Having owned horses for almost 10 years, I have adopted this philosophy: "It's Always Something". You could put a horse in a padded room and they would still figure out a way to cut, scratch, bump, nick, and scrape something... not to mention swell up and/or twist some part of their body. Horses are walking, trotting, loping, and galloping disasters. For as beautiful and powerful as they are-- horses are extremely fragile animals.
My very first experience with my philosophy was (ironically) a few days after we bought Isabelle in 2002. We noticed she was not eating and had her head buried in the corner of her stall. Now, if you know Isabelle, you know she LOVES to eat. Even though I was new to owning a horse, I could at least tell something was seriously wrong with her. To make a long story short, Isabelle contracted Strangles. Strangles is a infectious disease in horses that effects the lymph nodes and causes them to swell (once thought to "strangle" the horse's airway). She had to be quarantined for over a month until she was given a clean bill of health. The few days before we bought her, she was still out in the pen with horses that just came in from the "Sale". Who knows what types of diseases those horses brought with them, but Strangles was definitely one of them! This sickness was the first real horse emergency I had to deal with and my family and I learned very early on in the game just how expensive Vet bills can be!
Kadan has had his share of Vet visits in the past year and Isabelle had another one this past weekend (hence the reason for my post). These mini emergencies come with the territory of owning horses-- or as I like to call them, "expensive medical mysteries".
I would like to say that my Dad totally missed his calling as a Vet. "Dr. Jack Kinney" made sure Isabelle was comfortable this weekend as we awaited her test results (THANKS DAD!). The "expensive medical mystery" (aka Isabelle) had large areas of inflammation and hair loss that ran all the way from the front leg to her back end. Why? No one knows for sure... the blood test came back within normal range. However, with "Dr. Jack Kinney's" care and the medications given, the swelling has gone down tremendously and Isabelle seems to be in good spirits. Dad: You have to do something with animals when you retire. At least you know that the offer to work at my barn one day with always stand. I'll have the cleanest barn on the planet, that's for sure!!
Despite all of the uncertainty of what may happen to these crazy creatures, people have to remember that they are horses & they are going to play, kick, bite, run, roll, scratch, jump, and tumble wherever you put them. Plus, most horses have owners who are big suckers and no matter what trouble they get into, they will always have a big ole' kiss waiting for them-- with their name written all over it! (Hmmmm... I think my horses fall into this exact category!!!)
Never a dull moment... it's ALWAYS something!
