So I go out to feed and start going down the line in the barn last week, dumping the food in everyone’s feeders: here’s one for you and here’s one for you, and one for you, and so on. Well I get down the very end to my little guy and as I am about to do “here’s one for you”……I notice that last night’s food is still in his bucket. Oh man…..this is bad. When a horse around here doesn’t eat, that only means T R O U B L E. So I go in the stall and I’m checking him out to see if he’s hurt or anything like that. Nothing. So I attempt to feed him out of my hand and he takes my offering. Hmmmm I give him more out of my hand and he still wants some. Hmmmm. So I go to the feeder and I’m like “its in here, same stuff, eat!” Nothing. 
OH!
I get a halter and rope on him, bring him out, checking him all over and going for the vitals, and when I look at his gums, they are very bright reddish-brown like blood. We’ve got gingivitis????? Ok now I know I’m in T R O U B L E. I decide we are about to colic and die although I don’t really see any symptoms of colic. But then I figure, this old gal’s been around the block a few times and although we aren’t rolling and thrashing about, we may have already twisted a gut and its too late. This is not happening I tell myself. This is just sooooo not happening. Someone just please come put me out of my misery already. I've had enough.
So now I’m walking him up and down the isle way. He’s bright eyed and bushy tailed as can be just strutting his stuff talking up a storm to the girls. Hmmmm. This is some weirdo colic I’m thinking now. He’s feeling way too good for a dying horse. So now I’m back to the mouth, sticking my fingers in all over the place trying to feel for anything sharp or bad and what’s up with the gingivitis? Nothing. I continue to walk him and he’s feeling no pain. Still convinced I have a dark cloud over myself I go back to the stall to search in there again for a cootie. Low and behold I get another sign of colic. NO POOP. Nothing! Not a turd. Oh man, oh man, this calls for the vet. I'll get that new local mobile vet, she's not too bad. I know for sure we are impacted now! And I am practicing what I am going to say all the way to the house: “I’ve got a major impaction!”
I put a call in and get the answering phone: “I am closed until September 3rd, yadda yadda yadda” as I cuss her up and down in my mind. “Close your ears Amy, mommy is going to let out the big one here.” And I did! This is so bad. I have visions of shooting him up with banamine and having an IV drip and all sorts of bad things and a twisted intestine and a big surgery on the operating table.
Idea: I’m going to turn him out to observe. We aren’t lying down, we are not acting colicky, matter of fact, he’s gone like a shot out of a cannon running and bucking like crazy. Hmmmmm some colic I have here. I’m observing all day and said Colic Boy is doing just fine and dandy and drinking a lot of water from his bucket out there and pooping right along. He just won’t eat unless it’s out of my hand so now I am camping with him and hand feeding in his pasture. This is just nuts for me but he’s having a ball with his colic and gingivitis.
Feed time again. He still won’t eat but he does want his hay. Ok that’s good. We’re doing roughage so we won’t get ulcers. Hurray! He’s still got plenty of clean water so that’s all good. I didn’t change it since it was full. Well I was up around the clock all night long with that guy checking and checking on him. I just cannot sleep. I am worried myself into a frazzle. First thing in the am we are loading up and going to the big hospital because I cannot have this. This was so strange. What could it be? And then I start thinking about poison, and the food. And then maybe something is wrong with the food. So I went with that thought. Then about 4:30 AM I GOT IT! I FIGURED IT OUT! I drag my sorry self back out to the barn and go look in his feeder and there lies the problem:
The other night, I topped dressed his feed with FREE CHOICE MINERALS. That was it! He couldn’t stand the taste of the minerals and wouldn’t eat his food because of it!!!!!!!!
OH! DUMB STUPID EXPERIENCED HORSE WOMAN YOU BITE! I’m cussing myself out so bad. Why did I do that? Why didn't I just put them in his mineral feeder like I always do? Stupid woman. :stupid
I removed all the food in there I left, took a damp paper towel and washed it out, offered him his feed and I’ll be a sorry SOB he ate that food down like a starving little beggar!
Ok but then there was that problem of no poop in the stall……well……I found that too: in all the hubbub I failed to remove his bucket from the holder and bring it outside to dump. If I had, like I do every other day I would have noticed that THE POOP WAS IN HIS WATER BUCKET!!!!!!!!!! Yes, several nice looking floating turds. Quite a few loads in there actually. He had used his water bucket for his toilet and with the bucket being in the corner which is dark I didn’t even notice it. Some lovely turds had sunk to the bottom of course but there were several nice floaters left if I only had bothered to really LOOK instead of a quick glance. :arg! :arg! :arg!
