Kobeejo is HOME!
Today was the big day. Kobeejo came home!! 😀
The hospital people were sad he was leaving, as he was everyone's favorite, but happy he was going home. He was known as "the famous Kobeejo" up there, which is ironic, because when he used to show, he had the moniker.
Dr. Minuto, the Resident in charge of Kobeejo, walked out to the trailer with us. As usual, he got right on. Once he was home, he was all wide-eyed with head as high as it would go, ears propped forward. I think he was in awe that he was home. I placed him in his stall and he immediately tried to come back out. He ate no hay on the way back and he was not interested in the hay in his stall. He just wanted to know that he was not the only horse there as all others were outside.
He was weaving and anxious, as you can tell by this video. So, I took him outside to see his friends in their paddocks, grazed him for a bit in the field, and once a couple horses came in, I put him back in his stall. He was still anxious and weaving so I closed the slider door while I had to do other things. I tossed a flake of hay down for him and he did go over and pick at it a bit. He is eating, but not the appetite he had before. I assume as time goes on he will eat more.
Once his next door neighbor came in, I opened the slider. Kobeejo kept craning his neck to see Encore, who he has lived beside for close to 3 years. Encore squealed at him each time, but that's normal. Kobeejo loves Encore, but Encore is a bit reserved towards Kobeejo. Thank goodness horses don't go by smell in the same way cats do... When a cat is hospitalized and comes home, he/she smells different, and even their best friends will hiss and avoid them until the scent of the hospital fades. But, horses go by sight and nose to nose greetings. And they never forget each other.
Once everyone was in, KJ was still anxious. I couldn't feed him because he needed his evening ulcer meds... a syringe with 8 pills melted into it. He will need 4 syringes a day of ulcer meds. This will NOT be fun. He's always been a fighter about syringes. Now, due to getting syringed so much at the hospital, he is 10X worse. Two friends helped, but had a heck of a time. Even with a chain on his nose, his head was all over the place. Some of it got in him, but much of it ended up all over his face.
Tomorrow morning, Alex, who is a really good horsewoman, is going to work on getting his meds in. Then he has to wait 30 minutes after the first syringe, then have the second syringe, then another 30 minutes before he can have breakfast and go outside (I cordoned off a small corner in his paddock with electric tape so he can move back and forth like in a stall, but can't run around). At least he can go outside and still see his pals. Starting Monday, the barn will take over doing his morning meds.
Once I was able to give him his dinner, which consisted of a bowl of fresh alfalfa and 1/4 portion of his ration balancer. He's still not eating nowhere near his usual hay intake, but he is eating regularly. He just takes bigger breaks between. He's also still getting large chunks of hay stuck in his cheek. His dentist is coming out on Tuesday.
He has to see the vet in a week to check his sutures, then needs another endoscopy in a month. All this is VERY expensive. If it were not for the generosity of a few donors and my mom getting a loan, I would have lost my baby. And that's unacceptable!
Around noon, I will go up, give him his 3rd syringe and a bit of lunch, then he stays in for the day/night. I will extend his outside time slowly. He'll get one more syringe 30 mins before dinner.
It's going to be rough for a month.
At midnight, I went up and took him for a walk in the arena for a while, then outside to graze for 10 minutes. That made him happy. He seemed MUCH more relaxed and settled, so I left his slider open with just his stall guards up. I think he now realizes he is home and is much happier.
Wait till he sees how small his paddock is!!
The hospital people were sad he was leaving, as he was everyone's favorite, but happy he was going home. He was known as "the famous Kobeejo" up there, which is ironic, because when he used to show, he had the moniker.
Dr. Minuto, the Resident in charge of Kobeejo, walked out to the trailer with us. As usual, he got right on. Once he was home, he was all wide-eyed with head as high as it would go, ears propped forward. I think he was in awe that he was home. I placed him in his stall and he immediately tried to come back out. He ate no hay on the way back and he was not interested in the hay in his stall. He just wanted to know that he was not the only horse there as all others were outside.
He was weaving and anxious, as you can tell by this video. So, I took him outside to see his friends in their paddocks, grazed him for a bit in the field, and once a couple horses came in, I put him back in his stall. He was still anxious and weaving so I closed the slider door while I had to do other things. I tossed a flake of hay down for him and he did go over and pick at it a bit. He is eating, but not the appetite he had before. I assume as time goes on he will eat more.
Once his next door neighbor came in, I opened the slider. Kobeejo kept craning his neck to see Encore, who he has lived beside for close to 3 years. Encore squealed at him each time, but that's normal. Kobeejo loves Encore, but Encore is a bit reserved towards Kobeejo. Thank goodness horses don't go by smell in the same way cats do... When a cat is hospitalized and comes home, he/she smells different, and even their best friends will hiss and avoid them until the scent of the hospital fades. But, horses go by sight and nose to nose greetings. And they never forget each other.
Once everyone was in, KJ was still anxious. I couldn't feed him because he needed his evening ulcer meds... a syringe with 8 pills melted into it. He will need 4 syringes a day of ulcer meds. This will NOT be fun. He's always been a fighter about syringes. Now, due to getting syringed so much at the hospital, he is 10X worse. Two friends helped, but had a heck of a time. Even with a chain on his nose, his head was all over the place. Some of it got in him, but much of it ended up all over his face.
 |
| Eating his alfalfa for dinner |
Tomorrow morning, Alex, who is a really good horsewoman, is going to work on getting his meds in. Then he has to wait 30 minutes after the first syringe, then have the second syringe, then another 30 minutes before he can have breakfast and go outside (I cordoned off a small corner in his paddock with electric tape so he can move back and forth like in a stall, but can't run around). At least he can go outside and still see his pals. Starting Monday, the barn will take over doing his morning meds.
Once I was able to give him his dinner, which consisted of a bowl of fresh alfalfa and 1/4 portion of his ration balancer. He's still not eating nowhere near his usual hay intake, but he is eating regularly. He just takes bigger breaks between. He's also still getting large chunks of hay stuck in his cheek. His dentist is coming out on Tuesday.
He has to see the vet in a week to check his sutures, then needs another endoscopy in a month. All this is VERY expensive. If it were not for the generosity of a few donors and my mom getting a loan, I would have lost my baby. And that's unacceptable!
Around noon, I will go up, give him his 3rd syringe and a bit of lunch, then he stays in for the day/night. I will extend his outside time slowly. He'll get one more syringe 30 mins before dinner.
It's going to be rough for a month.
At midnight, I went up and took him for a walk in the arena for a while, then outside to graze for 10 minutes. That made him happy. He seemed MUCH more relaxed and settled, so I left his slider open with just his stall guards up. I think he now realizes he is home and is much happier.
 |
| Grazing at midnight |
Wait till he sees how small his paddock is!!
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