Update on Dandy's Gas Colic

It's been a long hard day and my mind is mush. There's no way I'm going to get a creative post out tonight so I thought I would post an update on Dandy's condition. While I'd love to be able to say the horse is doing great, that's just not the case.

I called to check on the horse this morning to be sure he was getting his bran mash and probios in the manner the vet had prescribed. Colleen and Rachel said he seemed to be doing better. They thought that some of the bloating had gone down. So I went ahead and took care of the things I had going here before heading off to the other barn where Dandy resides.
When I arrived the first place I went was to dandy's stall expecting to see a happier horse. Instead I found a horse that was clearly hurting. The horse's bloated belly looked the same to me that it had yesterday. But it was the look in his eye and the way he was standing that told me the horse was in pain, not to mention his rapid respiration.

Colleen and Rachel gave him probios and Rachel walked the horse while I called the vet. Wouldn't you know the vet was tied up with a million things, so I spent the rest of my day hanging around the barn waiting for the vet to arrive. It's a good thing I have other horses there to keep me occupied.

I rode Storm with the help of Colleen. In addition to his bridle the horse wears his halter so Colleen can have the lead. That gives the horse some support and makes it easier for him to understand what we're working on. I am just walking him around the perimeter of the arena, working on whoa and him moving off my legs. If he doesn't listen or walks through my aids, Colleen can fix it easily on the ground. Storm was good. I thought it went well.

Then I worked Legs who is entered in the Daffodil Show at the end of the month. I am just now working him in the curb and having some problems. I'll have to do a post someday of the root of the trouble. Suffice it to say, it's another trainer type horror story. But we worked on it some and the Legs decided to spook at the beam of light shining down on the arena floor. I guess under the circumstances, it was good light comedy for me since the vet still hadn't arrived and I was really worried about Dandy.

By about three hours into this wait, I went and checked the horse over again. This time he was feeling much better. It was clear the probios had helped with his gut ache. He was standing comfortably, his eye was soft and respiration was normal. I lunged him for a bit and checked back in with the vet.

By late this evening, the horse is maintaining that status. So we're going to hold off on tubing him and give the probios and bran time to work. If the horse hasn't improved by tomorrow we're also going to but him on Ulcer Guard for a few days. In the meantime it's just watching him closely to be sure he doesn't take a turn.

All I can say is it's a good thing this horse tolerates pain as well as he does. I've seen other horses die from less gas than this. Hopefully, tomorrow the gas will dissipate and Dandy will be on the mend.

This picture and the one on yesterday's post were taken the year that Dandy and I went to the US Nationals. I've never been crazy about having my picture taken but I love these two pictures with him.

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