The Case of the Runny Nose

Doesn't that title sound Sherlockian?

I couldn't resist.

I mean this post has absolutely nothing to do with my favorite super-sleuth Mr. Holmes, but I've got to add a little personality somewhere...

Anyways...

I posted before about Mya having a respiratory infection. I had the vet up and we put her on a round of powdered antibiotics, while that worked for awhile, eventually the runny nose/nose bleed/respiratory infection came back.


I think it is due to the fact that Mya did not get the full amount of antibiotics in her system. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of eating them in her feed.

So a second round it is.

This time I am making sure she gets the stuff in her system.

I was a little worried (ok maybe a lot) at first because she seemed to lose her appetite earlier last week. She wasn't eating her feed and wasn't very interested in the hay either. The vet was called and he said to come down to the office and pick up more medicine and put her on a second round of it. Because Mya wasn't eating I obviously couldn't put it in her feed so thus enters the oral syringe.

Boy, was that fun.

I gave her the dosage of medicine via oral syringe for two days. Then I decided to try mixing it with her feed again. The mucas had cleared up a little and she was starting to act a little more perky.

Round one I tried mixing it with apples pieces, molasses, brown sugar, and oats. I cooked it all together and it smelled so good I was just about ready to eat it. But that was a no go. This horse has weird taste buds.

Round two, I decided to try something different. Peanut-butter and a little bit of honey.

Peanut-butter...!

The winning combination!

I didn't know my horse liked peanut-butter. But when I mixed that with a little oats and a little bit of her normal feed (medicine cleverly disguised inside), she immediately showed some interest in it. I left it there for her and when I came back a couple hours later it was all gone.

Peanut butter!

I then basically proceeded to walk around the house with a silly grin on my face mumbling that word. 

Yes. I was really happy that my horse actually ate something. I had been pretty worried about her.

So now Mya has had her third dose of peanut butter-ized medicine and it seems to be working. Horses can be pretty finicky but I'm hoping she'll continue to eat it. She also ate all her hay for the first time today so I think that is a good sign.

We're not out of the woods yet, but I think we are getting there.

Meanwhile, despite all the mud, Lady seems pretty happy. It took her awhile to recover from that abscess episode, but I think she is doing a lot better now. Though she did loose a shoe (mud) and I need to call the farrier tomorrow to have it put back on.

Here is a picture of her in the "front" less-muddy pasture.

2014 is almost over! Wow. I feel like that flew by really fast. This is possibly my last post for 2014. So if I don't write again before then, see you all in the new year!