And my "this happened", I mean my horse became (for lack of a better term) constipated. My Dad caught him rolling around in the mud, not wanting to stand. This is the moment every horse owner dreads...these are the moments you think of when you are trying to sleep at night. "What if this...what if that..." All I could think of is colic. Let me break down the math of colic, for all you nice folks:
Colic = money = uncertain future of a loved animal.
Oh, he just looks pitiful here.
After some mild sedation, a rectal examination confirmed that he has an obstruction the size of a basketball in his gut. I'm not quite sure which would be worse out of these for my dear Kota: a) having a rectal examination or b) having a basketball-size chunk 'o poo in your gut. Right now, I'm thinkin' it would be the rectal exam, but alas, I do not have a horses' mind to know such answers.
Soon after this photo, my Dad had to help me hold Kota (who, at this point, was standing like drunken sailor) while the vet gave him mineral oil, water, and electrolytes via that nice tube we put down his nose. I actually think having that tube go down your nose and down your throat would be worse than the rectal exam. It would gag me, for sure. I gag just thinking about it. Gag. Bleh. Let's move on.
Isn't it weird how we all have certain things that gross us out? Something that could make one person totally disgusted - doesn't bother another person. Isn't that just crazy? For example: rectal palpation. This is something I've had to do lots of times, with cattle, for various reasons. While the thought of being up to your armpit in a cow's rectum may totally churn someones stomach, it doesn't bother me. Poo is not my kryptonite.
I'll tell you what is my kryptonite: ranch dressing on little kid's mouths. You know how it gets in the corners of their mouth and all over their face and all over their hands?
I, honestly, just gaged thinking about it.
Well, my dear Kota-Bear is doing well for the time being. If all goes as planned, he should produce 3-5 grand piles in the next few days. I imagine that these piles will somewhat resemble the cookies I posted about yesterday. I digress.
He will need some pain medicine, antibiotics, and t.l.c. before he will be back to normal. I'm hoping that his guts move and grove that stuff out of there soon!
Maybe I should give him some of my kefir - that's sure good for the gut!
I think we've talked enough about poo for the day.
The end.
