Bob Crazy

Bob gave me a scare this morning. I'm still not convinced that he's feeling well. Last night we didn't get home until late, enjoying family quality time for easter sunday. I figured that instead of rushing Bob or not giving him any alfalfa, that I would leave him in the barn overnight with his big pile of alfalfa to munch on.

When I opened the door this morning, Bob was standing at the gate nickering to me. I love that. But then he started in on banging the door and trying to body slam through it. It's too early and too loud for that type of behavior so I hollered at him. I think that upset him. So when I came around to get him his treats (which is the only way to get him out of the barn), his head was practically to the ground. I felt bad. Here he was, all excited, and I simply yelled at him.

I wasn't sure if he was sick or simply upset because I yelled at him. I guess I should have put Rain in too so he wouldn't be by himself. I feel terrible.

But at the time, I wasn't sure if Bob was sick or not. He started acting weird. He came out of the barn and I fed him his treats. I went on to feed everyone their hay. In the mean time Bob decided to lay down. I was terrified that he was going to colic. But his bedding was super soaked and there were two piles of poo (minus much of the unprocessed oats like it used to be). So I checked on him a couple times and finished feeding the hay to everyone.

I was totally freaked out. I was afraid I would have to make a call to the vet and have an emergency vet visit. Problem is, I refuse to use the nearest vet and would have to wait a half hour for my vet to arrive. So least to say I was panicking.

I decided to sit with Bob for a little bit to see if he was sick or simply tired. He's been laying down more but I think it could be his joints. I've added weight booster to his diet and that might be causing havoc with his joints. The stall isn't really big enough for him to lay down in. He could but it would be some work to get back up.

So I left him all curled up ( he looked so cute) and went back in to finish getting ready. Of course I'm hystarical trying to justify why Bob would lay down. Of course he's tired and would want to lay down, but still, why right after he walked out of the barn.

But when I went to check on him at 6:15am, he was up and eating hay with Rain. I may need to separate Bob from the rest of the herd next year. Put Bob in with either the mares or create a second pen with the non-dominant horses (Rain and Brego).

I did pull Bob out Saturday so that he could have a little bit of grass. Problem is, I left the barn wide open. So after only about a half hour of grazing, Bob went back into the barn. He knew EXACTLY where the grain is and was headed for his oats and senior feed. Good thing I had a close eye on him (I just KNEW he'd try to pull a fast one over on me.)

I think tonight I'm going to rush home and make sure that Bob is doing ok. I'll not leave him in the barn tonight. Hopefully I'll give him enough time to get through all his grain and alfalfa tonight.