Re-cap on Megs

If you've been reading my twitter feed, or my facebook page... we've had some concerns Megs might be preggo. She was leased out last year so she wasn't under my supervision during the time she could have been exposed. I don't think there were any stallions around (in fact I left explicit instructions she never be brought within 50' of anything with balls...) but there was a gelding mounting mares in the field (which I didn't find out about until months after the lease ended). 

Meg do you have something to tell us?

Long story short, she's put on so much weight since she's been here it's hard to tell what's going on now. Meg always been an easy keeper, but after being under-condition she really ballooned up on all the hay & grass once she got home. So either way we're really hoping it's just fat, but she's on a diet. Steak went back in with his momma and the horses have moved to the back sacrifice paddock for the winter (where I can control their hay intake). Little earlier for steak to go back in then I wanted, but we have to do something about Meg's weight, it's not healthy.

It may also say something that the first horse the vet saw out in the paddock was Maddie (he was a ways away) and was sort of himing-and-hawing like Mads could be pregs (Maddie would be the gelding... uh, he's a boy.) So apparently we should just start a fat camp for skinny horses! (I owe all that to my first horse management teacher Joanna McDonald from Spiritwood Farm, she knows everything there is to know about nice fat healthy horses!)

Vet says the lump is just a fat deposit.
Yep, that's embarrassing!

The vet came out this morning but wasn't able to check because after 2 doses of tranq (she's not a cheap date!!) she was still trying to pop up and double-barrel him. Checking for pregnancy in a horse involves inserting your arm up their back-sides, you don't want the animal jumping around or you'll end up with a broken vet & horse. So he drew blood to run a test that way, hopefully it will prove conclusive & negative. We should know early next week.

Which means more waiting, and nerves for me, but the vet seems to think she's more fat then anything else. Unfortunately horses don't show a lot of outward signs that they are pregnant. Although Megs had some heat cycles, like all mammals, there are always exceptions to the rules and that doesn't exclusively rule out pregnancy. Big signs like udder-development don't always happen in maiden mares. Horses that are really fat (like Megs) can hide that they are pregnant so you won't even see foal movement.

Fat rippling or foal movement?
(The reason the blankets are on the ground
is I took Meg's off & dropped it in surprise.)

The vet & I also came to the conclusion that when we do want to breed Meg, live cover then just a wait-and-see approach may be best. (lol)

All I can say is the net is really closing in on Meg's former leaser... man, there are a lot of people in this area that are pissed off at that woman. She was given every opportunity in this business, SO many people (including myself) giving time, energy, money to help her succeed. I don't have an explanation for any of it. At this time I don't even feel the need to publicly rant on about the whole thing because everyone of consequence in our area knows (If you live in the area and don't know, and think you should, you can get a hold of me privately).

I guess that also really shows the benefits of speaking to people like farriers, vets, feed store owners, etc. when looking for a new trainer or instructor.

A friend of mine gave me a good chuckle with this comment:

"Yeah, my first horse got (fat) like that. Someone asked my if she was in foal and I said; 'No, but any day now we expert her to deliver a small green paddock.'" - Judy

Billy's Ball

So Billy is feeling a little lighter after this morning. A quick surgery (only took an hour, we just drove around town for awhile) and he'll be a happy wether here for the rest of his life! It cost us about $100, which we could have avoided by waiting a few weeks longer before with elasto-banded him the first time; but we were under the impression it was going to be a lot more expensive. Now we don't have to worry about his displaying ram behaviour with those huge horns of him.

Harry is happiest of all as he was the one Billy was taking out his, uh..., unresolved hormones out on...

Actually it was the same Dr. Ken Newman (who is also a vet surgeon) who fixed up Diego's Leg. The Prescott Animal Hopsital (where Billy went) and the Rideau St. Lawrence Vet (who fixed up Diego) are all the same practice, so I ran into all the same Techs today. They are all lovely people but I hope we won't be seeming them again too soon!

