Tonka

My Hotshot Ashwood colt. He's coming around nicely.

Diva

Still no foal! She's driving me crazy.

Day 8 and 9 pics

Trick is doing better. I've taken him out and hand grazed him twice today, he ate the whole time. The pink skin you see is new skin. He is starting to shed off the dead hard skin that was killed by the venom. 

It's crusty inside his nostrils because he is losing tissue there too but it's getting better

You can see part of the dead tissue coming off his chin today and it's progressed more throughout the day.  He scratches his face on his legs, I'm sure it's itching. 

There are cracks on his nose, chin and corner of his mouth but is starting to eat better

The pictures do not look as bad as it really is

He has dropped a little weight but not bad. 

He waits at the gate for me to come get him. Even though all we do is spend time together while he grazes my heart soars with love for him. I ask him to please eat snd he does. It's happened multiple times, he will drink when I ask too. He's so smart. 

My poor baby but I've spared no expense making him well. Losing him was never an option. If this did any damage to him that is permanent he will retire here and just be my best buddy. I've had him since he was 3 yrs old. 

My love for Trick runs deep. He's picked me up off the ground before, has been my constant "go to" horse, was the first horse I rode after my accident.  He will be mine for life. This whole thing really put in prospective exactly what he and a few others mean to me. He is my heart. There's never been any question about him being a permanent part of my life. 

I have cried when no one has seen, worried when I've had to leave him to go to work, had Wes stay home with him when I had to run to town so he wouldn't be alone while I got what he needed, spent almost $500 on his treatments and I'd do it again. I actually had a friend/co-worker donate to help because she is a horse person and asked me to please let her help even though I said no. I've received so much emotional support and encouragement at times I was so tired I would lose hope. I honestly don't know who if anyone is even following this but it's more for my benefit than anyone elses. 

Trick means more to me than anyone knows. 

Trick will always have my unconditional love and my heart. He will be tested for orgsn function before he is even ridden. We are looking at the whole summer for healing. 

Starting vetrycin tonight ss it does work wonders. 

I finally had to give this over to a higher power because there is only so much I can do. He will remain on antibiotics until healed. 

Started putting vetrycin gel on him evening of day 9 which is April 26th. Interested to see results after a few days. He was all for me spraying it on him. Go figure. 

Trick

            My baby boy

          15 yrs old now 

Day 7

Day 7 Trick update morning:

Trick is eating better however his top lip isn't really moving, he kinda scoops the feed with his bottom lip and his tongue. I also started seeing him "park out" which leads me to believe he is having stomach issues probably due to banamine.  Instead of getting full dose in the morning and partial dose in the evening I am going to start splitting morning dose into 2 parts thus doing away with seperate evening dose. Started him on pro bios this morning.  Not sure it will help but at this point can't really hurt. It's more supportive care. So starting today he will not get his evening banamine and tomorrow he will get 5 ml in a.m. and 5 ml in p.m. and try to wean that down. Using unscented lubriderm on his leathery nose, face, mouth and chin, he hates it but I'm seeing some improvement.  No sloughing of tissue yet although it's probably inevitable since its hard and leathery. Not all areas have lost hair so I'm hopeful for those areas. Will ask my vet this afternoon about stomach and get suggestions when I pick up meds.

Day 7 Trick evening: well I picked up more medicine for him, but he will be getting cut way back since he was parking out and I just do not want ulcers, plus went and bought a bunch of pepto for him to take once a day. Out of 4 ounces I think I wore half an ounce. He is not a fan. To bad. He is apparently feeling a lot better, he made me chase him around the pen so guess who isn't going out to pasture tomorrow.  If I can't catch him in the roundpen then 18 acres will be impossible. He is tired of being poked and prodded I'm sure and having stuff put in his mouth. He has cracks in his chin and on corners of his mouth. So it's started with the losing of dead tissue. All the more reason he is not going out. Now need to get some vetrycin.  He actually let me put lubriderm on his face. Apparently compared to the pepto it was the lesser of the 2 evils. He did start shaking because he was chilled from the rain so I put a sheet on him and again made me chase him around the pen. Seriously my little brat? Lol. Wes came and helped, And Trick took him mud skiing. Yup, Wes did great, never fell. He has his sheet on now which is better than locking him in the barn. He was eating when I came in lol. 

No banamine tonight and depending on how he is tomorrow will depend on whst he gets tomorrow.  Bought a 3rd bottle of antibiotics for him. I hope it's the last. 

