The moment I dreaded came to pass last week-I was sitting on the porch in the late afternoon, chatting with my mother. I glanced out at the barn, and saw Bochica standing in his stall with his head down. Uh, oh. Then he began pawing and kicking his stomach. I knew immediately it was colic. I went out and checked him--he looked absolutely miserable. When I called the vet, he told me to give him an injection of Bantamine and if it didn't resolve in a few minutes, to call him again.. The only problem with that was that I had never given a horse a "shot". He explained where to give it--a hand's width in front of the shoulder and halfway from top to bottom of the neck. Well, I nervously went out with my syringe. Bochica thought it was wormer at first and began backing up. But I soon calmed him (and myself) and managed to give it. Whew! That little horse seemed to know that I was trying to help him and stood perfectly still for me. I walked him around a little and the colic did resolve. Well, the next morning I went in to the vet's office to discuss the situation with him. He said we would just have to wait and see if he has another one. But imagine my surprise, as we were discussing my giving him the injection, he mentioned that I should have given it between the top of the neck and the spine! Wait a minute--isn't the spine at the top of the neck??? As it turns out, NO. I can't believe I have had horses all this time and never realized this. The vet even drew me a picture. Well, I immediately went to the library and checked out our new animal anatomy book. Sure enough, there it was--a drawing of a horse's skeleton. Check this out!!
It's a thousand wonders I didn't place the needle right in his spine. Luck was with me, though. I hit just the right spot!! I just can't believe I've been around horses all my life and didn't know this. I have talked to several others who didn't know either. Did you know this??? What wonderful creatures horses are!
 |
| Who knew! |
Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment