More Reflections on Twin Arabian Foals Part 4

The beginning of the twins story starts here

All of these dramatic things that had happened to these Arabian horses and they were barely a month old. The mare and her foals have only been out of the stall to go to the hospital or vet clinic except for three brief times outside in the field, Now the Arabian horses are on stall rest for an unspecified amount of time until their bones hardened properly.

In the meantime the Arabian horses needed to be monitored the twin foals for any changes and the Arabian mare for condition. Providing nourishment for two foals (horses) was taking it toll on the horse. The mare was an eating machine with hay in front of her 24-7, large amounts of pelleted feed and free choice stababilized rice bran and gallons and gallons of water.

About two weeks into this extended period of stall rest, I discovered that the tumor on the mare's face had returned. Within just a few days it tripled in size and soon was even much larger than the original tumor that had been removed. It was encroaching on her nostril inside and out. The rapid growth of the tumor was alarming. The tumor needed to be removed ASAP.

The first tumor had been removed there in the stall but it was obvious that more surrounding tissue needed to be removed this time. That meant the three Arabian horses needed to be transported to the clinic for the more extensive surgery.

This time, the twin Arabian horses were prepared for the steep hill and laid down immediately so we didn't have to worry about excessive pressure put onto the horses' weakened joints. That was a relief and one less thing to worry about.

Once inside the clinic, the mare was again put into the palpation chute. The twin horses were allowed to roam the clinic while the mare was prepared for surgery. The vet and his assistant worked on the mare while Colleen and I tried to keep the twins out of trouble. The vet and his assistant had the easier task!

The twin horses were crawling underneath their mother in the palpation chute, opening drawers, untying shoelaces, pulling on clothes, stealing equipment. You name it, they were getting into it. By now the horses had learned how to tag team their caregivers to get away with their stunts. No matter how hard we would try at least one of them was always getting into something. You would think that two adults could handle two little foals like that but they easily handled us. The only time we got a break was when the horses decided they needed a break and would go over to nurse. Poor Vee is out on her lips having surgery on her nose and the twins were crawling underneath her getting a snack. It should have been a Kodak moment but the camera was at home.

This time Dr Gillette removed two different types of tissue from the growth site. Both were sent off to be biopsied. A drain was inserted in the wound and the mare's site closed up. The surgery had taken about 1 1/2 hours and the twin Arabian horses had not managed to destroy the clinic. For which, I was grateful.....exhausted but grateful. I think Dr Gillette actually got a kick out of watching the two little monsters terrorize his clinic. The camera came out and pictures were taken as we waited for the older Arabian horse to wake up from her surgery.

When the horse was awake enough to walk, we moved all three horses out into a paddock so the mare could recover fully before the horse trailer ride home. After that it would be more waiting time......waiting for biopsy results and waiting for the twin horses' bones to harden. Waiting to see what life still had in store for one tired horse woman and her three very special Arabian horses.

More Reflections on Twins