reaction

Major didn't keep feeling better. On Sunday evening the barn called me, he was laying down and not eating. I went over and he got up when he saw me, and half-heartedly ate his dinner. I walked him out to eat some grass, he was moving OK, and enjoyed his green snack. I made him a mash and put him away. I stayed at the ranch and kept an eye on him, he was quiet, slight fever and did eat all his dinner, seemed to be drinking as well.

But Monday morning he was down again...and I called the vet. Major was laying down when I got to the ranch from work, but laying down eating his breakfast. He got up when he saw me, but was very listless. The vet showed up and was great. She thoroughly looked him over, and thought it was still vaccine reaction, and not another illness coming on. Major was a good boy for IV Benamine and getting his blood drawn (I'm pretty squeamish and tried not to look). Hoof testers were negative and he didn't have a fever. We decided to be careful with colic possibilities and give him some mineral oil, but not to tube him. Major happily eats mineral oil mixed into some stable mix/beet pulp, so it was less invasive to go that direction with his care.

I was really concerned that my walk on Sunday afternoon had caused him some problems, but the vet reassured my that walking and eating grass was just fine. It is hard when a horse like Major is willing to do things for me (walk, get up when laying down, etc.) to know if he is masking his own pain.

I hand-walked him (per the vet) and got some good green grass eaten. Then a mushy soup with mineral oil, which he was eating as I headed back to work. The stable fed him another batch that afternoon, and I gave him a dinner too. Wet his hay (which he was not a fan of) and kept him in his paddock. He was looking a bit better Monday evening. The vet called and said that blood results showed low white-cell count and normal kidney values, meaning he may have been getting a little sick before he got the vaccines, which pushed him over the edge, or that the vaccines just didn't agree with him. Some other blood things she explained but it is hard to remember/understand them all.

Tuesday morning he took his medicine fine, and when I checked him at lunch he was pacing his paddock, wanting out. Hand-walk, more grass, some mush, and back in the paddock. He wasn't laying down, eating everything, much more himself, hopefully on the road to recovery. I'm optimistic but still cautiously worried, they're so damn fragile for being so big!