Natural Horse Care in an Unnatural World

If you have been following this blog, then you recall that, on February 13th, my 27 year old Paint colicked with a strangulated lipoma and needed emergency surgery. While he was at Tufts Veterinary Hospital for Large Animals, He was scoped and discovered to have ulcers. Upon returning home (9 days later, on Feb. 22nd), he was doing well. I had him on his ulcer meds for a month. I had to cordon off a portion of his paddock so he could still go outside and be with his friends. After the first month, I opened up his paddock to about 24 feet by 30 feet. This was to stay for another month.  However, on March 8th, only 3 weeks out of surgery, I brought him in and a friend who boards at the same barn noticed that Kobeejo's right knee was swollen. I had not noticed, as he was not limping nor favoring the leg. He also had a bit of a fever. I called my vet, who came out to check. He spent more time checking his intestines and doing an ultra-sound on his gut. Nothing was wrong there. He deduc...

I've done a lot of thinking and research on many topics since my 27-year-old Paint, Kobeejo, underwent colic surgery for a strangulating lipoma last month. Mostly, I have gotten deeper into my already existing research on the horse's most unique digestive tract. The very first thing I wanted to fully look into was the ulcers the hospital discovered my horse had. Every veterinarian and nutritionist, even at Tufts, insisted the way to prevent ulcers was to feed 24/7 free-choice hay/forage, always provide fresh clean water and make sure your horse gets plenty of movement (living outside with a shelter being ideal). I had always learned that, if a horse has this, plus the companionship of other horses even nearby (and no excessive medications such as Bute), they would be good to go. My horse always had all of this! So, why did he develop such severe ulcers? As it turns out, studies show that horses in stressful situations, such as moving to a new barn, being taken away from the...

Yesterday, I received photos from the vet hospital where Kobeejo had his lipoma surgery. Someone in the operating room took 2 photos. One of Kobee's small intestines (not sure if that round thing is a lipoma or THE lipoma or what). The other photo is of all the lipomas they removed from him. The long stalk shown is the one that caused his issues. If you look closely enough you can see that it is really TWO lipomas, the stalks wrapped up around themselves then around his intestine. It was by the luck of Riley (and quick action in getting him to the hospital) that he had no dead intestine and thus needed no resection. I cannot be 100% sure, but in the photo of the healthy intestine, I think the small lump there is a lipoma growing on the mesentery (fan-like tissue that holds up the small intestine). Healthy Small Intestine Lipomas removed from Kobee's intestine.

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 a...

Finally, Kobeejo is coming home tomorrow! IVs are all out and he's back on free-choice hay. Wendy picked me up about1:30pm and we went up to see him. Otis was back in his stall across from Kobeejo today, so he was moved to another wing and now he's back. I don't know why; they don't give info on other horses. There are two other horses in his wing as well now. A pretty mare named Cher who nickered every time Kobeejo walked by, and the mare who came in yesterday next to him. I spoke to a tech, Jason, who came over while I took Kobeejo out for his walk and grazing. Jason had been part of a "Toxic Plant Tour" to teach people all about plants that are toxic to pets and horses. He saw me out there and left the tour to come talk to me. He told me he was in the operating room when KJ had his surgery and he was in charge of keeping KJ's intestines wet while they were out on a table during the surgery. He told me the lipoma "stalk" was wrapped p...

Wendy decided to drive me up to see Kobeejo today. She said she missed him. I was grateful not to have to drive as I had a bad night and was too tired to drive far. We left a bit later than I like... around 2:30. Once again, the traffic was not too bad, so we made it in an hour. Before we left, Dr. Minuto called. She said Kobeejo was eating well, and if he maintained this level he could go home Saturday. I was thrilled! Last night, I went up to the barn and filled a hay bag full with the first cut hay he loves, and a smaller one with the second cut. So, I brought all the hay in the net with me and, once in his stall, he immediately dunked his nose into the top of the hay net where I had it open. So I started filling the metal hay bin with his first cut and he was thrilled. Top of pic is his sheath, bottom his front legs. You can see the incision on the right, though the pic is a bit off center. They had removed his bandage so I got a good look at the incision under his belly....