The moral of the story is
1.Don’t be a paranoid horse mommy
2.If you are blind as a bat like I am, have your glasses changed!
3.Don’t top dress the feed with free choice minerals!
HAVE A NICE DAY!
OH!I get a halter and rope on him, bring him out, checking him all over and going for the vitals, and when I look at his gums, they are very bright reddish-brown like blood. We’ve got gingivitis????? Ok now I know I’m in T R O U B L E. I decide we are about to colic and die although I don’t really see any symptoms of colic. But then I figure, this old gal’s been around the block a few times and although we aren’t rolling and thrashing about, we may have already twisted a gut and its too late. This is not happening I tell myself. This is just sooooo not happening. Someone just please come put me out of my misery already. I've had enough.
So now I’m walking him up and down the isle way. He’s bright eyed and bushy tailed as can be just strutting his stuff talking up a storm to the girls. Hmmmm. This is some weirdo colic I’m thinking now. He’s feeling way too good for a dying horse. So now I’m back to the mouth, sticking my fingers in all over the place trying to feel for anything sharp or bad and what’s up with the gingivitis? Nothing. I continue to walk him and he’s feeling no pain. Still convinced I have a dark cloud over myself I go back to the stall to search in there again for a cootie. Low and behold I get another sign of colic. NO POOP. Nothing! Not a turd. Oh man, oh man, this calls for the vet. I'll get that new local mobile vet, she's not too bad. I know for sure we are impacted now! And I am practicing what I am going to say all the way to the house: “I’ve got a major impaction!”
I put a call in and get the answering phone: “I am closed until September 3rd, yadda yadda yadda” as I cuss her up and down in my mind. “Close your ears Amy, mommy is going to let out the big one here.” And I did! This is so bad. I have visions of shooting him up with banamine and having an IV drip and all sorts of bad things and a twisted intestine and a big surgery on the operating table.
Idea: I’m going to turn him out to observe. We aren’t lying down, we are not acting colicky, matter of fact, he’s gone like a shot out of a cannon running and bucking like crazy. Hmmmmm some colic I have here. I’m observing all day and said Colic Boy is doing just fine and dandy and drinking a lot of water from his bucket out there and pooping right along. He just won’t eat unless it’s out of my hand so now I am camping with him and hand feeding in his pasture. This is just nuts for me but he’s having a ball with his colic and gingivitis.
Feed time again. He still won’t eat but he does want his hay. Ok that’s good. We’re doing roughage so we won’t get ulcers. Hurray! He’s still got plenty of clean water so that’s all good. I didn’t change it since it was full. Well I was up around the clock all night long with that guy checking and checking on him. I just cannot sleep. I am worried myself into a frazzle. First thing in the am we are loading up and going to the big hospital because I cannot have this. This was so strange. What could it be? And then I start thinking about poison, and the food. And then maybe something is wrong with the food. So I went with that thought. Then about 4:30 AM I GOT IT! I FIGURED IT OUT! I drag my sorry self back out to the barn and go look in his feeder and there lies the problem:
The other night, I topped dressed his feed with FREE CHOICE MINERALS. That was it! He couldn’t stand the taste of the minerals and wouldn’t eat his food because of it!!!!!!!!
OH! DUMB STUPID EXPERIENCED HORSE WOMAN YOU BITE! I’m cussing myself out so bad. Why did I do that? Why didn't I just put them in his mineral feeder like I always do? Stupid woman. :stupidI removed all the food in there I left, took a damp paper towel and washed it out, offered him his feed and I’ll be a sorry SOB he ate that food down like a starving little beggar!
Ok but then there was that problem of no poop in the stall……well……I found that too: in all the hubbub I failed to remove his bucket from the holder and bring it outside to dump. If I had, like I do every other day I would have noticed that THE POOP WAS IN HIS WATER BUCKET!!!!!!!!!! Yes, several nice looking floating turds. Quite a few loads in there actually. He had used his water bucket for his toilet and with the bucket being in the corner which is dark I didn’t even notice it. Some lovely turds had sunk to the bottom of course but there were several nice floaters left if I only had bothered to really LOOK instead of a quick glance. :arg! :arg! :arg!
The moral of the story is
1.Don’t be a paranoid horse mommy
2.If you are blind as a bat like I am, have your glasses changed!
3.Don’t top dress the feed with free choice minerals!
HAVE A NICE DAY!
