Sam is Under the Weather

Sam is sick. I can't figure out what's wrong but he's not himself. I was going to call the vet this morning but he was acting pretty perky so I'm not sure what's up. Let me start from when I noticed something was up.

Mike and I were working in the hay shed Saturday early afternoon. I noticed that Sam actually had his leg cocked. He never rests a leg and snoozes. He was acting really tired. It started to sprinkle so he wandered over to stand under a tree and snoozed. I thought he looked rather cute but odd that he'd be that tired.

The rain finally quit. Sam returned to his spot in the drylot and continued to snooze. The next time I looked over he was laying down. I've NEVER seen him lay down before. I was a little concerned but figured he was just that tired.

He later wandered out with the rest of the herd back to the pasture. In the evening he came back in but kept looking at his flanks. I figured he was a bit colicy so I gave him a dose of Banamine. He wasn't kicking at his belly, he wasn't biting at his flanks (although he kept looking at them). He had good gut sounds, passed gas, and had pooped earlier in the day. He did have some yellow muchus coming from his right nostril. Knowing that you're not supposed to grain them if they colic, I held off graining him. He was very much upset with me.

I did pull Sam out and walk him around in hopes that more gas would pass. But once we got onto grass he was more interested in eating. I didn't really let him graze too long, just a few bites in case he was having mild colic. I did notice he'd lost considerable amount of weight. I'm not sure when he started dropping weight but it's noticable.

I went to check on him at 10pm Saturday but he was out in the pasture and it's almost impossible to find him in a 10+ acre pasture with just a flashlight.

I went out Sunday morning and he was standing in the pasture acting normal. No kicking at the belly but resting. Always resting! I noticed later that he was laying down again. Not rolling around, just curled up snoozing. It's like he's exhausted. I can't figure it out.

I brought him in last night to grain. I gave him a dose of Banamine and grained him. He snarfed down the food. He continued to look at his flank, not bite it, just look at it. I later took him out of the barn so I could clean the stalls and let him graze. He acted like he was starving. I know I need to get his teeth floated but I didn't think he was losing weight because of his teeth.

I also noticed that he had more yellow mucus from his right nostril and there was a trace of blood. Or what looked like blood but I'm not sure. I let him graze for a good half hour and he was happy as could be. He never once put his head up to look back at his flanks. The entire time he ate he never picked his head up. Is he telling me that I'm starving him and that he's simply hungry?

He has been coughing a bit more lately so I'm not sure if he just picked up some cold or something. I don't know.

I put Sam in Bob's stall so that I could keep a close eye on him. I put Maverick and Zeke in to the barn so they could stand on dry ground. I figured I didn't need to put Brego in the barn as long as Sam had someone for company.

When I went out this morning to do chores, Sam was bright eyed and cheery. Usually when I pull horses out (Maverick and Zeke) they are pretty groggy. But Sam was happy to see me and ready for the day's adventure. He let out a whinny when he saw me. Guess maybe I should have fed him more.

Sam ate everything that I'd given him. There were a few whisps left but I'm not sure he could find them in the dark. I let him out of the barn and he went straight for the salt block. No mucus (just remants from throughout the night). Once he was finished with the salt block he wandered out to the pasture. No looking back at his flanks or anything.

I wanted to stall him so I could see what was left in his stall. Unfortunately Sam is a stall walker. I didn't know that until today. His stall was trampled. I could distinguish two poop piles and all of the straw was peed on. I guess that's a good sign. I figured he would have pooped more.

So now I'm not sure if he's just got a cold or if he's got a mild case of colic. But how can that be when he's pooping, peeing, has good gut sounds, and is eating everything in sight.

I need to worm him so maybe that's the next step. I will call the vet later today to see what they have to say. I don't know. I just know he was off this weekend. I plan to stall him again tonight with Zeke and Maverick so that I can keep a close eye on him. I may give him a full bale just to see how much he actually eats. It could be he's just hungry. I dunno.

I've come to the realization that Sam is NOT an easy keeper.