What a night!

[hobbyhorse23]

Did you ever just have one of those nights?

I walked out of my bedroom earlier and somehow banged my pinky toe on my left foot on the cat's scratching post and did something really nasty to it. I limp downstairs, muttering all the way, and get some ice to put on it. No sooner do I sit back down at my desk upstairs then my mother comes in from feeding the horses and says Spyder is choking again and I'd better come see. Sure enough he is, and it's not resolving on its own. So the vet is called. Then another vet. Then another. Finally one agrees to come out from a clinic we haven't used before. She turns out to be great, really wonderful, but we get the bill and that clinic's emergency farm call fee is like twice what our usual vet charges. I'm still $600+ in debt from the first and second choke episodes months ago, and now I'm another $320 in for a twenty minute procedure!

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!

I am so broke right now I could cry. Throw in a lot of guy trouble and my first broken heart, and then no one to talk to tonight online or off and all of my remaining friends in the area moving away, and I've had about all I can take for now.

Will somebody please tell my Arab to quit running up vet bills?

The mini still needs a chiropractor and some serious body work, and the Arab is already in line for some serious dental intervention. No more emergencies!

Leia

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Leia take heart- it's only money!! If it's any consolation my average non emergency bill is way above that, so I think you got a very good deal. Ask if you can pay it over three months- post dated checks- Vets know people don't have money most of the time, they understand. Spyder has done this twice in a short time and he is an older horse- obviously I don't need to ask you if you've checked his teeth- BUT are they too short, is that maybe the problem?? Rabbit's teeth are no longer growing and he cannot eat hay or graze, he is on sugar beet, soaked alfalfa pellets and chopped alfalfa that he picks at. I still give him hay and he still grazes but he cannot chew it. Very, very luckily for me he chews it up and spits it out, and, whilst he does that I will let him as he gets comfort form it, but, even a hint of choke and he's off grass and hay for good. I would talk to your new Vet and see how to avoid this happening again.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

They wouldn't take time payments without at least half down because they didn't know us, but my mother took one look at my face and put it on her credit card just to keep me from bawling. Which is good because the vet is happy, but bad because I REALLY don't need to owe my mother any more money. She's already paid for so much with these horses....Argh. This is the first time in my life I haven't had enough cash to pay the minimums each month, so "only money" is relative. It's only money if you have it! Otherwise, it's angry creditors.

As for Spyder- OOOOHHH yes. We've checked his teeth...and all the vet could do was shake his head and tell us he doesn't have any. ::sigh:: Spyder is like Rabbit and spits out what gets wadded up or what he can't eat so we have not considered taking him off hay, nor will we. He's already so much thinner than I like and we can't triple his senior feed to make up for the lack of hay because he chokes on the pellets. He still does fine with grass, eats it with gusto and not much wadding.

Now I know what you're thinking; don't give me that look for saying he's choking on something other than hay. This vet was also skeptical when we told her he'd choked on his soaked pellets, but when she saw what came out his nose she shook her head and said we were right. And this is AFTER we started soaking his senior feed, only giving him half what he was getting before, and feeding it from a wide flat tub on the ground instead of a bucket! I swear he doesn't wolf this stuff, he takes his own sweet time. So I don't get the choking.

Vet said tonight that my initial feeling that he did not have one large lump was correct. She said it was more like one small lump high in his throat, then a "long tube of wet food blocking lower down." She also confirmed my belief that Spyder developed a lot of scar tissue from that first choke, and she said that area was part of the problem. Great. Wonderful. I love being right all the time.

Okay, off the "Venting Box" now. Thanks for listening. We'll deal. We always do.

No matter what, the horses come first. We'll get a full equine dentist out, and then his Senior turns into "soup" and not "soaked." Whatever it takes.

Leia

 

[rabbitsfizz]

That's not a bad idea- the soup!! Rabbit won't eat it if it's too wet, you just have to keep adding till you reach "cut off" Have you tried alfalfa pellets?? Rabbit is now living on this stuff- it's quite sharp and it's taken ages for him to get used to it but he got so fat recently I had to diet him!! I tell you I do not take dieting a 26 year old lightly!! What about a short term bank loan?? Your Mum would have to stand guarantor, but you would know where you were - I hate loans because I begrudge giving them money- they never give me money and I paid my pay checks into the Bank all my life!!! Maybe your mother would rather set up as a "loaner" you could work out payments with her and she won't charge interest!! I do believe you that he choked on the pellets- probably bolted them too fast, and sucked when he should have blown!! Can he still eat chaff- that's what I use the chopped alfalfa as- I mix it in with the feed to slow him down. Rabbit will eat what he can and then , somehow, spit out the chaff he does not want- I've never worked out how he can get it out of the soup, but he does. How's the toe feeling?? You have probably sprained it- breaks are not as painful as sprains, but I've had hairline fractures, lengthwise , down both little toes, courtesy of my Arab fillies when I was showing them. For some reason they seemed to feel the need to involve my feet in their high spirits, in spite of having four of their own. They ended up lying flat- I used to have such sweet little toes too, and now the nails are all deformed round the cracks!!

Leia there will be a way- I know you hate owing your Mother money but if she is OK about lending it, let her. That is what Mother's are for. And the love life?? Men aren't worth the trouble- UNTIL you find one that is!! You have to kiss a lot of frogs................

 

[hobbyhorse23]

For some reason they seemed to feel the need to involve my feet in their high spirits, in spite of having four of their own.

LOL!!! Thanks Fizz, needed the giggle.

Don't worry too much about Spyder, I really needed to vent more than I needed constructive advice.

I am curious what chaff is though? And no, we haven't tried alfalfa of any kind although I've considered it. Our horses have been on straight grass hay for years because everything we've read said that was better for them, especially as they got old, but maybe it's time to reconsider or at least ask a vet.

Mom doesn't mind lending money when I'm in a position to pay it back. She does mind when it's not showing any return. Can't blame her.

Toe will live. I will live. I'll get some duct tape on the heart and try harder to move on from the Frog Prince. Just tell me this will get better! Somebody?

Leia

 

[Sonya]

Wow...you did have a bad night...glad Spyder is ok (I love that name by the way)...toes will heal, hearts will mend, but as long as you have horses, you will always be broke!

Hoping tomorrow is better for you!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Of course it will get better- it always does. It passes... Life goes on. Best advice I ever received!!

Chaff is just chop- I'm not sure what Alfa - A is marketed as over there but that's what it is, I too have only ever fed grass hay- it's all I can get anyway, we cannot grow alfalfa well enough for hay. As Rabbit got older he needed the protein rather than the bulk and this stuff is readily available. If you can get it it's worth a try, it's not expensive and you can get a "Senior" one that has grass hay and extra oil and chopped straw in it to give bulk. Or you can add soaked alfalfa pellets, which is what I also do. You would need to add Rice Bran or Wheat Bran to balance the Calcium : Phosphorous levels (Thankyou Robin

)

As Sonya said, toes mend, hearts heal. Just keep your head into the wind and keep walking!!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Awww sweetie, I can totally empathize as Jane well knows. Isn't she the best. As for Spyder I can't offer anything more than Jane has. She is the guru of the aged horse. I'll just send prayers he gets better and behaves and for a miracle windfall of $$ for you, course if you do get it I sure could use a hand too. Hugs.

 

[beaminewbie]

Did you ever just have one of those nights?

