The vet was scheduled for a Friday at 1:30pm She was scheduled for Rep my trainers horse who has been battling any eye issue. The right eye has had issues for the last couple of years. Usually its controllable, this time not so much. The vet has been out several times trying to figure out why hes not getting better. Turns out along with his chronic problem Rep also has a strange bacterial infection that eye and the regular antibiotics were not fixing the problem. Add to that a new ulcer and day after day the eye got worse. On Friday the vet said he needed more specialized care and he needed it now! Then the race to get Rep to New Bolton began.
We don’t have a trailer and a truck. Theres about 20 of them at my farm but on a Friday end of the day before a big show weekend we couldn’t find much help at the farm. I started making calls going down the list trying to get us to New Bolton before 6pm about 1.5 hours away in PA. ( I’m in MD) My friend Stacy was able to hook me up with a rig. She’s got a truck and uses her neighbors trailer and calls were made and we could borrow it. We raced to her house to hook everything up and pick up the rig. Talk about coming though, Stacy is a life saver! We hauled ass back to the barn and got ready to get on the road. Loaded up 2 kids, 1 dog, phone chargers, snacks from the vending machine all while getting Rep ready for travel and bringing in the other horses feeding them, etc. It was super chaotic but we got it all done and got on the road only 1 hour late. Which wouldn’t have made us too late if we hadn’t been given wrong info on the travel time. Turns out its a 2 hour ride to New Bolton.
We kept Stacy informed as to out progress though text and New Bolton in the loops as to out ETA. We got there with out incident. If you’ve never been to a horse hospital of this caliber let me tell you it’s impressive. Super impressive. We pulled around and followed signs to emergency and finally saw someone walking among the many beautiful rows barns. “Can you tell us where emergency is” His response, “Are you the eye case? let me call the admitting nurse” and from there it was a whirlwind of activity. We signed in the horse, they unloaded him, weighed him on the scale next to the barn. We all got to come in and see him being examined in a horse sized exam room in a heated barn. It was a freezing 25 degrees outside. Rep was a trouper and Sammy was holding it together but i could tell she was distraught. The plan was try to save the eye. We had 3 options. Treat medically, treat surgically, take the eye out. All of course at much expense. After listening to the DR the decision was made to treat medically though the weekend, see what happened then go from there. The DR said not only did Rep have a ulcer, rare bacterial infection but it looked like a fungus as well. We all kissed Rep good bye, left him there with a flurry of doctors working on him and then took the long drive back home to MD only stopping to shovel food in our faces for 20 minutes like hungry wolves. I got home well after midnight.
Sat and Sun no change to Rep. He was comfortable but around the clock medications were not fixing him. Surgery began to be discussed yesterday and thats probably what will happen today. This is not going to be cheap, not by a long shot but he DR thinks this is the best way to go to save the eye. He can come home a day or two after surgery is done. Rep is an amazing horse, hes an event horse thats gone training, Sammy has had him since he was only 2 years old. He’s the horse my better half rides. Hes a sweet guy with a lot of personality. I feel terrible this is happening to him and that Sammy has to go though this with him but i’m really hopeful he will get better and then its just figuring out how to pay for it all. Why wasn’t i born with a trust fund!
This whole experience has taught me a lot though. Among a few other lessons is i need a trailer of my own.The stress of a sick horse and then having scramble to get a ride from him on a Friday evening was almost unbearable. A trailer is imperative. So thats what i’m doing, i’m buying a trailer. I’ve been looking at options all weekend. Never again will i be in a position to not be able to get the animals in my life i love where they need to be in an emergency. That will not happen again. Thank goodness for Stacy for stepping up and helping us get there or id be writing today about Rep having one eye.
Dude, thank goodness for you stepping up, too!
Living where I do, we have to have hurricane emergency plans. At my old barn, the plan was always that I would hitch up BO’s trailer to her truck and haul ass north.
And now I have no plans. The goal is a truck and trailer, but I’ve been putting it off for financial reasons. Can hubs and I justify a third vehicle? Do I trade in my little marvelous hatchback for a gas-guzzler? I love that you’re able to do it and I’m so, so jealous. One day, I’ll be a grown-up, too, with my own rig!
It was too scary of a situation not to make me take action now. I’m getting the trailer and putting a hitch on my SUV. I can pull one horse in an emergency situation and i’ll get a truck when i can afford it next year or so. The Ecobost Ford F150s have much better mileage, i’ve been living with shitty mileage for so long now that when i can get the truck, my millage will likely improve. I only drive to the barn anyways.
wow! crazy! New Bolton is super impressive though – I went there twice in 2010 because Misty, too, had eye issues. it wasn’t an emergency though, thanks goodness. we went there two days before thanksgiving and then again two days before Christmas. we met with Dr. Utter who was FABULOUS! if I hadn’t been so worked up and stressed out from being there, I would have loved a little tour – that place is like no other. keep us posted with rep!!
It is an amazing place huh?! They took good care of us and Rep is on the mend. Were you able to clear up Misty’s eye issue?
so glad to hear rep is on the up and up! yes – she had ulcers in both eyes from October until January that year (2010/11). it was a nightmare. they mostly cleared up on their own, but twice they were stubborn and we had to have dr. utter debride them in order for them to heal. we never figured out what caused them.
And shes been eye ulcer free since your last visit to New Bloton? Or does she still get them and you treat medically? Eye stuff is scary because it can get real serious real fast.
yes, she has been ulcer free since (knock on wood!). the only thing dr. utter thought she might have was just dry eye syndrome, so I gave her eye drops every day or every other day for almost 2 years. eventually she told me to start weaning her off, which I did about a year ago. misty takes eye drops like a champ!
Happy to hear that! Misty is a special pony!