Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The One with the Sudi Update

So Sudi is now on antibiotics for four-six (most likely six) days. We had another “Wham-ing” episode last evening though. Apparently the drug he’s on curdled or went bad or something, but I don’t think we caught it in time for his morning shot. It had obviously curdled by the afternoon though and changed to a gross milky color.

When I brought him inside the barn yesterday evening, he was markedly lethargic and his eyes looked completely downcast. It was at this time that I noticed his antibiotics had gone bad. We ended up giving him a dose of good antibiotics as well as Banamine, and a bran-mash to help him keep hydrated.

His neck had a HUGE lump on the left side (most likely from the bad dosage), and it was obvious that it was painful. I took his temp, and he was running a slight fever too. I tried to put in him outside in the ring so that he could keep moving and help his neck recover. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stand the pain to even put his head down to graze. I stood in the rain watching as he would reach down, pull his head back up, and then paw in frustration. I know that about him; he paws when he is indignant, saying no or just plain frustrated. He ended up just standing there, head hanging.

Due to the cool temps with the rain and his fever on top of that, I decided to leave him in his stall over night. I’m not sure whether he was just ok with coming in or the banamine was kicking in, but when we fixed him a hay net that he could actually reach, his eyes lit up, and I saw a brief sparkle of the Sudi I know.

It’s so heartbreaking to see the “light” gone from my baby. He is SUCH a good patient and stands so amazingly well for his shots. His attitude is also so great and forgiving – even after these many weeks. I feel like he will still do anything I ask. I just hope he returns to his normal self after all this is over…whenever that may be. *huge sigh*

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