DAY 79 & 80 - Lyme!

When I went out to the barn to feed Mr. Possum after I finished my last post, it didn't take me too long to see that Possum had more swelling on his face.. this time, along under his jaw to his lower lip. Alarmed, I sent Ryan a text, and she called me right away. We decided it was time to have him examined by her DVM, Dr. Judd. She had called the office already, once or twice, just to run the previous concerns by Dr. Judd.. and we decided that we had let things go as long as we could, and it was time.

Swelling under the jaw.. (turns out it was a tick bite)

She warned my that it would be expensive.. that he'd probably want to draw blood and test it, and that there could be expensive medications to buy. That's what credit cards are for, right?

We lucked out in that Dr. Judd was half an hour away on another farm call, and had a cancellation.. so he was able to come up here that morning. He arrived at 11:30, and the first thing he did was draw blood. In his truck, he had a blood testing machine, and it took eight minutes to get the results. Meanwhile, he examined Possum.. took his temperature and vitals, checked his hooves. His heart rate was 32, which he said is good! He said his coat and weight looked good, and he even listened to his stomach sounds.  He suggested I buy some vitamin E 400 I.U. capsules and apply some onto the scar that just won't go away on his front left cornet band.. good advise.

Then, we got the results from the blood test, and sure enough, it indicated that Possum tested moderately strong for Lyme. Damn ticks. This was the most basic of tests (he knew I wasn't able to financially go whole hog on tests, and that the horse isn't even mine!), but he assured me that this test was pretty reliable.

After checking out the swelling under his jaw, he discovered another tick that I had missed. He shaved a little hair off and got the little sucker out. I was instructed to hot pack that a few times a day for the next few days. So, that explains why he was swollen there. Then he explained that the swelling I had found on his jaw on Monday afternoon was something not to worry about. I forget exactly what he called it, but something with words like  "gullet" and "pocket." He assured me it would take care of itself.

So, as we chatted about Possum's routine, feed, amount of exercise and personality, we also chatted about music.. turns out Dr. Judd is a drummer! Pretty funny. We even knew a few of the same people in the Maine music network. He played me a snippet of one the songs his band covers, and he is an excellent player!

Dr. Judd also explained what we know and don't know about Lyme disease. It's been running rampant in this state this season. It is not necessarily curable, but it is treatable. If we were to do nothing, then eventually the disease would effect his joints and make him a miserable pony. So, to keep Possum happy, we need to treat him with this very, very expensive drug.

Then it was time for Possum to receive his first dose of the drug. This was given intravenously, and he described it as the "grandfather" of the drug that I would be giving him for the next 45 days, Doxycycline. It took a couple of minutes, and Possum was as patient as he could be, given he had giant needle stuck in his neck. Poor pony.

After that, I was able to let Possum go, but he still hung around anyway as Dr. Judd gathered his tools and doled out more stuff for us to have. The Doxy was to be dropped shipped to me in the next day or two, and I was to start him on that right away. He left me with a big jar of Bute (like "Motrin" for horses), that I was to give to him twice a day for 3 to 5 days. A jar of Probiotics, to help his tummy deal with the drugs, that I was to give him a dose once a day. And, he also had me buy a 3-dose tube of  Banamine, which is a muscle relaxer. This is to be used in case the horse gets colic. I now have his cell phone number, and a list of what to do, in what order, in case of colic.

I still have to buy an thermometer, some electrolytes and some vitamin E, but I'm feeling pretty damn poor at this moment. I nearly passed out when he gave me the bill. At the same time, I knew it wasn't going to be cheap. It was worth it, though, to now know what the heck has been going on with the little guy!

Before Dr. Judd left, I asked him about riding, and he said I should keep riding! Only, on that day, Tuesday, to just do half of our regular workout. So, we said goodbye, armed with our drugs and information, and I sent Ryan, Luanne, Donna and Brad a text to fill them all in.

After a couple of hours, I brought Possum into the stall, brushed him off, tacked up, and off we went for a half hour ride. Over to visit Big Mack, around the field a bit, down the road to Lenny's, then back. He was a little sluggish, but seemed happy to get out. Later, I got a tub of hot water mixed with betadyne and applied a washcloth to the tick bite under his jaw. Then, I got his pellets, mixed in the Bute and the Probiotics, plus some molasses and carrots skins and some water. He hasn't been wolfing down his hay like he usually does, so there were a few piles left in the paddock, but I did leave him another big flake in his doorway where he likes to stand. At midnight, I brought him out another flake or two. He was hanging outside, it was super mild.

On our ride on Tuesday afternoon, after the vet.

Wednesday morning, it was still nice and mild, and he greeted me with a little whinny. I mixed up his pellets and water with the Probiotics and Bute, and a little bit of molasses, and he ate it all. Adam from the Q-Team drove in the driveway, to show Darren what needed to be done. They promised to be back later, and I was surprised when the big bucket truck rolled in the driveway at 10 in the morning, just as I had finished getting dressed after a shower. I quickly blow dried my hair and went down to greet them. The boys worked fast. When they got closer to the barn, I grabbed Possum, unplugged the electric fence, and walked him out to the driveway. He was very relaxed about the whole thing. While we were up there, FedEx came by, and I was happy to see it was our Doxy! We could start that night.

When the boys finished with the branches at our place, they rolled down to Dad's to work on the trees down there. I put Possum back in his paddock and walked over to Dad's to watch. These guys are pros! By noon, they were all done with both projects, including clean up!

The Q-Team bring in the bucket truck.

I had a quick lunch, then I brought Possum into the stall and groomed him. Then I gave him the hot pack treatment under his jaw, as well as under his back legs, where I discovered a few more tick bite bumps. He stood very still for this, though he's not crazy when I apply it under his jaw. Then, I tacked him up, mounted up, and off we went for a little jaunt. I've lengthened my stirrups, and I'm getting used to that.

We rode down the hill to Dr. Doyle's, picking up a little trot in the usual place. Then we walked back up the hill, with a few stops along the way to rest. We trotted a bit more past our house, then walked past the barking dog. We visited Sadie, the German Shepard, tied up in the garage. We visited Big Mack, hanging out in his paddock. We rode around the big field behind the Dodge home, a few trots, and a canter in each direction. The first canter, he attempted to "buck," (again, just the little head wiggle and hop), and I even heard a little squeal come out of him. So, I thought that was a good sign.

After the field, we walked down to Lenny's and around behind his house, but then it started sprinkling, so we trotted back to the road and even cantered a few strides up the hill. We walked home and got back after 45 minutes. I thought that was pretty good.

Saying hi to Big Mack on our Wednesday afternoon rounds.

I finished up with him, then ran downtown and was back within an hour. I fluffed up his stall, picked his paddock again, scrubbed out and refilled his water buckets, and then proceeded to mix up his dinner. Pellets, warm water, a scoop of Bute, and one level scoop of the Doxy. I gave it to him, and I could see he was not too psyched. He nibbled away, then walked off a bit. Oh oh, I thought. So, I got the feed tub, and added a few carrot skins and ends, and a squirt of molasses. That did the trick!