Yesterday our sweet Chilli filly suffered from a painful stomach ache. Horses cannot vomit, and are one of the only animals that can die from a stomach ache, this is called colic.

I had not seen much of the horses over the course of the day, which in itself is a bit unusual. However, this is where I have to be honest, we have been cutting back a bit on their hay the past couple of days because we are nearly out and have no plan for our next load, and I think they were out searching for food.

We received a lot of donations in December, which was amazing because our expenses for December, were much higher than usual because of the wind storm. We didn’t have electricity for nearly a week, and during that time had to hire help to bring water in twice a day enough for 9 horses. That expense alone soaked up nearly all of our December donations, so here we are low on hay, and limited funds to purchase more.

Also buying hay is simply difficult. I have searched for hay, but all I have been able to find is a 4 hour drive away. I have another phone call to make to check out some other possibilities but it's easy to tell arrangements to feed horses is not easy. And our horses are very spoiled.

Most horses are fed a certain, specific amount, twice a day, and that is it. I, however, knowing that horses produce stomach acid 24 hours a day (so if they are not eating they can easily get ulcers) I try my best to keep hay in front of them 24 hours a day (which is relatively unheard of), which keeps them happy and healthy but also means they waste a lot by stepping on it. This is especially true of Oliver who leaks urine all the time and can’t help it, so if he is around he is really wasting a lot of hay if there is too much on the ground.

We have discussed all the different types of hay feeders there are, it's always a conversation that comes up when the hay stack gets low. But discussing building a hay feeder that works, is easy to clean, and that horses won’t get hurt on, is just a distraction from the greater issue, which is that we have to get more, and soon. If there is anyway you can help us accomplish that, we would greatly appreciate any and all help we can get https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Resqranch

Regardless, I found Chilli down and rolling inside the barn. I watched her but when started rolling again, I knew she was in trouble.

I immediately separated her and got her up. We gave her some pain meds, and I did some acupuncture on her. We then walked her around and kept her from laying down and rolling. If horses roll, they can twist their intestines and die. The whole thing took over 6 hours before I was certain she was going to be alright. We kept her up and walking, and checked on her, and waited for her to poop. But after the pain meds she seemed brighter and didn’t have such a pained look on her face. She stopped trying to lay down. She showed interest in food. We let her have some water. We checked on her every 20-30 minutes to make sure she was up and seemed ok. I didn’t release her back into the herd until she passed some stool, which she finally did and it looked loose and abnormal, but she seemed to be ok and is going to make it through, I am grateful for that.

Today I am grateful Chilli is ok this morning, that she didn’t have a more serious episode of colic, that I knew just what to do to help her right away, that I had pain meds and the ability to do acupuncture on her to help her recover faster, that I was home and happened to see it happen, and that I had help taking shifts checking on her, that it was not more serious, that she didn’t die, and that she was a good tolerant girl yesterday during the entire unfortunate situation. Thank you to those who said a little prayer for her yesterday, it helped her.

​Today is Saturday and I am off to work. We are usually quite busy because it’s the weekend and things always seem to happen on the weekends, am I right? I am excited to get to see some of my favorite patients and their caretakers. What are you excited for today? Do you have fun plans? Are you going to do something nice for yourself today? It’s not too late to make a plan. It’s the start of a new year. It’s a great time to take those little shifts, drink more water, sit on the floor and stretch, take a moment to go outside and take a deep breath under the full moon (it’s beautiful right now), and just take a moment to realize how lucky you are to be alive, and what that means to those around you.

You are here for a reason, enjoy the journey. Have a wonderful Saturday you Animal Loving Angel!

​Check out my YouTube channel for a daily "Good Morning!" from the rescues and lots of free tips and training resources. https://www.youtube.com/@the1drq