Proud Mama

Just a quick update to say that Walker has been sprung from the vet clinic.  He is back safe and sound at the barn, and decidedly happy to be there.

Unfortunately, he has lost a lot more weight than I initially thought.  For some reason, it didn't become apparent until I walked him out of his stall, at which point my barn owner immediately turned to the vet assistant and asked what we could give him to fatten him up.  Yep.  It was that obvious.  I would say, rough guess, he has lost somewhere in the lines of at least 100 lbs, if not more.  He is about to be switched from our performance feed (which is lower in fat) to a fattening feed.  Because he was bred to be a stocky horse, it is crazy noticeable on him.  Right now, I'd wager that he is skinnier than the thoroughbred in the stall next to him.

On a happier note, the vet assistant and stable hand had nothing but good things to say about Walker.  Other than his irrational dislike of oral medications, they said that he had impeccable barn manners.  The vet assistant told me that in her 20+ years, she has never met a horse that would simply let you give him a needle in his hind end without holding his halter or securing him to anything.  She thinks that we could probably do his teeth without bothering to sedate him as well (although I wouldn't put him through that).  She was not surprised to learn that I clipped him in his stall the other day without a halter on - clipped his whiskers, the hairs around his eyes, everything WITHOUT A HALTER.

Despite all that, he has become super weary of everyone coming into his stall.  He can do a mean turn on the haunches in a flash if he thinks you're there to give him his oral meds.  So whereas before he'd let me go and rub all over him, now he has a weary eye to me and if I so much as make a sudden movement, he's spinning in his stall.  I don't blame him though.  He just spent almost 2 weeks at the vet clinic where the only people who entered his stall (other than when I visited him) were there to administer some sort of medication.  I'm hoping that once he settles back into his barn life and realizes that not everyone is a trained professional ready to stick him with something, he will calm back down to regular Walker.

Until then, we have 10 more days of oral meds that have to be administered twice a day, oh joy, oh joy.  I'm doing the night time ones (when I'm available) and my barn owner is going to do the rest.  Unfortunately, I am busy over the next week or so finishing up exams, going home, appointments, etc. but she doesn't seem to mind.

She has offered to give Walker unlimited hay free of charge though, which is sweet of her.  She told me that if he can eat it, he can have it.  Once he regains his appetite, I think he'll be happy to discover that.