Tonka Update

Seven weeks ago I mentioned that Tonka seemed desperate for the kind of medical attention that Raven was receiving at the time. Could I have brought this upon myself?

On Friday morning Kerstin came out to check on Tonka and she feels 95% sure that we are dealing with a contact allergy -- either a continuation from the original itchiness, or something that was on my hands while I was treating him (i.e. obsessively poking and prodding him) for that. At this stage he is slightly less swollen and all of the outer skin is peeling off in sheets. His temperature is normal, but we are keeping him on the antibiotics as a precaution against infection of the torn skin. His appetite is somewhat diminished, probably due to the antibiotics and the pain so he is getting a gram of bute with each meal. His urine is an alarming shade of orange, but I assume that is from the drugs (I am waiting for a call from Kerstin to confirm). Otherwise he seems comfortable, and he *really* enjoys his zinc oxide treatments in the mornings. Horn dog.

Turgid Tonka

Tonka's sheath was so swollen this morning that the skin was beginning to split up the middle and along the sides. An emergency call to Kerstin got him an antibiotic prescription from the human pharmacist, and he seems happy to down 15 crushed pills in his feed when a little molasses is added. It would never work for Raven, so I will count my blessings wherever I can find them.

I didn't have the heart to take pictures, but imagine this about 3 times worse. He looked like this yesterday, so something is raging away in there. The outside is totally slathered with 37% zinc oxide in hopes of preventing any secondary infection along the torn skin. All the men around the house seem to get uncomfortable when I talk about this.

I Resolve to Resolve My Vet Bills

Welcome to 2009. We managed to keep the kids awake with back-to-back episodes of Most Extreme Elimination (one of my many guilty pleasures in life) and some rousing rounds of Stamp Stamp Revolution (thanks Daun -- that one is going to stick). It was all very pleasant.

I'm sad to report that 2008 went out with another big vet bill. Yesterday morning David was playing in the crunchy snow with the dogs and Willow started to bleed from abrasions on all of her legs. She is thin-skinned and I didn't worry too much about it until one of her forelegs swelled up like a baseball bat. I feared that something was broken and called the vet who was able to see us in the afternoon.

We stopped at the beach en route to the vet so that my sister, brother-in-law and nephews could do some eagle watching. Willow was waiting in a crate in the truck, but Tilley and Watson were out with us. We noticed that Watson's urine appeared bloody, so I just phoned the vet and asked if she could test him for a urinary infection while I was there.

When I got to the vet she looked at Willow's swelling and abrasions and asked me almost immediately if she had been into any kind of blood thinning agent -- aspirin, ibuprofen or warfarin. Then we brought Watson in and she drew a urine sample with a catheter. It was not blood in his urine but bilirubin, indicating a problem with his liver function. When I got Willow home she immediately took a big, red pee.

Much brain-wracking and discussion ensued. The vet is quite sure that Willow and Watsom must have eaten something killed by warfarin, which is possible as our neighbor across the street has a rat problem and they like to explore in her field. Tilley is fine, but she doesn't eat unusual things off the ground. This morning's test results indicated that liver function is fine in both cases so they have managed to detoxify the poison and dodge the bullet. We did not dodge the $400+ bill.

In horse news Tonka's sheath took a turn for the worse two days ago, and this morning the tips were swollen up like a couple of baseballs. I could have knocked them around a little with Willow's leg. Kerstin is on holiday now, but some online research suggest that this problem is semi-common for older geldings in winter. Others suggested that a gram of bute would go a long way, so he got that with his dinner. Keep your fingers crossed for the poor guy.

And in goat news we trimmed hooves again this afternoon. It went pretty well, except that I cut too much off of Roland McNugget's hind right and he bled like a stuck pig (sorry Jean). A sock full of corn starch staunched the bleeding, but he is limping quite badly. I'm hoping that he will heal up before we have to get another vet involved...

White Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating. I hope your day was a pleasant and joyful as ours.

Our cherry tree on Christmas morning. It was lovely to see the sun.

