Hernia repair

 Thursday, I took Tuffy to the vet to get his hernia fixed. He was such a good boy, loaded nicely in the trailer, tied, and hauled quietly with no anxiety. He unloaded well too and stood quietly in a stall while we waited for the vet. 

The appointment went well, although I thought they would just do it with sedation but they used anesthetic. I was kinda floored when I got the bill. .. over 900 bucks! Since when does a surgery price not include sutures and the gown and gloves they use? Those items added $160 to the bill. 

Once Tuffy had his wits about him post surgery, he again loaded perfectly in the trailer; and as I was tying him in the assistant vet was impressed that I could tie a 6 month old colt in the trailer.... doesn't everyone teach them that?

They put a belly wrap on him just for a couple of days as a pressure bandage. 

I put him in with Velvet so he could have a quiet night while he got over the effects of the drugs. 

Next day they went out with the herd but I have them all closed off the pasture while he heals (no running around) with a new round bale to keep them contented.

Today I took the bandage off, and it was that sticky gauze, which pulled on his freshly shaved belly so he had a big pout about that.

The incision looks good and he should heal well. It was a 5 cm. hernia which is rather large. Hence all the stiches (dissolving type, no need to pull them) 

In a couple weeks they can go out to pasture again. It is actually good that I have them locked out of the big pasture because deer rifle season starts tomorrow and I have hunters coming. 

The vet appointment

 The morning of her vet appointment this is what Gussie's leg looked like. Very not good   Her lameness actually increased since the original incident so I was very glad that she would have this looked at too.  

My lovely nervous nelly doesn't like hauling, by the time we got to the clinic, a 25 minute drive, she was sweated up from her ribs to her ears. 

Tell us how you really feel, Gus !

I was actually glad the vet was late; he is super busy with breeding season being still in full swing here. It gave Gussie time to decompress and relax in these surroundings. 

Oh so watchful!

By the time the vet got there an hour later she had relaxed considerably and was very well behaved in the clinic. The breeding exam ultrasound showed no issues but we took a culture just to be sure; should have those results in 5 days. So she will be going to the stud in mid June. 

As for her leg, the first thing he did was test her hoof with the hoof tester- there was no sensitivity.

So it was on to xrays.

She stood very still, no sedation, and they said what a good girl she was

Again, no problems there; in fact he was quite surprised that she shows no sign of arthritis or ringbone in a 22 year old horse. 

Then it was ultrasound time again. And that's where the issue was found, right where it shows in the photo above. He figured the original ligament injury  escalated with some kind of puncture that allowed infection to set in. That was confirmed with the ultrasound. So antibiotics, bute, and her leg wrapped at the vets and he sent me home with a tetanus shot and oral antibiotics, as well as more bandaging supplies.  

The bandaging seems to have given her the support she needs; the joint isn't " clunking" any more. I figure she will be sound again in a couple of weeks. 

So maybe she won't be retired from riding after all!

Today we moved Dallas to Shayla's place and turned her out with her stallion, Rex. More on that next post!

And there it was, gone.

 Beamer had his vet appointment yesterday.  

He was a very good boy as we waited for his time slot. 

The vet sedated him and had a good look, then got out the scalpel and removed the lump. He was of the opinion that it may be a sarcoid, and sent it away to the lab for analysis. It also could just be a benign tumor,. He cut it open after he removed it and it was just solid clean flesh. No weird stuff, so I'm hoping it was just a benign tumor. If it tests as a sarcoid he will have to go in once a week for 3 weeks for a shot to kill the papilloma virus that causes sarcoids (and warts).

Loading him back in the trailer was an ordeal! Have you ever tried to load a semi dopey horse? He was ok to walk and balance himself, but was pretty sure the trailer was Not Where He Should Be. But 4 of us cajoled stuffed him in there and off we went. 

Today I wanted to see his owwy- well he had other ideas. (I'm sure it was still sore. ) 

Ummm Beamer, I want to see your bottom lip not your top lip!

I barely managed to get him to hold still long enough to get this fuzzy photo- I circled the spot where the big lump was. 

It will take a while to heal so I have him on soft hay and no grain for a few days. He isn't too happy about the no grain part, but I don't want it to irritate the incision and hinder healing. 

Today we headed in to town to see some of the action at the Canadian Finals Rodeo (namely, the trade show! ) and it was also pretty cool to see some of the rodeo horses we see on TV warming up in one of the arenas. Those team roping horses are large and solid!  We didn't get there early enough to watch the ranch horse competition and didn't want to stay to see the sale. 

I did buy a couple of things- a new set of Streamz Bands for mama Belle:

Now Beamer can have his bands back, which I borrowed for Belle. We also decided to get Streamz wrist bands for ourselves as we both have arthritis in our hands. 

They are all rubber so can stay on 24/7 even when showering etc. I sure hope they help, especially Ted who has very painful hands. 

Deer hunting season is in full swing here, so far at least 4 have been harvested. At least the hunters are coming to ask permission and are courteous. So far, anyway.