I walked out of my bedroom earlier and somehow banged my pinky toe on my left foot on the cat's scratching post and did something really nasty to it. I limp downstairs, muttering all the way, and get some ice to put on it. No sooner do I sit back down at my desk upstairs then my mother comes in from feeding the horses and says Spyder is choking again and I'd better come see. Sure enough he is, and it's not resolving on its own. So the vet is called. Then another vet. Then another. Finally one agrees to come out from a clinic we haven't used before. She turns out to be great, really wonderful, but we get the bill and that clinic's emergency farm call fee is like twice what our usual vet charges. I'm still $600+ in debt from the first and second choke episodes months ago, and now I'm another $320 in for a twenty minute procedure!
AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!

I am so broke right now I could cry. Throw in a lot of guy trouble and my first broken heart, and then no one to talk to tonight online or off and all of my remaining friends in the area moving away, and I've had about all I can take for now.

Will somebody please tell my Arab to quit running up vet bills?

The mini still needs a chiropractor and some serious body work, and the Arab is already in line for some serious dental intervention. No more emergencies!

Leia

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[beaminewbie]

Ok can you tell I am new!! Hey it does get better and one day you are going to laugh and be thankful that your lovelife turned out the way it did!! I have a 24 yr old broodmare that has a hard time with weight, we put her on beet pulp and she looks great on it. We fed it to a 30 yr old arabian rescue to and it really helped him with the weight and eating his pellets, he had no teeth either!! Keep your chin up, the light is at the end of the tunnel, its just hard to see right now!!

 

[justaboutgeese]

It certainly seems like you have reason to be feeling melancholy. Relationships are sometimes made in heaven and others just come and go. No doubt this one hurts and the next one will come along and it might be the one made in heaven. It does sound like you are kind of horse poor. Its easy to acquire more animals than one can properly care for. Its easy to care for them when they are healthy and sound. Its those other times that ownership hurts. As much as it might hurt It would be in your and their best interest to reduce their numbers to a point where you can enjoy them without guilt. If you are reduced to making minimum payments on your credit cards or deciding not to eat lunch or perform maintenance on your vehicle because of money you are in serious trouble. You should make some radical changes in your lifestyle. If you do not the longterm effects of money problems can be overwhelming. It effects every facet of your day to day living, your work, your social life and your job opportunities, future education (if thats an issue). There will come a time when you will need to replace your vehicle and with bad credit it becomes harder and more expensive. Not to mention the loss of self esteem when it becomes hard if not impossible to get the things you really need let alone the things you want. All of this is probably not what you are wanting to hear but realism like life is not only the things you like. At your age you should be enjoying life not worrying about a six hundred or a fifteen hundred dollar expense being a life altering decision. Once you get things back in control you will feel much better about all of the other things in your life which should matter. If you need some advice about how to get things back on track there are lots of places to find advice or just PM me. Best of luck

 

[Magic]

Will somebody please tell my Arab to quit running up vet bills?

The mini still needs a chiropractor and some serious body work, and the Arab is already in line for some serious dental intervention. No more emergencies!

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"Hey Arab, quit running up vet bills!!!" There, do you think that will help?

Things will get better. Ok, sometimes things get WORSE before they get better, but they WILL get better. Hang in there!

 

[Ojai Minis]

And no, we haven't tried alfalfa of any kind although I've considered it. Our horses have been on straight grass hay for years because everything we've read said that was better for them, especially as they got old, but maybe it's time to reconsider or at least ask a vet.

Good to hear Spyder is doing better. These old guys sure can keep you on your toes. I had an old pony that I rescued. The only thing that would put weight on her was mushy alfalfa pellets. She got to have alfalfa hay also, (which she would just chew up and spit out.) She did just fine on the alf. Does your Sr. feed have alfalfa in it? I find that most people who swear that alfalfa is bad are feeding a pellet or complete feed that is alfalfa based. So it can't be that bad. I have fed straight alf for over 30 years and have never had a problem. My horses now, get 1/2 orchard grass and 1/2 alf. since I can now get a nice grass hay.

Good luck!

Liz V.

 

[capall beag]

Things will improve!

I was sitting here desperately wanting coffee, feeling sorry for myself, my infant son was up all night, my wonderful old dog is now completely incontenant, my house needs cleaning and I want to just run to the barn!!!!!!!!

