Yesterday was a tough one

*Quick sidenote, she is still alive.

I left the barn Saturday morning, knowing that I wouldn't be able to get back out there until Sunday afternoon at the earliest.  This is what happens when hubby has to go out of town for work, and one vehicle is on the fritz (AGAIN!!!).  Heather is competent though and knew the drill, and yet I had a nagging feeling.  I've had animals my entire life, and I know that many times when they are this sick, they seem to perk up right before the hammer comes down.

And so it was.  On Sunday morning, Heather told me that Ruby was not doing well.  She hadn't finished her hay from the day before, was in too much pain to graze, and the wound had swollen to an even larger size.  She sent me a picture and it was way more awful than the day before.  My heart fell, and I thought about my options while I waited for the vet to get out of church.  When I called him, he said 'You have three options.  You can take her to Surgicare, and they're going to charge you between $10-15K, Ocala has a good surgery center but if you're going that far, you might as well take her another 40 miles to the University of Florida in Gainsville.  University of Florida is the best option, and the cheapest, but it'll still likely cost between $2,000 and $5,000.  I can get you an appointment today.  Call me back and let me know what you want to do.'

Damn...and on the day when I don't have my trusty old Silverado at my disposal!  So, I was left with a dilemma.  I could make this happen, but how much tissue would they have to remove?  Would she be pasture-sound, or would my friend be looking at a lifetime of pain?  I'm one of those people that doesn't believe death is the worst thing that can happen, because I don't believe that we just vanish when we die.  For a while I just sat and tried to come to grips with what I might have to do in the next few hours or days.  Afterwards, I called the vet back and asked him if he could meet me at the barn to get his final opinion.  If she could make it through the night and be loadable the next morning, I would at least take her to U of F and get their take on the situation before making any final decisions.  He said he'd meet me at the barn in an hour (he is seriously the best).

Heather came and got me and my two mini-me's, and we headed out to the barn.  While telling my kids to stay in the tack room, I heard a neigh.  A Ruby neigh.  Walking around the barn, she neighed to me again.  When I got to her stall, I almost couldn't believe my eyes - she was so much better! 

She had eaten all of her hay (hallelujah!).  I put her halter on and walked her around the barn to open the gate for the vet.  While waiting for him, I started examining the wound again.  Actual pus was coming out, but the swelling and smell had gone down significantly - almost like an abscess inside it burst.  She was happily grazing and mugging me for cookies (she is so spoiled right now - I have been an overly generous pez-dispenser).  The vet pulled in and examined the wound, and said what I'd been thinking - she seems to be over the hump.  He left with a promise to be back out this afternoon or tomorrow for a final shot of antibiotics, though we are both still stumped as to why it got so bad so unbelievably fast.  He said it looks like the worst case of pigeon-fever he's ever seen, but it didn't present as such in the beginning.  The bacterium that causes pigeon fever lives in the ground, so perhaps it got into the wound as the injury happened?  We may never know.

This morning she was even better even before she got her bute - and pissed that she had to stay in last night (that's my irritable mare!).  No smell from the wound!  Hubby wants her to stay in again tonight, so she can rest, but I'm on the fence on that one.  We'll see when I go out there again this evening.

Apparently one of the other ladies at the barn had a horse get a similar wound during a hurricane.  She felt obliged to pass on the horse didn't make it because the wound just wouldn't heal.  They had to put him down.  Still, I'm hopeful that Ruby will pull through this - she's a stubborn, willful redheaded mare and as long as she's willing to fight, I'm willing to fight with her.