This is what I wrote the second day she was with us.
Black Beauty aka Sapphire was found by a young man I know from the local feed store.
He said he thinks he saw her go through the auction on Hwy 20 in Nov or Dec.
He said he thinks he saw her go through the auction on Hwy 20 in Nov or Dec.
He also said she was hit by a car and she looked it. She is about as thin as our dear Hail Mary was but she can get up on her own and has
a good appetite. I am very hopeful she will recover but...
this morning when I went to let her out of her stall, she was laying on the
ground, not moving, not reacting to my calls or even my touches. She was on her
blind side so I couldn't see her eye. I could hardly tell if she was breathing.
I looked at her gums and they were pale. I wondered if she was just dying. What
should I do? Let her die in peace or try and get her up. I am alone, no one was
home or here to help. My husband went to work, my son drove Mitchel to school
and Bobby won't be here for another two hours. Should I call the vet? Gosh, so
much races through your mind in seconds. Finally her ear twitched but she didn't
move. The hay from last night wasn't touched.
When I fed her late last night, I shoveled the wet and dirty shaving from her
stall so if she chose to lay down, she would have a clean place to be
comfortable. Maybe she was too comfortable now, just laying there. I got a lead
rope and tried to pull her, she just laid there almost without any reaction. I
went to get a halter, wondering if it was the right thing to do by trying to get
her up. Was her life now almost over? Was I causing her undo stress? I thought I
at least had to try something so to my surprise, when I got back to her stall,
she was siting sternally. I was soooo happy. I spoke to her and told her to get
up, come on girl, 'Get Up'. and she did! Then she started eating hay. I opened
the stall guards and after about 20 minutes, she came out. She ate her food this
morning and made her way to the front grassy pasture. She made it another day.
Thanks enough to be thankful for. I will take each day as a blessing. We are
lucky to have her.
this morning when I went to let her out of her stall, she was laying on the
ground, not moving, not reacting to my calls or even my touches. She was on her
blind side so I couldn't see her eye. I could hardly tell if she was breathing.
I looked at her gums and they were pale. I wondered if she was just dying. What
should I do? Let her die in peace or try and get her up. I am alone, no one was
home or here to help. My husband went to work, my son drove Mitchel to school
and Bobby won't be here for another two hours. Should I call the vet? Gosh, so
much races through your mind in seconds. Finally her ear twitched but she didn't
move. The hay from last night wasn't touched.
When I fed her late last night, I shoveled the wet and dirty shaving from her
stall so if she chose to lay down, she would have a clean place to be
comfortable. Maybe she was too comfortable now, just laying there. I got a lead
rope and tried to pull her, she just laid there almost without any reaction. I
went to get a halter, wondering if it was the right thing to do by trying to get
her up. Was her life now almost over? Was I causing her undo stress? I thought I
at least had to try something so to my surprise, when I got back to her stall,
she was siting sternally. I was soooo happy. I spoke to her and told her to get
up, come on girl, 'Get Up'. and she did! Then she started eating hay. I opened
the stall guards and after about 20 minutes, she came out. She ate her food this
morning and made her way to the front grassy pasture. She made it another day.
Thanks enough to be thankful for. I will take each day as a blessing. We are
lucky to have her.
She gained weight and became a almost overweight mare. She was full of life and healthy. I never thought I would have trouble keeping her healthy until she was 30 something. he future was looking good. I think she is in her mid teens. Then that changed when she lost some weight in the winter. She was in a pasture with 2 other horses who didn't need grain.
She spent some time at Jan Hester's farm. Jan offered to foster her and had some healthy tricks up her sleeve to help Sapphire. Jan could make sure she was getting fed and getting some special supplements and get her feet in perfect condition. Jan's an experienced farrier. Early this year she started losing weight, then gained some weight and lost again. She started to seem depressed, sad, eating only part of her meal, picking at hay. Then other times seem like she is back to her old self and then not herself again. We did blood work in February, gave her some medication and she seemed like it was the answer. It wasn't. She came back to the rescue farm last week. She had a hard time in the heat, can't keep her body temperature regulated without drugs. We did many alcohol baths and Dr Leah did blood work again. Same symptoms, no real answers so Tuesday, we took her to UGA large animal medical center in Athen, GA hoping for an answer. Sapphire has many who love her. There were 7 of us who spent the day watching the ultra sound on her chest, abdomen, her heart and more. We all huddled around the ultrasound machine hoping to hear an answer of what was going on. It was like taking a college class for us and the doctors were very patient and answered all our questions. Abnormalities were present in her lungs, some fluid too but nothing stood out. A mass in her abdomen but not answer whether it is an abscess or cancer. No answers so far so we agreed to a belly fluid tap. We saw the liquid yellowish sediment on the bottom of the vile which wasn't normal. That still gave us no answers. We agreed to xrays but they gave us no answers either. Sapphire was getting exhausted, so were we. We decided to let her stay in an air conditioned stall, eat lots of alfalfa and most importantly, IV antibiotics to see if an infection is the answer. It has been 24 hours now and little change. More tests were do today. Fluids taken from her chest and abdomen today. All inconclusive.
Wednesday, June 27 2012. After talking with Dr Leah and Dr Erin at UGA, we decided to give it another 24 hours and hope and pray something good happens. She isn't a good candidate for surgery in her condition. It would be intense after care, if she survived and no one knows what would be found when they opened her up. She is dehydrated because there is fluid being taken from her organs and settling in her chest and other places. Her heart rate is high and working hard. Things are not right but we can't figure out exactly what. Hoping the antibiotics will perform a miracle on her body within the next 24 hours. The estimate was $2000. from UGA. I hope we can keep it that low. If we save her, it is a small price to pay. Pray for her future.
6 comments:
Sending positive prayers, energy and thoughts her way. I miss that girl that followed you around the rescue and was in your face, hands and pockets looking for treats. I miss that girl and want her back. Thanks for the update Cheryl. I've been praying since I saw her last week and will continue to pray.
Prayers coming from Kingston GA.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.
Praying for this sweet girl, daily. Love her so much. I hope what is best for her at this point happens, and selfishly I hope that means staying around with us a good while longer. I was so blessed to have you here with us for those short 5 months, my dear girl.
Hoping and praying that Sapphire make it and is here for a lot longer , Thank you Cheryl for doing what you do!!!!
I am thinking of that pretty girl, I always loved her and have missed her. She always seemed to keep Roy on his toes. I would love having her back at the rescue following me around. Hang in there Sapphire!
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