But I read your post and thought "I should stop complaining!!!" Hope everything sorts itself out for you!!

 

[ClickMini]

Leia, I am sorry you are going through all of the trouble. I wouldn't put Spyder on straight alfalfa, especially if his teeth are poor and he can't chew. You would have to put him on soaked alfalfa pellets.

A friend of ours lost a beautiful TB filly due to the scarring of her throat from choke. I took care of that little girl for the last 10 days of her life, and was the one who had to take her for her last ride. She had choked severely four times. When Pilchuck scoped her the last time, it was quite apparent that she wasn't going to make it.

I know EXACTLY how you feel about the financial stranglehold. I feel this way this year, too, after all I have been through with the horses.

Leia, if Spyder chokes again, I recommend that you take him in to Pilchuck so they can look down his throat with the scope. They will tell you whether you should persevere, or if this is going to be a re-occurring thing.

I would seriously take him off the hay, if I were you. I would stick to soaked feed, Purina Sr., beet pulp, alfalfa pellets. The beet and alfalfa will form the roughage part of his diet, it is a completely suitable substitute for your current hay diet.

(((((HUGS!!!))))) I know you need them today.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

...toes will heal, hearts will mend, but as long as you have horses, you will always be broke! 

Words to live by.

Its easy to acquire more animals than one can properly care for.  Its easy to care for them when they are healthy and sound.  Its those other times that ownership hurts.  As much as it might hurt It would be in your and their best interest to reduce their numbers to a point where you can enjoy them without guilt.

Geese, that is sound advice and I appreciate it but I only HAVE two. Total. No dogs, one cat who is easily kept in kibble and litter for $25 a month, and two horses. I couldn't get rid of the expensive one if I wanted to as he's 28 and not rideable, and I won't get rid of the other one. Nice cheap mini isn't costing me much and he's making life worth living. Besides, he's half my mother's and she helps pay for him and his stuff. No, I cannot afford Spyder. I would not have bought him today thinking I could. But when I got out of college I "inherited" his upkeep as he has always been my horse, and I have no choice now. He would end up at slaughter if I sold him and I will never, never do that to a horse who has given me everything for 13 years. I will gladly eat Top Ramen for every meal to make sure he gets the vet care he needs.

If you are reduced to making minimum payments on your credit cards or deciding not to eat lunch or perform maintenance on your vehicle because of money you are in serious trouble.  You should make some radical changes in your lifestyle.  If you do not the longterm effects of money problems can be overwhelming.  It effects every facet of your day to day living, your work, your social life and your job opportunities, future education (if thats an issue).  There will come a time when you will need to replace your vehicle and with bad credit it becomes harder and more expensive.  Not to mention the loss of self esteem when it becomes hard if not impossible to get the things you really need let alone the things you want. ...Once you get things back in control you will feel much better about all of the other things in your life which should matter.

You are very correct about the loss of self-esteem and the fact I will feel better with some cash flow. The rest of it thankfully doesn't describe my situation- I have no lifestyle to change (never go out and haven't bought anything for myself in almost a year) and my credit is excellent because I have taken great care to always pay my few bills in full each month and otherwise safeguard my credit. It's the fact I am unemployed right now that is causing the crunch. Considering how long I've been out of a job I've done very well; my temp work covers the monthly expenses and even a few competitions with Kody. It's just the sudden influx of emergency bills. My car just GOT major maintenance, that's what started me in the hole! LOL

Thanks, Magic.

I was sitting here desperately wanting coffee, feeling sorry for myself, my infant son was up all night, my wonderful old dog is now completely incontenant, my house needs cleaning and I want to just run to the barn!!!!!!!!
But I read your post and thought "I should stop complaining!!!" Hope everything sorts itself out for you!!

It's very kind of all of you with much more serious problems to take the time to sympathize with me. It really makes me remember what I have and feel motivated to get out there and fix what I can.

