Saturday, October 10, 2015

Oh my . . . poor Arthur, our mule -- AGAIN!

When we let the horses out after all those trees came down last weekend, they were all just fine -- and SO excited about finally being allowed to go run around out in the back pasture since they'd been kept inside the paddocks for days while those guys worked on those trees.  So they all really enjoyed being back out in the pasture at last.  But then the next morning, when I went out to feed them, Arthur was limping -- apparently lame AGAIN.  Good grief! 

That happened with him back in April.  But at that time he had a tiny hole in the front of his left front hoof and we would have to soak that foot with meds each day, then put cotton filled with another kind of medicine inside that hole and cover up his foot each day.  But this time, although it was his front left foot AGAIN, there was no hole that I could see. So we called LSU and a vet came out last Monday.  (The regular vet, Ann Chapman, was off that week so the vet who came was new to me.)  Anyway, they found that there were problems on BOTH of his front feet, so they put some materials on the bottom of both feet so they wouldn't touch the ground directly.  Then they wrapped both feet up and they told he needed to be kept inside his paddock all the time.  So he's been in there all this week.  

But then yesterday Ann Chapman, our normal vet, came over and took x-rays of both his feet.  The right one was almost back to normal, but the x-ray showed that the front bone in his left front foot is shaped a bit less normally.  So he's getting medicine in his mouth now, instead of needing to put anything into his foot.  And they're planning to come back a couple times a week to redo those foot wraps. 

But for our great discovery, one of the students who came by with both vets said she loved our horses and she would be glad to come by and bathe both Duke and Shadow for me since I told them I was having problems doing all that stuff these days.  So she came by this morning along with a friend of hers (also from LSU Vet School) and the two of them bathed both the horses.  They did a great job!  And after talking with them for a while, I found out that they both love horses but although they had some previously, neither had one at the moment.  So I told them that they would be welcome to come ride Duke and Shadow anytime they'd like. They were really happy to hear that - very excited.  So I'm really looking forward to seeing the horses get ridden regularly once again at last!  

As for Arthur, though, although those covers they put on his feet are still on there, he's still not able to walk normally.  He still limps a bit despite the fact that he's getting his medicine each day.  Unfortunately, if those two girls come over to ride Shadow and Duke, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to join them on Arthur anytime soon.  Gees!   

And poor Arthur gets SO upset when he sees Duke and Shadow heading out of their paddocks into the pasture when he can't join them any more!  He absolutely screams bloody murder!  (I'm sure all the neighbors hear him as well!)  Mules definitely scream a whole lot worse than any horse could.  But eventually he does go back inside his room and lays down there for the night.  

Compared to the other horses who are 12 and 15 years old, Arthur is only 8.  And mules live well into their 30's.  So I sure hope they can eventually get him back to normal -- and I hope it happens sometime soon!  For one thing, he really REALLY wants to go out along with the horses - he adores both of them.  But it's also very difficult for Mark and me to handle those feet of his on a regular basis.  Our backs are a real problem!  And although the vet is glad to come handle his feet a couple times a week, I imagine the cost will be getting up there.  So I hope that won't be necessary indefinitely!  Well -- we'll find out eventually, won't we? Sigh.

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