The Bay Wonder Mare has been losing weight. Not just a little, but quite a bit. The barn owners were concerned and so was I. Isis hadn’t seemed like her normal self. She seemed lethargic and quiet. Dull. I taped her tonight. Before the surgery, the weight tape said she weighed 950-985. Tonight, she taped at 812. I’m calling the vet first thing in the morning. We have to be able to put her back on some grain and hopefully her supplement to help fight off the skin crud she has.
Insulin resistant horses like Isis have trouble with heat. Insulin resistance is similar to a pre-diabetic condition in people: the horses who have this metabolic issue do not process insulin (and sugars) normally. IR impacts everything else in one giant cascade: IR horses’ immune systems aren’t quite at 100%, heat affects them harder than other…
It seems like I barely have time to be at the barn, maybe once per week? This is the time I really need to be out there. How could I have forgotten that three years ago it was this time of year when Isis had laminitis? I was supposed to go to a belly dance…
All of the kitties are going to the vet tomorrow morning. Ambush and Stella are having fluids. Kiesha is going to be tested to see if she has a UTI like the other two, and if so, she will needs meds. The farrier is also coming out tomorrow morning for Isis and Kasane. He’ll check…
The question of whether to breed or not to is especially hard to me. I grew up on a breeding farm. We bred the best Crabbet and Egyptian Arabians (later only straight Egyptians) we could afford and always made sure they found homes. My primary mare, Isis, is a product of the Crabbet/Egyptian breeding. She…
I think I should expand my consulting business to include “horse health specialist.” With all of the special requirements Isis has for managing laminitis and insulin resistance, I’ve learned more with her than all of the years I’ve had horses. Low carb grain. Grazing muzzles. For months, last year through the beginning of this year,…
The barn just called. Isis may be having another episode of EPM (neurological disorder), like she did back in June. She isn’t as bad as she was then, but she still isn’t “right.” I’ll write more when I know more. I’m on my way out to the barn now. Update: It’s not EPM. It’s choking….