I know EXACTLY how you feel about the financial stranglehold. I feel this way this year, too, after all I have been through with the horses.
Leia, if Spyder chokes again, I recommend that you take him in to Pilchuck so they can look down his throat with the scope. They will tell you whether you should persevere, or if this is going to be a re-occurring thing.

I would seriously take him off the hay, if I were you. I would stick to soaked feed, Purina Sr., beet pulp, alfalfa pellets. The beet and alfalfa will form the roughage part of his diet, it is a completely suitable substitute for your current hay diet.

(((((HUGS!!!))))) I know you need them today.

Thank you, Amy!

It's good to be reminded of how much worse it could be. At least all of my horses are alive, and my vet bill is negligible compared to those of others who still lost their horses in the end.

Pilchuck is who I had come out last night when I couldn't reach my ordinary vet service. (Who called at 11AM this morning by the way, asking how they could help.

Seems their answering service didn't get the message to them until some sixteen hours after I needed them.) I am very happy with Pilchuck except for their emergency fees, will be using their chiropractor on Kody soon.

Can someone tell me specifically WHY popular concensus is I should take the horse off of hay? I'm really confused here. Our senior horses unfortunately do not have pastures to graze on, they spend all day out in their dirt lots sunbathing and waiting for tomorrow as neither can be ridden or really worked with in any way. They are bored. Hay is the only thing that takes up the hours in their days and I don't want to take that away from them. He isn't choking on it, never has and the vets have all said if he isn't choking on it he can continue to have it. I can't imagine trying to feed him enough pelleted foods to keep weight on him.

We have horrible facilities for soaking stuff so both my mother and I have tried to avoid going that route for the last five years or so. And I am still very concerned about giving him more than a 1/2 can of pellets of any kind because as soon as I do he seems to choke on it now. The vets don't understand this either, why the pellets and not hay. But it's true. Oh, and have I mentioned his perpetual diahrrea problem?? Peppermint keeps it under control and adding fiber doesn't seem to help, but taking it away certainly makes it worse. So why would no hay be a good thing?

Leia

 

[ClickMini]

Leia, I understand your concerns about no hay. But it really is the way to go to avoid the choking, especially if he has scar tissue on that esophagus. Pilchuck had us giving only soaked Purina Jr. to Bubbles when she was choking so severely. I let it soak for quite a while in a large tub before feeding it, it was pretty wet and the pellets were completely broken down...nothing to choke on. Her final choke happened because she started chewing the wood fence while I was at work. Even the small splinters of wood she ingested were enough to cause a re-occurrence, and that is when the decision was made to put her down, because when they scoped her there was so much damage in the esophagus.

The hay could very well continue to irritate the tissue and cause swelling in his throat. Since he has choked several times in fairly quick succession, I feel that there is really a problem going on there.

You can PM me with further info if you want, I would like to know who came out and what their recommendation is going forward. I don't think they can accurately assess the damage to his esophagus without going in with a scope to see it.

Good luck, my friend! It is SCARY and awful feeling to go through all of this. I feel terrible for you!

 

[hairicane]

Wow...you did have a bad night...glad Spyder is ok (I love that name by the way)...toes will heal, hearts will mend, but as long as you have horses, you will always be broke! 

Hoping tomorrow is better for you!

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)...toes will heal, hearts will mend, but as long as you have horses, you will always be broke!

truer words were never said!!!!! And u made me chuckle.

 

[Beccy]

I hope things improve for you very soon. I can sympathize about the vet bills, I am beginning to think I should just have my pay cheque direct deposited to the vets office instead of to my bank account to save time!

(((hugs))) to you and Spyder.

 

[Ashley]

I have a friend that has a mare that was a cronic choker. THe vet told them to put her on Soaked beet pulp and senior feed. NO HAY. This was a few years ago. She hasnt choked since. Something you might wanna look into.