Week two 21 December 08

I had the equine dentist out the other day and Manks and Samson had their teeth done. Surprisingly Manks' teeth were really good. They hadnt been done for a couple of years apparently but she says that at some stage they were well maintained. Samsons Teeth were a different story. She said they have been overdone with power-tools at some stage and are all smoothed off. The molars dont even meet so he has trouble grinding his food. That could explain his Diarrhoea problem! She did a bit of a fix up by taking his insicors down lower so that the molars could meet. Its been putting a strain on his [temporal mandible?] and he is quite sore in the joint by his temple.

Sprat is healing well and looks like he will hardly have a scar. He has been having oral antibiotics all week to keep infection away and has had no problems. I spoke to the vet on Tuesday as I was very concerned about him having trouble breathing. She said that his face was crushed inwards and it could be restricting the nasal passage and I should just wait and see. Its really heartbreaking listening to him breathing though. The wound has knitted together and the air is no longer coming out of his face, but I worry that he may not be getting enough air through the restricted nasal passage.

The dentist had a look at him and said that there is enough air getting through so that he isnt gasping and that I should wait until the wound heals and the swelling goes down and see how he is then. So its just a waiting game for now.



He is being very friendly and no longer thinks Im the antichrist. When he sees me he comes trotting over for a scratch and a cuddle (actually I think he is looking for food - but I can kid myself that its really me he loves!!)


I filmed him this morning and you can hear his wheezy breathing if you listen carefully . .. .

Week One 14 December 08

A week later the mare, now christened Manky-Mare, is looking much better. I have been feeding her twice daily with sugarbeet, oaten chaff, and broodmare mix. Added to that is 400gm of hemp a day, yea-sacc probiotic, and 'healthy hooves & hair'. She has been giving everything she has to Sprat for so long that her own system is depleted of everything and her hooves are crumbly and her hair is falling out.



Another couple of weeks and I reckon she will look like a normal horse again!

Unfortunately Sprat isnt looking so great . . . I was at the paddock spraying weeds yesterday, and my partner was mowing. We were watching him run around frolicking and oohing & aahing at his cuteness. Then we went back to what we were doing and 5 minutes later I looked over and his face was stoved in.

By the time the vet got there I had him in the yard and blood was everywhere, it was pulsing out of the hole in the front of his face. It was a stinking hot afternoon and I hadnt eaten all day. The vet sedated Sprat and at around about the same time he passed out . . . so did I!!


The vet peeled the skin back from his face and tried to tie off the severed artery but it was under the shattered bone and she couldnt get to it. I came to just long enough to have a look at poor Sprats broken nose and split cartilage and then I had to go and sit in the shade again. The vet stitched it all back up again and it doesnt look too bad.






The next day alot of blood was still running out of his nostrils and when he breathed he gurgled due to the hole on the front of his face.



By day two the stuff coming out of his nose was pink and watery rather than actual blood but he was still having trouble breathing, and feeding was a bit of an issue for him as he couldnt push up on the udder, though he was very happy to see his feed bin!



Day three and the dripping fluid has stopped and now rather than a gurgling sound when he breathes it just sounds like an air filter. He still isnt feeding well but is loving his two small bins of feed a day. I will get him some weanling mix tomorrow and start him on that.


We still dont know what could have happened. He was in a flat square paddock with nothing in it except his mother. The only thing that could have happened is that he either ran full tilt into a fence post, or his mother kicked him. I dont think she did though, as he isnt scared of her back end now, and she hasnt shown any sign of wanting to kick him at all, she is very patient with him. Even when he uses her as a scratching post!

Sprats Homecoming 8 Dec 08

Last year I bought a QH stallion called Samson. He is awesome to ride and handle but when my hormonal mare got wind of him she turned into psycho-horse. Also I found alot of events up here (in the boondocks) dont allow stallions . . . so I had him gelded. Once I got to know him I regretted not getting a foal from him as he is the cruisiest boy.

I was so excited to see a mare that he had served for sale with her 9wk old pally colt (by my Samson) for sale so I bought them.

As you can see she wasnt in the best condition!!

A friend and I did a 12 hour round trip to go and collect them (thanks heaps Belinda!) - we brought them back to my place, and put them in their very own paddock. There wasnt much grass in there as they hadnt seen any for a while and I didnt want to shock their poor systems too much!