Ernie's Crazy Days

Ernie's surgery on Tuesday went well, but there were two surprises at pickup. 

First, they put him under general anesthesia. The ladies had been told he wouldn't be. Age is associated with increased risks for equines. Including gastrointestinal ones.

Second, Ernie was supposed to be on 4 weeks of stall rest instead of 2.

That left Carrie on edge. She'd recommended the surgery and there were two curve balls while Laura's father was going through a health crisis.

Carrie really wanted Ernie's recovery to be a bright spot for Laura and the initial momentum bounced when it hit those road bumps.

And then things took a turn for the worse. Ernie started to show signs of discomfort. His poops were smaller and harder. They bounced when they hit the ground instead of splatting. He shifted, spun, and pawed and not in the usual "give me my food" way. He laid down which is a sign of abdominal pain when combined with his antics.

Carrie sprang into action. She called the vet, Laura, got Ernie to his feet, dosed him with meds, and got him walking. Ernie wasn't supposed to move, but colic was the immediate danger. Carrie wanted his gut moving along with his feet and to prevent him from lying down.

She got more worried when she noticed Ernie sweating on his neck and shoulders.

Carrie kept Ernie walking at a clip for the nearly an hour before help arrived. I offered to help, but she only let me do a few laps while she backed up the truck and trailer in case of an emergency load. Carrie's the type that needs to have a task to do when she's worried and she's emotionally invested in Ernie.

Laura, Amy, and the vet, Carly, all arrived at the same time.

Carrie gave Carly the rundown. I'd taken some video, but Carly had all the information she needed. She gloved up, lifted Ernie's tail, and shoved her arm shoulder deep.

I thought it'd be polite not to take pictures.

Carly didn't feel any large obstructions, but the poop in process was hardened. She prescribed a laxative and said an IV would probably help, so Laura made the call.

15 L of fluids is a heavy IV. I helped with the lifting. It would have been 20 L, but Carly suggested the smaller amount to keep it more economical. 

Ernie was due an epic piss in the future.

The laxative was administered through nasogastric intubation (aka - Carly shoved a tube up his nose and down his throat).

While Ernie was still swaying under "the good stuff," Carly offered to help change his bandages. It was supposed to happen every three days and already on the schedule. From what I understood, Carly wanted to take a look at the handiwork of her alma mater.

And the incision looked great. Ernie's life was at risk from constipation, but his feet were healing well!

Laura got to play intern since Carly didn't bring any. Both Laura and Amy usually work on human patients.

Laura's sister happened to be with them. She was among the first wave of family to arrive due to the father's health crisis and she'd gotten swept up into an equine one, too.

Carrie and I pulled Ernie out of his stall at 5:27 PM. I took a picture of cars arrived at 6:25 PM. Carly plied her trade for about an hour before she headed out and the ladies settled in to wait for poop. If Ernie pooped, it would be a sign that the laxatives were working and the immediate danger had passed.

Ernie started to come down from his medically induced haze before long and Laura and Carrie threw a blanket on him to keep him warm. I helped keep his head up to force him to swallow meds.

But Laura was his favorite shoulder to drool on (after all, she is his "mom!").

Ernie broke his seal shortly thereafter.

Poop was a long time in coming, though. The temperature dropped as night settled in deeper and darker.

 

Laura and Amy eventually kicked Carrie out of the barn and told her to rest. It was clear she'd been running on adrenaline too long. Carrie crashed on the couch into a fitful rest not long after. Somehow she seemed to sense whenever I was going to go check on everyone in the barn and mutter "No....don't....give them...some spac....zzzzz."

By 11:30 PM, the boarders were still here and Carrie was deep enough asleep I snuck out. Ernie was pooped, but he hadn't pooped. Laura didn't want to leave until he was sure he was going to be okay.

I started to ask some questions about "When did Carly say he should poop by anyway?" No one knew, so I encouraged Laura to text Carly to clarify. Laura accidentally dialed. She was embarrassed and hung up right away before she texted. 

Only it was meant to be. The next day, Carly said she only woke up and saw the text, because of Laura's botched dial. She reassured everyone and they were about to leave when the magic happend.

I took this picture at 12:19 AM 10/10. 

It wasn't much, but it was enough. I told Laura there was no better time go home and sleep and she agreed.

The next morning, we spent even more time than usual staring at horse butt.

Thankfully, a more productive one.