Usually, the vet calls me every morning with a progress report on Kobeejo. This morning, as always, I kept waking early, waiting for that phone call. By noon it had not come, so I climbed out of bed, knowing I had a long drive. I drove myself up to see Kobeejo, as my usual rides were not available. My mom came with me, which helped tremendously. I am a nervous long-distance driver. Fortunately, the traffic was light. Having my mom to talk to made the trip quicker and easier. I took the highway all the way up, but perhaps tomorrow, if Wendy is not available, I might take I-84 to Rte 20 and follow that way up. It's only 6 minutes longer. Not a big deal and I can avoid the tolls and traffic of I-90. We arrived a bit after 2pm. There was a trailer parked in the unloading area and the parking lot was packed! Busy day, I assumed the vet had not called due to emergencies (and I was correct). We had to wait a bit longer than normal in the waiting room and there were more people there...

Today (the 17th) I went up with my mother and brother to visit Kobeejo, as I do every day. He seemed so much more depressed than he has so far. And he only took a peppermint, but reluctantly, which is very unusual as he adores peppermints. It has me concerned, but the vet had called this morning to let me know that, because of his lack of appetite, tomorrow they are going to scope him (pass a camera through and see if anything is wrong). Also, I think he has a bad tooth. Even before this happened, hay has been getting lodged into his left cheek. I had a dentist appt for him the day this happened, so he has not been able to see the dentist. The vet at the hospital told me, while he is sedated, they would look at his teeth and fix any problems. The vet who came to the barn the day Kobeejo colicked, looked in his mouth. He said he had a cracked tooth, but nothing too alarming. I wonder if the cracked tooth is causing him pain? She had also told me I could walk him today. Whil...

Though the Sunday hours at the vet hospital are 1-4, I am allowed to visit as long as I call first, anytime during the day. We arrived at 4pm. The first thing I noticed when walking toward his stall was that there is now another horse in the stall across from him... a tall dark Warmblood gelding. I knew that would make him happy. They told me when they were walking the new horse down the aisle to his stall, Kobeejo perked and nickered at him. I'm sure he was thrilled not to be the only horse there, as he has been for 4 days. Though I don't know why the other horse is there, I am assuming from the tube in his nose (as KJ had) and IVs, he was also a colic case. Though he obviously did not need surgery... his belly was not shaved, nor did he wear any bandages. Kobeejo had been rushed into surgery immediately. KJ's spirits were good. He was happy eating from the hay bag they put up, as he did not like the metal bin the hay was placed into. Up until today, I needed to wear b...

Today (Feb. 15th) marks 2 days since Kobeejo's surgery. Today was a weekend, so hours were 1-4pm, unless I called to make arrangements to come at a different time. But we arrived around 2pm. He was in better spirits when I arrived at the barn with my friend Wendy. They had placed a tiny amount of soaked second cut hay in a metal bin that slides in and out of the stall, but it did not look like he ate much. Knowing Kobeejo as I do, I knew it was the metal bin (he hates sticking his head into anything unfamiliar). So, I removed a handful of the hay and handed it to him. He practically tore it from my hand. I offered him more... same. He ate the entire thing from my hand, and even picked up a few bits that dropped into the shavings. I told one of the workers that he really doesn't like metal bins, but she just said, "he ate some out of it." Kobeejo gives me a kiss. I didn't want to argue, but I knew he was just too hungry not to... So, me feeding him by han...

I was awakened by the telephone ringing this morning at 8:50am, after only 2 hours sleep. When I saw the name on the caller ID, I nearly panicked. It was the woman who feeds the horses in the morning, and she knows I work at night, so for her to call me, I knew something had to be wrong. I answered the phone quickly. "Kobeejo is not feeling well," she started. "He won't eat his breakfast (not like him) and he keeps laying down repeatedly." "I'll be right there," I said quickly. Kobeejo, my 27-year-old registered grey overo Paint/Pinto, is more to me than just a horse. 16 years ago, he saved my life and he's been my life-saving grace ever since. He's also my registered therapy horse, as I have autism. This horse is the blood that runs through my veins and I have always done everything I can to take the best care of him, give him the best (and correct amount and type) of food (24/7 forage, a ration balancer and alfalfa pellets soaked). ...