while give your horse sand clear or something before it gets so bad you notice, then it could be too late :(

PLEASE learn from my mistake so no other lil horse has to leave.
I don't know when I will have to make my choice.

I want a miracle but don't know how to get one