Ernie was pooping, but his poop was still hard, small, and infrequent. It was less than Carly wanted and she kept checking in. Ernie was put on a colic watch. Carrie went down to the barn every hour on the hour as best she could. Overnight, it was switched to every three hours.

In typically Carrie fashion, she tried to do it all. In typical Mike fashion, I continued to offer to help until she started to wear out and I picked up more and more shifts. It'd have been easier if Carrie had agreed to a rotation earlier, but everyone had hoped it wouldn't take days for a steaming, wet pile.

I took this picture when I went to check on Ernie's water, hay, and production at 4 AM Monday morning.

Everything started to flow more regularly and Ernie was deemed cured. Everyone was tired Tuesday, but worn spirits were a little brighter as the ladies figured out how to change Ernie's bandages without a vet to help.

Laura had the same idea as me to track Ernie's progress.

The incisions were still clean and healing nicely. Carly was due to come back in a week to pull out the stitches.

I've learned a lot owning a barn. Maybe it'll help if I write a book one day.

Have I mentioned lately that this was the perfect time for Shane to visit Nana and Pop? I missed him, but bringing him home during a series of crises would've made things worse. He got to party in happy-fun-cousin-grandparent land and sleep soundly!

So Long Sam?

Carrie thought Sam pulled a muscle when she took him out last week. She put him on stall rest for a week.

The vet was already out to check on Ernie, so Carrie had her take a peek at Sam, too.

Some of what I saw from the window intrigued me. The vet's a small woman, but she had Sam up on three legs.

I think she was stretching him out and seeing how he reacted trotting around afterward, but I don't know. Carrie said the final verdict was, "He's fine."

Which was important, because Carrie planned to trailer Sam to the farm we bought him from.

Carrie loves Sam. She likes his attitude and she likes his farts.

Her goal, though, has been to trailer out frequently. That hasn't happened.

Her long term goal is to trailer out as a family. One day Nibs would come home and be her horse and where would that leave Sam? Sam's not the type of horse just anyone can hop onto. He's young, athletic, sensitive, and opinionated. That takes a skilled rider.

What Carrie has really wanted to find was a "been there, seen that, I can do anything with anyone on my back" type of horse. A "husband horse." The horse's temperament would be more important to her than it's athleticism and that's not who Sam was shaping into.

Carrie called Sam's old trainer to talk and was told "You called at the perfect time." The trainer had someone coming on Sunday who owned one of Sam's siblings. They wanted another horse "just like Sam."

So we talked it over. It was decided we weren't gong to bargain, but if it was at our price and a good home Sam could join some of his siblings. If it didn't work out, it was trailer training. Sam could enjoy a short trip and come right back.

It'd be less work for us and give the gate some time to recover in his absence, too. Sam's put some major dents into it kicking for us to serve his food faster.

He knocked out welds!

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised to get a call from Carrie a few minutes after she left the house.

It's the time honored job of spouses to help out when their other forgets something important! Carrie had forgot the meals and supplements she bagged for Sam while he was away!

The prospective buyer came out and rode Sam on Sunday. He had so much fun he didn't want to hop off! The deal was on. A vetting was scheduled for the following Wednesday, but was rescheduled. Carrie doesn't see any problem, because our vet, Carly, works for the buyer's vet. The buyer put down a deposit and the deal should be closed next Monday (the 27th).

Carrie's not horseless in the meantime. We've got horses aplenty. Carrie rides Magic some to exercise him for Ellie. Then she rides Eddie to keep him in shape for Heidi. Pippin and Huck need to be handled and Maddie enjoys getting groomed, too. 

Lots of big changes in our first year of operations. There could be a mule in our future. Carrie's been fascinated and doing research now that we have an empty lot....

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: First Days at Home

It was a short commute to work for us on Monday!

The horses kept us busy over the weekend and it seems like they're going to keep us busy going forward. Sam's started to stop partway through his door to demand scratches before he'll head off into the field.

Annie gets a special mention today. Our new normal is starting with one less horse. She's going away for training.

Four horses was never the plan. We picked up Annie to help out our friends Sonya and Jeff. Nibs is older and was sent to a trainer, Torrie, to learn how to support a rider. The plan was to have Nibs spend 3 months learning how to work and then she'd come back in May when Kitty moved out. Then it would be Annie's turn to go off and learn how to be ridden.

