Horse Sense????

Last Friday the vet came out and gave the horses their annual shots. Everything went well and I thanked the vet for coming and bid him farewell until hopefully next year!

That evening I went out to feed the horses and put them to bed. I was startled to find Ki standing inside the barn when I opened the door. I blinked to make sure I was seeing what my brain was telling me I was seeing! Both horses were inside the barn, the part of the barn they are NOT supposed to be in. This is the part of the barn where I keep the grain, treats, meds, cat food, halters, leads, hog panels, shovels, rakes, etc. NOT a place for horses!

One of the numb nuts (most likely Cowboy) had gotten the latch unhooked on the door that goes out into the pen. Both welcomed themselves inside and proceeded to eat a half barrel of grain, an entire container of joint medicine, and half a bag of cat food. All which will kill a horse.

So I got them out of the barn and frantically called the vet and let him know what happened. It was nearly 8 p.m. so I knew that this was going to cost some $$$.

The vet came out and explained to me that he would have to tranquilize them and shove a hose up their noses and into their stomachs in order to administer a mineral oil concoction so the horses won't founder and die.

Cowboy got to go first. I nearly cried when the vet injected him with the tranquilizer. The look on Cowboy's face as the shot kicked in was heart-breaking as he looked to me for comfort. I assured him everything would be okay, and the vet continued administering aid.

I had never seen a horse tranquilized before, and believe me, its pretty pathetic. I was afraid both of the horses were going to fall down, but they didn't. Below are some pics of Cowboy and Ki looking like a couple of stoners!

Both horses ended up being okay but not happy about the fact that grain has been eliminated from their diets!

5/11....The saga continues....Once again I headed out for the barn tonight to put the horses to bed. Once again I opened the barn door to see two horses standing there. Once again, I called the vet in despair and total embarrassment to inform him that the horses did it AGAIN! Talk about feeling like an idiot.

So I am up tonight....checking the horses every hour to make sure they are okay. This time they didn't eat as much, but you never know. I had thought that I resolved the "getting into the barn" issue by securing the door to the pen. I thought the pulley door (top half of the door) was the problem. But when I found them tonight....the top half of the door was still secure. Cowboy (today he has been referred to with many, many names too profane to list here), learned how to undo the latch. I have learned my lesson in underestimating his "horse sense" and now realize that once a horse learns something if you don't want them doing it again, you have to change it completely.

The vet didn't come out tonight as he thought if I gave them some bute tonight and some tomorrow, they should be fine. So the watch continues.

Please pray for my horses so that when they get well, I can kill them. :-)