It's the simple things...
So my weekend was wonderful...and I really didn't do anything spectacular to make it that way. It was all a result of simple pleasures out of life, doing or seeing things that are pretty basic, but which I don't get a chance to do in my own daily life.
We'll start with the animal update. Edgar is doing well...he's actually starting to move, stretch, and flap his broken wing, and I suspect he may have been grounded for a while before I found him, because that's a LOT of healing to do in a week (of course, birds DO have very high metabolic rates, so his recovery may not be as spectacular as I'm thinking it is.) Marla told me that, given the progress he's already made, she thinks I could probably bring him back home any time I'm ready (which means I need to clear some space for a cage!) She also has a good-sized parrot cage that she's willing to let me use for the duration, until Edgar shuffles off this mortal coil or heals up enough to fly to his old home, whichever comes first. So there's a rather large concern off my shoulders. And, for those curious...
He's getting feisty, too...at least, until you get him out of the cage. Luckily, pigeons do not bite particularly hard. They are also not particularly violent when beating you with their wings. Ed's a pretty territorial bird...first it was the box, now it's the animal carrier...soon enough, it will be a cage. But it's good to see him moving (and he's kinda getting fat, too...all that food and no exercise!)
Initially, he wouldn't climb off my hand onto my shoulder...but when Marla went to pet him, he pretty much dashed up my arm and parked on my shoulder...Marla chased him on up there, and once he realized she wasn't going to hurt him, it was all good. He's a funny bird, and I think he's going to make a good roommate. (He still grunts if you get too close to his home...but he's started to coo again, occasionally...so I'm pretty sure he's feeling better.)
The other great thing to see this weekend was my foal. Faith was born at the end of last March, just after my birthday. And, initially, we were really excited. Marla's had foals born at her place before...but thus far, Faith is the only filly--the others have all been colts. And she looked beautiful when she was born...long straight legs, sharp eyes, and just a generally promising conformation.
A couple of months later, she managed to injure herself somehow...we're not sure if she slid on the grass while running, or got kicked by another horse, or whatever...but she started limping. And it didn't go away. This was the first major problem we'd had with her (there were a few minor ones, like some chronic muscle fatigue which we learned was due to poor selenium in her feed...added a mineral salt block and she perked right back up...or the umbilical hernia...and some other odds and ends that foals always seem to have...) We had an equine specialist vet come take a look at her, and he diagnosed her as having a broken pelvis...something which we really couldn't do anything to treat, it would just have to heal over time.
Well, we kept waiting and waiting for it to heal...and she never seemed to get any better. Her conformation started shifting, because she was carrying a lot more weight on her forequarters to ease the pressure on her hips, and sometimes her legs just didn't seem to bend...it was like they'd just seize up in the joints at random. So we took her to the vet again (different vet, this time).
This time, they pronounced that her hip was healed up...but her spine was out of alignment with her pelvis. Apparently, in the whole breaking and healing, the spine and pelvis had separated, and now the spine was sitting almost an inch lower than it should have been. This was pinching the nerves to her hind legs. But, like last time, there was nothing that could be done to treat it.
I agonized a lifetime's worth in those few moments...she'd never be sound, she'd never be safe to ride, and there was a very good chance that as she grew older, the injury would get worse from the pressure of her own body weight. I could put her down there and then, and save her the anguish...but something didn't feel right about that...and Marla, recognizing the look in my eyes, spoke up and said, "Why don't we just take her back home and see how long she holds out...if it gets too bad, we can always decide to put her down in the future." I was more than willing to put off that decision.
Marla and I talked, and decided to try putting Faith on some bute...basically, aspirin for horses. The only problem was that, given how young Faith was, there was a chance the bute would cause severe ulcers, which would hasten her demise. But, we reasoned, it would be better for her to have fewer days, of better quality...if she was in pain, the bute would make it less noticeable. There was also a chance that, if she wasn't feeling the pain, she would do something that would REALLY mess up her spine and pelvis...but, once again, we felt quality of what life she had left was a bigger consideration than extending her life while keeping her in pain. We'd already pretty much resigned ourselves to the question of 'when to put her down'...we weren't thinking any longer about 'if...'
