Our equine vet, Dr. Bill Brown, came out today to examine our blind mare Madison. The Idaho Humane Society brought Madison to us a couple of months ago. Shortly before leaving their Boise rescue ranch for the trip to Montana, Madison had been kicked in the jaw by another horse. The Idaho Humane Society folks had a vet work on her there and she arrived with the jaw looking pretty much healed. We finished out her prescribed medications with no sign of any continued problem. Just recently, however, an abscess-like swelling developed at the injury site on her jaw. The usual medications did not make a difference.
Our vet suspects that a bone fragment has broken off and Madison's body is now trying to reject it as a 'foreign object.' We took Madison down to the medical suite in Beauty's Barn so she could be sedated for a physical exam and X-rays. The photo shows Bill with his portable X-ray machine, while vet tech Vicky Cruz is holding the film against Madison's jaw. We can't develop the radiographs on the ranch so it will be another day before we know what the problem is.
Very cool. I wonder if a vet school at WSU or another University would co-op with your ranch and get you some relief on the vet bills, this is really quite a facility with many possibilities. Many vets have students working in their clinics, and why not extend this to your ranch?
Posted by: Karen SA/TX | October 07, 2005 at 04:02 PM