We had this cedar topped and limbed-up in the spring of 2007. That's the wrong time of year for doing drastic things to trees, but I hated how it obstructed the view of everything. It is my favourite tree at Farcical Farm, especially in winter.

Looking north from the end of the driveway, just past the cedar tree.

Country road, looking west.

Country road, looking east.

Horse paddock from the road, looking south. Nice to take the blankets off for a day.

We call the house the Ruddy Beast because our address ends in 666 (one sign is decorative, the other is reflective). According to municipal records our address should be 10670 so someone must have willfully adopted the mark of the beast at some point. You have to admit that Timbit and Titan are quite beastly.

Goat van in the snow. Quite a lot of snow.

Don't expect me to prick my ears and pose for you when I am eating alfalfa.

Is that thing in your hand alfalfa?

Tonka looks so sweet in that picture, and I want to comment quickly on his...er...man troubles. All swelling is gone and his body is back to normal. Furthermore is personality is back to normal. He had been a bit rank over the past weeks -- unusually grumpy and uncooperative (yet still quite sweet). I had assumed that it was the crappy weather, but I now assume that the lump stuck in his sheath had been bothering him for some time. Yet another good lesson in listening closely to your horse.

Willy Willy Itchy

A few days ago I saw Tonka kicking at his belly through the bedroom window and my heart sank. Cold weather colic is a worrisome reality under these conditions, as dear EvenSong knows all too well. His blanket straps seemed a bit snug when I investigated, so I loosened them and didn't observe any further discomfort until yesterday when I found him kicking more fitfully and swishing his tail as if he had a fly on his belly.

His sheath appeared slightly swollen and when I gave it a scratch he was instantly in heaven, lifting his rear legs like a dog to give me better access. Other than the swelling and itchiness there was nothing unusual -- he wasn't particularly dirty and there was no bean (rude of me to check without lube, but he didn't mind in the least). I scratched for a good 10 minutes and wondered how to proceed.

This morning he was kicking with even more agitation so I decided to call Kerstin. She figures it is a bug bite some minor infection, and she was able to drop off some topical "Special Formula" this morning, which is indicated for treatment of mastitis in lactating cows. Tonka doesn't mind -- he is feeling much better already. David and I made the best of Tonka's misery while we were waiting for Kerstin by getting some funny pictures.

While I was applying the "Special Formula" Raven wandered up to see what was happening and Tonka squealed with fury before trying to bite her. I have NEVER seen him show any aggression towards her (despite her frequent and vicious attacks on him), so I take that as some indication of how uncomfortable he was. Afterwards I went about my chores and Tonka followed me around begging for more willy scratching. He was so persistent that I finally had to chase him off with the manure fork.

And one of the rebuffed Raven in her new blanket. It is up around -1C here today, so she might be back into her shell soon. The propane truck did make it up The Hill, so we will be warm for Christmas.

Sex and the Country

One of the many unglamerous tasks associated with horse ownership is genital hygiene. Both boys and girls get...er...gunky as their natural secretions mix with dirt and stick to the surrounding skin. In the wild I assume that stallions stay clean by breeding and that mares stay clean by birthing and nursing, but domestic animals need some (ideally semiannual) assistance.

A few days ago I saw Raven enthusiastically rubbing her rump against the fence, which is often a sign of uncomfortable girl parts (she is up-to-date on her worming). Mares get dirtiest between their udders, but fluid from the vulva also pools and sticks between their hind legs. When I last cleaned Raven in May she was VERY unreceptive and I was forced to do a cursory job (while dodging blows). Today was a different story -- she looked totally content and relaxed throughout the half hour of fussing and scrubbing and picking and rinsing required to get her squeaky clean. Another testament to how much she is starting to trust me.

Tonka, on the other hand, would probably trust anyone to clean his sheath because he is a giant horn dog. He looked a bit uncomfortable when I removed a small "bean" (a hard ball of dirt and smegma that collects in the tip of the urethra), but otherwise he made a lot of sexy faces and some silly grunting noises. His eyes did bug out a little when I put the cold hose right up there to give him a final rinse. A good job to get done on a sunny day.