Here’s the scoop on my poor baby so far: -Her mouth is a mess. She has very little functioning chewing surface, so soaked hay cubes will be the major source of forage for her. All of the sharp pointy surfaces have been taken care of though. -Because her teeth are so messed up, likely from chewing on things that were too tough, an age estimate is difficult to do precisely, but she’s likely in her mid-twenties. -Her right hind leg likely has an old stifle injury that is causing some funky movement and posture. Her fetlock joint isn’t working properly either. I started her on a joint supplement her first night home, so we’ll see how she does on that, otherwise x-rays and joint injections would be the next step. -She has cataracts, so she probably has a harder time seeing at night. -She has a heart murmur. The vet thinks that it’s her aortic valve that’s the problem. It may go away when her condition improves, or she may have it for the rest of her life. -She’s so underweight that her clitoris is hanging out of her vulva. Keeping her lady parts clean (shes pretty sunken in, so she gets poop all over herself) and petroleum jelly will help protect it until she gains enough weight back. -I’m waiting to hear back on the fecal count, CBC and chem panel, thyroid check, and Cushing’s test. -She had very thick mud caked on her legs, some of which was on there long enough to be hiding patches of her winter coat underneath. Lots of little wounds and scratches were discovered, which are now being treated. She loves baths (no, really!). A side benefit of her bath is that she doesn’t smell like a cow anymore (her old pasture mate was a steer)! Yay! -She has some joint swelling, which I’m now cold hosing. -At some point she nearly sliced off part of her left front hoof and has some other scars that look like they came from run-ins with wire. -Her appetite is definitely not the reason why she’s skinny. She’s getting several small meals throughout the day as well as 10-15 minutes/day of hand grazing outside of her dry paddock so that I don’t kill her with food. We’ll gradually work up to larger meals, but every time I go in to love on her she licks the bottom of her pan to tell me she’d like more. Now that she’s discovered soaked cubes, she doesn’t have much interest in working her poor mouth on the regular soft grass hay. -Her hooves arent terrible, but she needs a trim so Im working on getting the farrier out. -She is unquestionably an absolute sweetheart, and I love her so much already. -Her name has been changed from Daisy to Phoenix.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 02:34:20 +0000
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