Well, the bute didn't seem to have much effect (which actually didn't surprise me...I never thought she actually acted like she was in pain, just discomfort...like the pieces didn't quite fit together right, and she knew it...) She was still stiff-legging it about and sometimes would barely even move.
And then, one night, as I sat huddled over a space heater, feeling cold muscles relax with the heat, it dawned on me--pinched nerves cause tense muscles...which pinch the nerves more. Add cold weather on top of that, and it was no wonder she wasn't improving. Even if it didn't hurt anymore, the cycle was just perpetuating itself. So I consulted Marla about a simple, but unorthodox idea I had...and while she had her doubts about whether it would work, she didn't see any reason not to try it.
We got her a turnout blanket, waterproof and insulated. And that made all the difference in the world. By the end of her first day with the blanket, she was TROTTING again...not very far, but it was motion we never expected to see from her for the rest of her life. Marla discontinued the bute, because the blanket had done more in one day than the bute had done in two weeks.
Marla would give me little tidbits of updates...Faith was trotting today, she's starting to walk more normally, stuff like that. And when I went to stay with Ross and Marla over the Christmas break, I got a wonderful Christmas present that I'd never been expecting. We turned all the horses out onto one of the small pastures, something that always puts the younger horses in a frisky mood. And when they started roughhousing and playing around, Faith was right in the middle of them, doing her part. I was dumbstruck. I'd already figured the blanket had done what it could, we'd stopped the degeneration of her condition. I never really expected it to improve (I hoped...but didn't expect it). And when we took her blanket off to clean it and do body measurements to check her growth, we also saw that her conformation was shifting again...she was starting to carry more weight on her hindquarters. As nice as Christmas was, that made things even better for me.
Well, there was a storm that blew through on Saturday...and on Sunday, we decided to go out and do body measurements again (Marla does them every 2-3 months, to track how much weight the horses are holding and adjust their feed regime accordingly). Sunday was warm...well, warm for a Cache Valley winter day, and Ross had taken Faith's blanket off because it was filthy (I thought, initially, he was carrying two or three blankets, because it was so dirty that parts of it were totally different colors). While the blanket was off, we decided to brush her down, and get rid of any matted hair that might be building up.
Well, I was almost done with that when Marla turned out the other babies...and they began tearing around like someone had spiked their morning hay. Faith was having a fit in her stall, and Marla called out to just turn her loose, we'd worry about finishing the brushing later.
And, I'll be damned...she was loping along with all the others. This was more than just a trot, or even a canter. It was a slow gallop. And there was no blanket. Granted, ten minutes later she was limping around...but it seems like her good days keep getting better. She's also still gaining weight, something that we weren't sure was going to happen this winter (gotta say, I'm glad it's been fairly mild in the valleys...a really cold winter would probably have been the death of her), and her conformation is becoming more and more normal.
I don't think she'll ever get back to fully sound...that would be asking too much. But if she gets healthy enough, and we can train her to drive a cart (Marla's very good at that), there's a woman who runs an animal-assisted therapy program that is willing to give her a home. Marla thinks driving would be a viable option, because a light horse-cart puts almost no strain on the hindquarters, other than what a horse would normally have from its own weight.
I'm not ready to light the fireworks and have a party for her yet, she's still got a long way to go. But compared to where we expected her to be at this time, she's doing fantastic (we, quite frankly, didn't expect her to be ALIVE by this time).
So, yeah...my weekend was great! I got to spend time with some of my closest friends, I got to play with my 'niece' (she isn't, really...she's Marla's daughter, but Marla's always called me 'Uncle Curtis' in front of Vivian)...And I got to marvel at the simple miracles of two different animals both beating the odds. I don't care what else happened over the weekend--that made it great.
And then I came back home, and had to return to the world of rent-checks and paychecks, of when to get to work and how long to work and what was I doing at work, of reading about Bush's latest folly (okay, I'm glad he's spending more on high school science and math...but, y'know, if you haven't got them geared to think about that BEFORE they get to high school, you're spending the money too late!)
Can I go back to Marla's now?
So my weekend was wonderful...and I really didn't do anything spectacular to make it that way. It was all a result of simple pleasures out of life, doing or seeing things that are pretty basic, but which I don't get a chance to do in my own daily life.
