The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Well, we have good news and bad news about Bo. The bloodwork finally came back. He does NOT have West Nile. So no EPM and no West Nile. That's the good news. The bad news, we still don't have a clue what's wrong with him.

The next step is to start doing x-rays. The vet suggested that we start with the neck. The really ugly, the vet bill that we are going to incur to try and figure out what's wrong with Bo. He's been through so much but we need to figure out what's wrong ASAP. I'm waiting on a call back from the vet to see if we are x-raying his neck or some other part of his body. I don't think I can haul him but I'm not sure the vet is set up to do x-rays on a neck while out in the field.

I wish I could pinpoint exactly when he came up lame. If I knew, I could come up with why or how this happened. But having been in the hospital for a full week and then too sick to go out for the following month, I have no clue.

Poor Bo really has been shafted in life. And yet, he is the happiest horse I have ever met. Never have I met a horse that has been starved and now lame but still happy to see me and give me a whinny every time he sees me. (Of course he thinks he's getting food but I'll take whatever whinny I can get.)

I need to get him moved before winter sets in. It's going to be a long haul and I want to make it as easy as I can for him. So no tromping through drifts of snow, which means he needs to go into the pony pen, which has better shelter than where he's at now.

I was planning on pushing in a few bales to the different pens but I'm hoping this weekend to move everyone to their permanent winter pens.  He'll still be hanging out with Babe, much to Babe's dismay. I hate to move Babe, but I don't want her to be alone and I don't want her to contend with the ponies or Rabbit.

The weatherman said we are to get rain and then it's switching to snow sometime in the early morning tomorrow. I went ahead and threw a blanket on Babe and Bo to be on the safe side. I suppose we won't get any rain until this evening but the last time I waited to throw a blanket on those two, it rained. I dont want to take any chances of compromising their systems. So blankets are going on early. I can't believe we are going to get snow already, but I think we are at least one month ahead of schedule for weather. Sure hope it's an open winter, but with lots of rain now or in the spring. We need lots of precipe to bring back our pastures but I really dont' want to deal with cold temps and snow.

I'll be spending all day Saturday rearranging pens and getting everything set up for winter. Who knows when we'll start getting serious snow but I want to be ready no matter what. Oh how I dread winter.