7/11/10
So Sunday started with me untangling her mane. It was so difficult even with Cowboy Magic drenched on it I had to revert to WD-40 to get most of it out and even then it took me over an hour. Once I finished her mane I decided to give Duchess a bath to get rid of the rest of the rain rot on her back. Just being under Collin County workers care had taken care of much of it being inside and getting nutrition but I wanted to get rid of anything that might be left. Giving her a bath was like giving a foal its 1st bath. She knows very little but tries to please so I held her as she walked back and forth not sure of the water. I took a rubber curry to her body with an antimicrobial shampoo. She absolutely loved it and looked at me when I stopped trying to figure out why I didn't keep on. I accidentally brushed against a limb from the tree that is near the wash area and my sunglasses started falling off my head so I dropped the rubber curry on her back to catch them. When I put them back on my head, I looked up to see the curry just sitting there next to her spine. I've been able to ignore just how skinny she is at times by focusing on the spark in her eyes and what she will look like but seeing it just sitting there like the top of her ribs were a table top almost brought me to tears again. Yet again, I am so glad she will never have to suffer again. I took some pictures of her back to show the bald spots from the rain rot she had.
7/12/10
Monday came around and I called my vet to make an appt. for Duchess. They had a spot in the morning if I was able to bring her in right away. Of to the barn she is staying at I went. She loaded up like a champ. She tried to avoid my ramp again like she did when we loaded her Saturday but I got on it and jumped on it a couple times to show her it was safe and she walked right up. She seems to understand I am here to help her and she is now showing that she trusts me. Every time she gets nervous, I slow down, give her a big hug and pet and then she becomes very cooperative. She is a true gem, and just like her son.
We arrive at the vet around 10:30am and we get the vet out to the trailer. He decides we should take her in to look at her more closely and get all the prying eyes off her. She was able to get the 2nd exam room all to herself and the other vets just kept their appts. in the front exam room. We took her blood and everything came back normal from that except she was low in plasma protein I think it was, but that was expected. We checked her teeth out and they were in horrible shape. She had a major wave going and a huge hook on one of the back teeth that was trying to grow into her gum. Because of that, we decided a dental would be best to help alleviate that pain. It took a long time, but we got as much as we could done before she was losing her patience. That tooth was so painful on her we couldn't get the hook down completely but we did get it out from her gums. I was worried she'd be really sore but she ate her alfalfa in the trailer with ease. She seemed to be more relaxed in her eating so I assume she was in far less pain from that tooth. Her weight was at 600lbs and she still is considered a 1 out of 9 on the Henneke scale. The vet said that it was obvious she had been in good care for the past 3-4 weeks with Collin County workers because her rain rot was gone and her blood was pretty good for her condition and her coat was starting to shine nicely from her diet. We discussed her nutrition plan and I told him I'd like to bring her in once a month for weight and assessment of her condition and improvement.
When I arrived home, I took some pictures of her 1st adventure into the pen that is attached to her stall. It has just a little bit of grass and I am allowing her 5-10 minutes on it 2-3 times a day and then of course her alfalfa gets fed to her in the stall.
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