We'll start with the animal update. Edgar is doing well...he's actually starting to move, stretch, and flap his broken wing, and I suspect he may have been grounded for a while before I found him, because that's a LOT of healing to do in a week (of course, birds DO have very high metabolic rates, so his recovery may not be as spectacular as I'm thinking it is.) Marla told me that, given the progress he's already made, she thinks I could probably bring him back home any time I'm ready (which means I need to clear some space for a cage!) She also has a good-sized parrot cage that she's willing to let me use for the duration, until Edgar shuffles off this mortal coil or heals up enough to fly to his old home, whichever comes first. So there's a rather large concern off my shoulders. And, for those curious...
He's getting feisty, too...at least, until you get him out of the cage. Luckily, pigeons do not bite particularly hard. They are also not particularly violent when beating you with their wings. Ed's a pretty territorial bird...first it was the box, now it's the animal carrier...soon enough, it will be a cage. But it's good to see him moving (and he's kinda getting fat, too...all that food and no exercise!) Initially, he wouldn't climb off my hand onto my shoulder...but when Marla went to pet him, he pretty much dashed up my arm and parked on my shoulder...Marla chased him on up there, and once he realized she wasn't going to hurt him, it was all good. He's a funny bird, and I think he's going to make a good roommate. (He still grunts if you get too close to his home...but he's started to coo again, occasionally...so I'm pretty sure he's feeling better.)
The other great thing to see this weekend was my foal. Faith was born at the end of last March, just after my birthday. And, initially, we were really excited. Marla's had foals born at her place before...but thus far, Faith is the only filly--the others have all been colts. And she looked beautiful when she was born...long straight legs, sharp eyes, and just a generally promising conformation.
A couple of months later, she managed to injure herself somehow...we're not sure if she slid on the grass while running, or got kicked by another horse, or whatever...but she started limping. And it didn't go away. This was the first major problem we'd had with her (there were a few minor ones, like some chronic muscle fatigue which we learned was due to poor selenium in her feed...added a mineral salt block and she perked right back up...or the umbilical hernia...and some other odds and ends that foals always seem to have...) We had an equine specialist vet come take a look at her, and he diagnosed her as having a broken pelvis...something which we really couldn't do anything to treat, it would just have to heal over time.
Well, we kept waiting and waiting for it to heal...and she never seemed to get any better. Her conformation started shifting, because she was carrying a lot more weight on her forequarters to ease the pressure on her hips, and sometimes her legs just didn't seem to bend...it was like they'd just seize up in the joints at random. So we took her to the vet again (different vet, this time).
This time, they pronounced that her hip was healed up...but her spine was out of alignment with her pelvis. Apparently, in the whole breaking and healing, the spine and pelvis had separated, and now the spine was sitting almost an inch lower than it should have been. This was pinching the nerves to her hind legs. But, like last time, there was nothing that could be done to treat it.
I agonized a lifetime's worth in those few moments...she'd never be sound, she'd never be safe to ride, and there was a very good chance that as she grew older, the injury would get worse from the pressure of her own body weight. I could put her down there and then, and save her the anguish...but something didn't feel right about that...and Marla, recognizing the look in my eyes, spoke up and said, "Why don't we just take her back home and see how long she holds out...if it gets too bad, we can always decide to put her down in the future." I was more than willing to put off that decision.
Marla and I talked, and decided to try putting Faith on some bute...basically, aspirin for horses. The only problem was that, given how young Faith was, there was a chance the bute would cause severe ulcers, which would hasten her demise. But, we reasoned, it would be better for her to have fewer days, of better quality...if she was in pain, the bute would make it less noticeable. There was also a chance that, if she wasn't feeling the pain, she would do something that would REALLY mess up her spine and pelvis...but, once again, we felt quality of what life she had left was a bigger consideration than extending her life while keeping her in pain. We'd already pretty much resigned ourselves to the question of 'when to put her down'...we weren't thinking any longer about 'if...'
Well, the bute didn't seem to have much effect (which actually didn't surprise me...I never thought she actually acted like she was in pain, just discomfort...like the pieces didn't quite fit together right, and she knew it...) She was still stiff-legging it about and sometimes would barely even move.