Diego's Leg

So Diego is all better, he was a total ham at the vet's office! I'm starting to think he'd make a great therapy/education goat.

His leg has healed very well, the vet says there is no movement at all where the bone has nit. He's got very little muscle tone in that leg, but I'm sure he'll bulk up pretty quickly keeping up with Harry & Billy. Diego's still a little hesitant to use the leg as he goes, but there doesn't seem to be any pain.

Now, what you really want to know. For the same price as a reasonably nice grade Saanen milking doe, preg. for next year, we fixed our adorable pet wether. The total vet bill was about $200, which the gals at Rooney's put in great context. If he was a dog or cat it could have easily cost us 5 times as much.

The vets at Rideau St. Lawrence did an amazing job with Dee. The cast worked great and the bone healed nice and straight. We could have DIYed the whole thing, and if it happens again may be we will, for now I'm just happy to have one happy bouncy goat back to health.

Diego's Bad Day.

That is one broken leg!

(sorry for the sideways, graphic if you're squeamish) 

I think one of the cows stepped on him, so now I've got to figure out a way to keep the goats out of the cow-side of the barn... no idea how I would do that.

Took awhile to get a hold of someone at the vet's office (and by awhile, I mean about an hour, but I was panicked), they got me to splint it before I brought him in. So I'm madly running all over the farm looking for anything to splint this leg with. I managed to find a dowel in the shop, and after 20 minutes the duct tape. Then I cut a piece of electrical conduit for the other side. (We're going to find something better and put it in the first-air box just-in-case.)

Now isn't that pretty!

According to the vet, I actually did a good job (I'm not convinced), got it longer then his toes, and kept the whole thing together until we got there. I had to splint it so that Diego didn't step on it or something, and end up with the bone out of the skin.

Diego was a trooper!! Took awhile to get the cast on so he was coming out of the sedative towards the end and he stayed quiet and well behaved for the whole thing. We got lucky because the break was clean and uncomplicated, and stayed under the skin, and there was no damage to the blood vessels; it's likely he'll make a full recovery. Diego's foot was still warm, even by the time I got him to the vet; if it had been cold we wouldn't have been able to save the foot.

The vet laid down tape, then gauze, then used wire on each side which you use to remove the cast later (I also got a great story about how at vet school they heard about what happens when you cross the wires then tried to remove a cast, the leg comes too), so they are taped down. Then the cast is over top of all that, with a bit of really stinky gluey stuff on the end as a 'shoe' to keep the whole thing together.

That is one darn lucky goat too!! You can splint it yourself and leave it, and if he was a market goat or something, that is what we would have done. But he's not, he's a pet, and my favourite (okay they are all my favourite...). All I can say about the whole thing is Diego you'd better be the best darn goat you can be, especially when the bill arrives!!

Had to run to the feed store since it was across the road anyway, and I was telling the ladies about what happened, the response was "Isn't it fun to be a farmer?". Of course they get a very sarcastic "Oh yes! SO much fun!!" but really, even days like this, I don't mind at all. Got to learn a lot of new things about the goats and do something I've never even attempted before (splinting). Wouldn't trade it for the world!

More poor Di

His back leg is snapped right in half in his back cannon. Started out this morning, when I first saw it, thinking we were putting him down, so glad for the internet!! I've learned goats are very resilient, and he should heal fine if we splint it.

(It would also help if my vet clinic would ever call me back when I ask them too...)

The swollen bit on his back right is just hanging loose.

I do need four hands though so I've got to wait until hubby gets home. For now he's resting in his stall with lots of food, water & he got a little sweatfeed treat too. The break is clean and under the skin, but we'll have to see how things go.

Poor Diego, his in pretty good spirits for the pain he must be in. I'm thinking he got stepped on by one of the cows (he was in his stall already when I went to turn the horses in), or he possibly could have gotten it caught up in something, somewhere.

Update: I managed to get is sort-of-splinted on my own (it's not pretty) and we're on our way to the vet clinic.