Monday Bo Update

Without a computer at home, I am having a hard time keeping up with everyone. I will try to answer everyone's questions but if I haven't gotten to you directly, posted on the blog, or commented on Facebook, shoot me a line and I'll try to answer your question. I've been on a number of discussion boards where someone asks a simple question and it never gets answered so I want to make sure that I answer all questions posed. You might not like my answer but remember, this is my blog so I will say what I want. Someone asked if I'd taken Bo to the vet. If you follow along in the blog you'll know I haven't taken Bo anywhere. So the answer is: nope. I had two options. 1. Take Bo to the vet. I don't believe that he is in good enough shape to haul anywhere and be poked/proded by a vet. I'm sure after two weeks he could but right now I have not taken him to the vet. 2. Have the vet come to Borderlands. With the cost of a farm visit at $45 and the cost of an office visit of $20, I decided that I would spare my vet the drive time to visit and save myself an additional $25 which will go for either a bag of calf manna or a bag of senior and a bag of sweet feed. In all honesty, I have to think not only of the horse that needs a general exam but of the other horses. I took Thor in with an emergency vet bill of $170 and I have $350 worth of meds to pump into Sam. I'll have another $200 worth of meds to pump into Sam next month. That doesn't leave me with much cash to take Bo in for a general exam. Is it right that I deny Bo a general exam? No. Should I take him in? Absolutely. Will I? No, until I have my vet bills paid off (remember I pay for them out of my own pocket) and until the weather warms Bo will not be traveling. I try to avoid hauling horses in colder weather and even more so when the horse's system has been compromised. I was asked what Bo's fecal count was. Well, I dunno since I haven't taken him to the vet. It's obvious that he has worms by the looks of his belly. But I remember reading somewhere on the Camelot Horse Rescue page that it's not wise to deworm a horse immediately from an auction because of the stresses. Now of course I can't seem to find that information. Should Bo be wormed? Absolutely. Hopefully the chaos and running will stop so I can get Bo on a deworming schedule this week. He's now been with us for two weeks. I wanted to give him enough time to come down from the stresses he lived through. Is that the right logic? Maybe yes/maybe no. But it is what it is. I may simply be feeding worms at this point but I will research the best method to bring a starved horse back to proper weight and control the over abundance of worms. If you don't like it, you have one of two options. 1. You can suggest a deworming schedule and pay for it or 2. Keep your pie hole shut since you aren't forking over the money to assist. I'll gladly take recommendations but make sure to word them in a way that is not offensive. Rememer, my nerves are shot after a month of dealing with Murphy's Law. Has Bo had his teeth floated? Absolutely not. I highly doubt any vet would want to put Bo through such an ordeal what with him being 200-300 pounds under weight. I'm a bad judge of weight but when you can count every rib, see every bone in his body, I dont' believe any wise vet would tranquilize a horse to work on his mouth. We'll have his teeth looked at once he's gained some weight. As is the case right now, he's chowing through everything that's in front of him. I'm sure I'm coming off defensive but it irritates me that someone would put Bo into such bad shape. I am more than willing to bring him back up to weight but it's going to be a slow process. Yes, he has worms. No he has not yet been wormed. Yes he will be dewormed once I figure out the best method/routine to follow. No he has not had his teeth floated. Yes he will have his teeht looked at and possibly floated when the vet deems it necessary. No he has not been seen by a vet. He will once he has some additional weight on him and the weather warms enough that I can haul without worrying about him. As far as I'm concerned, Bo is still in quarantine. I'm sure he should have been seen by a vet by now but money, logistics, and time haven't allowed that to happen as of yet. If you want to step up and pay for the vet exam, by all means I will be more than happy to accept your money. Just remember, I am not yet a non-profit so your donation is not tax deductible. On a side note, I did find some quarantine information from the Camelot Horse Rescue website. I'm trying to follow their guidelines Arrange Quarantine- Once these horses have co-mingled in the pens at a sale barn, they should be quarantined away from other equines for a minimum of three (3) weeks to ensure that a contagious disease is not introduced into a healthy herd. Quarantine involves keeping the horse isolated from other horses - - they should NOT be able to touch noses, share water, feed or hay sources and should be outside 'sneezing' distance from other equines. Handle them last, do not share grooming equipment, wash your hands, change your shirt if they wipe their faces on you, etc. The most virulent virus with which we are concerned is 'strangles', which is highly contagious and which has a 3 week incubation period. Horses from auction/sales situations can also contract simple ailments such as 'colds' and upper respiratory infections from the stress and crowded conditions. Sometimes this condition is called Shipping Fever as they will normally spike a high temperature. When Bo does finally go to the vet, I'll post on the blog. Until then, if I can get my camera fixed and find a working computer, I'll post pictures of Bo from the past two weeks. I'm taking weekly pictures to show his progress. I swear I can already tell the progress but I'm too close to Bo to really tell. I can tell however that his spirits are high. I saw him trot through his covered pen the other day. What a magnificent mover he is! I can't wait until he's up to weight (thank goodness a previous owner contacted me to warm me that Bo has a high metabolism) so that I can show him off. For all that has happened to Bo, he's still such an absolute doll. I love working with him. He's currently snug in his blanket to keep the chill away while he has another week of down time in quarantine.