And then, one night, as I sat huddled over a space heater, feeling cold muscles relax with the heat, it dawned on me--pinched nerves cause tense muscles...which pinch the nerves more. Add cold weather on top of that, and it was no wonder she wasn't improving. Even if it didn't hurt anymore, the cycle was just perpetuating itself. So I consulted Marla about a simple, but unorthodox idea I had...and while she had her doubts about whether it would work, she didn't see any reason not to try it.
We got her a turnout blanket, waterproof and insulated. And that made all the difference in the world. By the end of her first day with the blanket, she was TROTTING again...not very far, but it was motion we never expected to see from her for the rest of her life. Marla discontinued the bute, because the blanket had done more in one day than the bute had done in two weeks.
Marla would give me little tidbits of updates...Faith was trotting today, she's starting to walk more normally, stuff like that. And when I went to stay with Ross and Marla over the Christmas break, I got a wonderful Christmas present that I'd never been expecting. We turned all the horses out onto one of the small pastures, something that always puts the younger horses in a frisky mood. And when they started roughhousing and playing around, Faith was right in the middle of them, doing her part. I was dumbstruck. I'd already figured the blanket had done what it could, we'd stopped the degeneration of her condition. I never really expected it to improve (I hoped...but didn't expect it). And when we took her blanket off to clean it and do body measurements to check her growth, we also saw that her conformation was shifting again...she was starting to carry more weight on her hindquarters. As nice as Christmas was, that made things even better for me.
Well, there was a storm that blew through on Saturday...and on Sunday, we decided to go out and do body measurements again (Marla does them every 2-3 months, to track how much weight the horses are holding and adjust their feed regime accordingly). Sunday was warm...well, warm for a Cache Valley winter day, and Ross had taken Faith's blanket off because it was filthy (I thought, initially, he was carrying two or three blankets, because it was so dirty that parts of it were totally different colors). While the blanket was off, we decided to brush her down, and get rid of any matted hair that might be building up.
Well, I was almost done with that when Marla turned out the other babies...and they began tearing around like someone had spiked their morning hay. Faith was having a fit in her stall, and Marla called out to just turn her loose, we'd worry about finishing the brushing later.
And, I'll be damned...she was loping along with all the others. This was more than just a trot, or even a canter. It was a slow gallop. And there was no blanket. Granted, ten minutes later she was limping around...but it seems like her good days keep getting better. She's also still gaining weight, something that we weren't sure was going to happen this winter (gotta say, I'm glad it's been fairly mild in the valleys...a really cold winter would probably have been the death of her), and her conformation is becoming more and more normal.
I don't think she'll ever get back to fully sound...that would be asking too much. But if she gets healthy enough, and we can train her to drive a cart (Marla's very good at that), there's a woman who runs an animal-assisted therapy program that is willing to give her a home. Marla thinks driving would be a viable option, because a light horse-cart puts almost no strain on the hindquarters, other than what a horse would normally have from its own weight.
I'm not ready to light the fireworks and have a party for her yet, she's still got a long way to go. But compared to where we expected her to be at this time, she's doing fantastic (we, quite frankly, didn't expect her to be ALIVE by this time).
So, yeah...my weekend was great! I got to spend time with some of my closest friends, I got to play with my 'niece' (she isn't, really...she's Marla's daughter, but Marla's always called me 'Uncle Curtis' in front of Vivian)...And I got to marvel at the simple miracles of two different animals both beating the odds. I don't care what else happened over the weekend--that made it great.
And then I came back home, and had to return to the world of rent-checks and paychecks, of when to get to work and how long to work and what was I doing at work, of reading about Bush's latest folly (okay, I'm glad he's spending more on high school science and math...but, y'know, if you haven't got them geared to think about that BEFORE they get to high school, you're spending the money too late!)
Can I go back to Marla's now?
posted by Curtis at 6:54 PM
2 Comments:
this reminds me when marla and me and you were at the walls and all those little kittens were born...do you remember that? i couldn't believe something that little was actually alive.
didn't they get eaten or something?
Some of them were given away, some of them ran away...some of them were run over. They still have two cats (I think Granite was one of the ones from that litter, though, but I'm not positive...) Some of them are probably still wandering the neighborhood, feral, or have been adopted by neighbors.
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