Anyway it looks like we are doing good today. One day at a time!

Day 6 Trick Morning

Well Trick was looking forward to his breakfast this morning and he had eaten his hay from last night. So hopefully it's going to be a good day today. 

I took him out last night to graze in the yard. He grazed for 5 minutes or less then rolled in the grass then just laid down to rest. So the little grazing he did apparently did him some good anyway. Like I've said before it's going to be a long long road, blood tests and time.....lots and lots of time. 

He does better when he has his banamine 2 times a day. 

Long Road

It's going to be a long road for complete recovery for Trick. 

I let Belle out to eat her grain and she headed for his pen. She misses him so much. 

Day 4 Afternoon

Swelling reduced even more and he wants to eat his dinner. 

He will get Aloe lotion on this evening to help with dryness and itching. 

Over the moon happy. Poop is not as dry, there is a lot more of it now. I've had Trick a long time. Come on buddy, our travels are not done yet on this earth. Love you sweet boy. 

Day 4

Well this morning Trick came and met me at the gate. He was more interested in his feed this morning.  This is so up and down. He took his shots like a champ as usual. This evening we will attempt some yard time so he can graze or see if he will graze. 

I did notice a considerable reduction in swelling this morning and more pee and poop spots in his area. 

He seemed more perky too. 

We will see what this evening holds. Today is the first day he will be left alone for the day. Makes me very nervous. 

Trick Day 3

Well Trick is a fighter that is for sure.

I consulted with my veterinarian this morning and showed her the report from Saturday from the vet I had out because she couldn't make it which was understandable. 

Anyway, she said keep him on antibiotics and I got more banamine but injectable. His mouth is still swollen and sore. 

The yellow in his eyes is barely there now. He still isn't eating much but he is eating some. I keep food in front of him. Will make grool for him this evening 

Snake Bit Trick

This is the first time I've dealt with snake bite in anything much less one of my horses. I can tell you it is nothing you want to deal with. It's going to be a long road to complete recovery and will likely be months before he can be ridden. Today is day 2. 

I discovered Trick yesterday morning not acting right at all. The swelling was not real pronounced so we didn't see the bite marks on his nose until yesterday afternoon.  They were not visible when the veterinarian was here. Everything progressed throughout yesterday.  His eyes and tongue were so yellow (jaundice) thst it looked like a bright yellow fire. The treatment for snake bite is supportive care such as banamine, sedative to keep them calm, antibiotics and plenty of water if they are drinking, which he was. If they aren't then it's IV fluids. Trick was unaware of his surroundings,  unresponsive to stimulation and was randomly striking out, almost falling over when being forced to move, would not lead, would kick out hard with his right hind leg. He was flinging his head and he knocked me to the ground a few times from his random body fits. We finally got him to the roundpen (about 15 to 20 minutes) because he could not walk in a straight line and someone had to push him from behind while I pulled from the front, then rested him, then more push/pull until we finally got him there. Vet loaded him up with meds, they do not use antivenom on grown healthy horses. He remained on sedatives until his last dose this morning, is on banamine twice a day for 3 days and on antibiotics twice a day until further notice. He was bitten on his nose. One hole by nostril snd one in the middle of his nose. We still have some concerns but todsy he is much better.

Below: yesterday after jaundice set in. His tongue was also jaundice which means it was affecting his liver

Below: Trick barely able to stand and moving is not an option unless it was one of his fits of striking and kicking

Trick is no longer having neurological attacks, no striking or kicking today and the jaundice is considerably lighter today. He is drinking a lot more water now and he is not flinging his head anymore.  He is no longer ataxic at all. He is not laying down today like he was yesterday.  

Below is Trick today, Sunday, which is day 2 of snake bite. 

I've spoken to the vet twice since being here and we are going the right direction even though its far from over.

His recovery will take months and we have yet to see what we are dealing with as far as necrosis on his nose. Our hope is that we got meds and support in him fast enough to minimize or head off necrosis.  
He is so much better today he put his front hoof in his fresh water to play in it today. 
With the exception of swelling, he is pretty much back to his old self. 
I will be staying home to keep an eye on him just to be safe. He will remain pulled up from the pasture indefinitely until we know extent of damage to both his insides as well as his face. 

Diva Spa

Today Diva got some grooming and I checked her bag and by her tail head. Foal moving. Diva enjoyed her msssage.