Horse Scare

When I got home last night from a long day trip I was told that my horse, Bella, was breathing abnormally. The plan was to keep an eye on her and if she did not improve by Monday, we would take her to the vet. My mom, younger brother and I went to check on her and the other horses this morning. I could hear Bella struggling to breathe before I reached her. It was awful. It sounded like her air passages were constricted. We immediately called the vet's answering service requesting that the vet on call be notified of our emergency. We took Bella and one of the other horses who seemed to be headed toward the same problem. It seems they were developing a case of the flu. Thankfully, it had not yet spread to their lungs. It was simply upper respiratory, but it sounded horrible. I listened to it through a stethoscope. All quiet in the lungs (good)...all "scratchy" and awful in the throat (bad). I also listened to Bella's heartbeat. It seemed so special to listen to the heartbeat of my sweet Bella. The vet was shocked that neither horse had fever. Just something else for us to be thankful for. He gave both horses a shot of penicillin and something else I cannot remember (and even if I did remember I doubt I would be able to pronounce, much less spell, it). Since it is very likely something that will spread to the other horses (and indeed it seems to be as of our checkup earlier this evening) we were given some pills to grind up and mix with oats for each horse twice a day. Not much fun, LOL, but definitely worth it if it keeps the others healthy and helps Bella recover.

So, I will be up at 6 a.m. tomorrow to go doctor the horses. Good night!