Ginger is recovering from her surgery, and will be for the next several months. When she first returned home she was moving reasonably well, however after a couple of days, all of the pain relievers that were given to her during the surgery wore off. She's been getting Equioxx, which helps a little, but she is now pretty sore. This was expected. Both the surgeon and the farrier warned of this and they said that we would notice some improvement after two to three weeks. It has only been eight days since her surgery so we are managing through this. Natalie changed her bandages on Saturday and on Monday, our vet will remove Ginger's stitches. Two weeks after that, our farrier will be out to do her first post-surgical shoeing. She is very good about the confinement, she is getting all the hay she wants and she gets grain, which I have begun supplementing with a calcium and phosphorous powder to meet the needs for peak lactation. Her colt is now three weeks old and the peak period for milk production is around four weeks. Making sure she has all the nutrients she needs can prevent some other problems so that is why I'm supplementing her.
That leads us to Adrian. Born A Lopin Machine, aka. Adrian, was our best show horse. She won futurities in 5 states, she won an NSBA Reserve World Championship, and a bunch of AQHA Highpoint awards. She carried and delivered her colt by A Touch Of Sudden with no difficulty this year and she foaled out with little complication. Four weeks after delivery she showed signs of colic, was rushed to an equine hospital. The vet recommended and we approved emergency surgery. I notified the insurance company, they wished us good luck and said to proceed. Sadly, she did not survive the surgery. She had a double torsion of her colon and too much of her intestinal tract was damaged to save her. The technical term of her condition is a "large colon volvulus". The most common horse to develop this condition is an 8-10 year old mare 30-60 days after foaling. Tragic as this was for us, we recovered and are now focusing on what we can do for her orphaned foal and what changes we can make in the future to try to prevent this from happening. I have to say that without the guidance and care of our dear friends at BSB Quarterhorses, we would be lost. I am in awe of how much they know and what they can do. These are great horsewomen. They did everything possible to save Adrian and they did save her foal Reggie by keeping him nourished and calm and adjusting to life without a dam at just five weeks of age. In this month of honoring women, these are the women I would like to honor. Their job is thankless, requires tireless work and dedication, with constant stress and not nearly enough compensation. They even provided Reggie with a buddy, Johnny Deer.
Then there's Charlotte and Mae. Charlotte, Certainly A Maiden, is our newest broodmare. She delivered a beautiful filly by Lazy Loper on January 3rd. Mae is her name and she is big and strong and was developing without a problem. About a week ago, our other farm hand Tracy noticed she was coughing and acting lethargic, so I took her temperature and it was almost 104 degrees. I immediately called the vet and she said get her to Michigan State ASAP because we had a case of rhodococcus last year and the symptoms presented were reflective of rhodococcus. My wife and I got her and Charlotte in the trailer's box stall, which is essential for a breeding farm, and we headed off on the 100 mile drive to Michigan State. It did not take long for the veterinarian staff to confirm the diagnosis of Rhodococcus. Fortunately, Mae responded well to the treatment and after one week she was allowed to come home to our farm for further treatment. She gets Rifampin and Azythromiacyn and she will be on them for up to three months. However, her temperature is in the normal range and to look at her you wouldn't know she is sick. She still coughs a little but nothing like she was. This is a long haul but her prognosis is good.
This is what we've learned from this experience. Take your foal's temperature regularly and be aware of any change to their behavior. We did buy our own ultrasound machine to monitor changes in their lungs. We have learned to look for certain changes and if anything suspicious occurs we call our vet. This is something the big thoroughbred farms in Kentucky do and we decided to do the same thing.
It's been quite a week at Painted Plantation, one we won't soon forget. Next time you think about breeding your mare, be ready for the unexpected! Their lives and the lives of the babies depend on you and your ability to take care of them. And sometimes, despite taking every precaution and following the best practices known, tragedies can happen and you've got to prepare yourself for that as well.
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