Rachel's recent emergency
In early October, little Rachel got into it with another female through the fencing. (Rachel's very hormonal.) Thank God for observant neighbors, who got her out of trouble and called us at work!
This cut went down to the bone. Luckily, the cut was fresh enough that the flesh had not yet dried and started shriveling. Rachel had to be sedated. Painkillers and antibiotics were administered. The wound was cleaned, stitched and bandaged.
Rachel had to be separated from the others for 9 days so she could be given antibiotics mixed with yummy sweet feed, as well as an oral paste inflammatory and painkiller.
The bandanges came off after 4 days. Her recovery is going well; it looks like there will be no bone infection.
Dental work--say "Ahh!"
All horses & ponies, but especially those having trouble keeping weight on, must have their teeth checked by a vet. Many horses' teeth wear unevenly, causing painful chewing, and painful bitting, if they're ridden.
Jacob has been sedated, and the vet is applying the speculum to hold Jacob's mouth open.
Jacob's mouth is flushed out with water first in case there's any old food in there. A second person is needed to steady the head.
You can't ask a horse to hold his mouth open, hence the speculum.
This battery-operated tool is much faster than the old hand files, but it must be cooled down with water often during the procedure so it doesn't overheat and damage tooth pulp.
All done! Jacob spends about an hour waiting for the sedation to wear off. His teeth were made as good as they can be for a 28-year-old horse, but at least he can eat his wet beet pulp and senior food better.
A vet should check a horse's or pony's teeth once a year (at vaccination time), to see how they're wearing. Some need work once a year; some can go for years without it.
How do horses survive in the wild? The
scrubby vegetation they live on has lignans that wear their teeth down naturally. Also, they don't usually live to be this old in the wild. Those with teeth that wear unevenly can't eat well and don't live long at all. Natural selection!
