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Mare Scare
May. 21st, 2008 02:02 pmThe vet was out at the barn late last week. It wasn't really a special visit. A couple of the horses had some minor issues and he was out to check on them. While there, he had a look at Bonnie. She's an older pony mare. From her build, white face, and slight feathering at her feet, I've always thought she has some draft in her ancestry. I think she's cute, but then I've always liked blonde maned sorrels. That's her in the userpic for this post, taken from a picture I got when she was having fun splashing the water in a stock tank around. While I'm sure she had a typical pony attitude when she was a filly, nowadays, she's a quiet, honest little mare. Nothing fancy. Just a solid, easygoing girl.
Bonnie is old and she's started to lose some weight in her back end. That's really not uncommon in old horses. Like dogs, cats, humans, and other critters, when horses get old, they start to decline a bit. At some point the gradual decline from aging kind of takes a sharp downturn. I think Bonnie's approaching that point.
Anyway, the vet was out and had a look at her, too. There was nothing serious to report, just what you'd expect in an old horse. He decided to give her a B12 shot and that was it. After he left, though, things changed. Bonnie's heart rate shot up to 98.
To give an idea of what a big change that is, her normal baseline would be somewhere from 30 to 40. She also developed a slight nosebleed from one nostril and was panting hard. She did return to normal after a bit, but they called the vet back out of course. She seemed to be fine then, if not a little tired. The best guess is that she just had a bad reaction to the vitamin shot. Supposedly, it was the first time she's had one, so I suspect it will also be the last.
So on Sunday, Bonnie was in a box stall. She seemed to almost not know what to do in a stall with so much more room than her regular one. She wasn't turned out with the other horses and I think she was a little down because of that. Her herd buddy, Wheatchex, hung around the pasture gate, likely wondering why her friend wasn't out there with her.
Bonnie will be retired soon. They're just trying to work out the arrangements with some folk who'll take care of her for the rest of her life. It'll be sad to see her go. She's been my favorite mare at the barn ever since Ellie died. Bonnie deserves the rest, though, and I'll be happy she doesn't have to work any more. She's helped teach thousands of kids to ride in her time.
Bonnie is old and she's started to lose some weight in her back end. That's really not uncommon in old horses. Like dogs, cats, humans, and other critters, when horses get old, they start to decline a bit. At some point the gradual decline from aging kind of takes a sharp downturn. I think Bonnie's approaching that point.
Anyway, the vet was out and had a look at her, too. There was nothing serious to report, just what you'd expect in an old horse. He decided to give her a B12 shot and that was it. After he left, though, things changed. Bonnie's heart rate shot up to 98.
To give an idea of what a big change that is, her normal baseline would be somewhere from 30 to 40. She also developed a slight nosebleed from one nostril and was panting hard. She did return to normal after a bit, but they called the vet back out of course. She seemed to be fine then, if not a little tired. The best guess is that she just had a bad reaction to the vitamin shot. Supposedly, it was the first time she's had one, so I suspect it will also be the last.
So on Sunday, Bonnie was in a box stall. She seemed to almost not know what to do in a stall with so much more room than her regular one. She wasn't turned out with the other horses and I think she was a little down because of that. Her herd buddy, Wheatchex, hung around the pasture gate, likely wondering why her friend wasn't out there with her.
Bonnie will be retired soon. They're just trying to work out the arrangements with some folk who'll take care of her for the rest of her life. It'll be sad to see her go. She's been my favorite mare at the barn ever since Ellie died. Bonnie deserves the rest, though, and I'll be happy she doesn't have to work any more. She's helped teach thousands of kids to ride in her time.