We got offered a deal. Torrie's moving to SC to get married. She wasn't planning on picking up new prospects, but with the virus and social distancing her events have all been canceled. Suddenly, she has more time than expected and offered us a discount. Carrie likes her work with Nibs, and Torrie was already cheaper than who Carrie was planning on sending Annie to.

We talked it over and decided to go for it. Carrie's hoping that having the same trainer work with both horses will help us have a better comparison between them for how much they could sell for and what homes would be a goof fit for them.

It meant we had to do some extra work Monday morning. Carrie decided to 'ace' Annie to keep her calm for the ride. I got to distract her and hold the lead rope while Carrie found the vein.

I gave Shane my phone and asked him to take some pictures to keep him busy.

There's no need to shower or fix your hair when working from home! I was still in pajamas to boot.

Kitty was shocked.

She kept looking off into the arena and calling out to her friend. You could tell she was lonely. She started to stand closer to Maddy after a while and life went on.

Shane and I stayed home this time. I got to deal with all sorts of things from homeschooling to Happy barf with worms wriggling around in it.

We've wormed her multiple times and she's started to avoid food with the medicine in it. Genevieve is being awesome and sending us prescription strength wormer (she works at a cat clinic).

In between keeping Shane busy, I had a virtual meeting at noon. 

I put on a hat to hide the bed head, but then discovered I could join the meeting with the camera off. I muted myself for good measure (Shane kept trying to yell to me across the house, because Shane).

A bunch of other people didn't get the "mute your mic" memo and kept talking over the principal. I typed in chat that people could pose questions there and an AP said, "Yes!" and took over moderating.

Everyone is trying to figure out how to do virtual school when not all kids can access virtual school. At the moment, the guidance from the state is:

1. Stay closed at least two weeks.
2. Nothing graded allowed those two weeks.
3. No new materials either (unless you're an AP class).

ACPS has said that we need to provide some sort of enrichment material that can't take more than 2 hours to complete in a week. They've extended the school wifi to reach into school parking lots so people without access can use it and there are food distribution sites set up at schools to help the families who rely on schools for food. We will have a virtual meeting Wednesday with more info and it's planned to become a weekly event.

The schools were closed for all business except picking up materials. Shane's school opened to distribute student laptops for 3rd-5th graders, but we opted to stick with what we have.

Carrie came back with more work. She'd dropped by the supply store near Raphine (trailer accessible!). We cleaned out the trailer and did some afternoon work in the barn.

We were all cleaned up and ready for when the vet came that evening. Loki hasn't had a bad vet experience yet and was happy to run and greet the doctor.

Carrie had fecals for all the horses labelled and ready to go. Sam and Maddy earned some special attention.

They're going to the tough love fat camp this week. Sam was estimated over 1400 lbs and needed to slim down to ~1250 lbs. Maddy was estimated around 955 lbs and needed to drop into the 800's (800-850 lbs preferred).

It's good for Sam, but critical for Maddy. After she displayed some aggravation with Shane riding (and he's little) Carrie's kept an eye on her. She seemed a little resistant on the lunge a few times and the vet agreed with Carrie's assessment.

The vet said she thought Maddy was pre-laminitic. Carrie described it to me as "like diabetes in horses, but not diabetes. It affects the hooves." Fresh spring grass is higher in sugars and our fields are sprouting beautifully.

Maddy won't be out on them. She's going be trapped on stall rest with a controlled diet of hay (maybe even soaked hay if she'll eat it).

Sam got pulled in as moral support (No one wants to go to fat camp alone. Especially a herd animal!).

Maddy broke out of fat camp that night.

I'd heard her banging when I went to bed. She'd been complaining about being in the stall ever since the vet left.

We changed out almost all of the stall doors and hinges. Guess who's we hadn't yet?

Nibs was the first one to bust a door. Sam was the one Carrie worried about, because he kept impatiently bumping his chest up against his door. I'd forgotten that Maddy broke one, too.

The cheapo builder screws stripped and several of them broke when Carrie tried to reuse them.

Quite annoying.

It'd not a hard process. It's been on the docket for a while, but it's easier with two people and it was normally dark and cold whenever I made it home through the winter.

It's a good example of why it's good not to put something off for too long, though. There's only one old style latch left in the barn and it's in an unused stall. We took off all the inner ones when we switched to metal stall gates.

That's a big post dealing almost entirely with Carrie, me, and horses. My next post will talk more about how I'm planning to keep this guy busy while at home.