Alita's Story

Week Four

June 23rd-29th

Finally Some Progress

   Alita does not like her SMZ tablets at all. They seem very bitter to her. We dissolve 15 tablets in a large syringe at her AM & PM feeding and give it to her after her Bute. Want to make sure she gets all of her pain killers. We are going out to check her at least 3 times a day to see her progress.

  I have told Alita that I would make a deal with her. If she bears a little weight on her leg for a few days I will give her just enough area to step into the sunshine outside her stall. This space will only be big enough to walk out and then back up back into her stall as there won’t be room to turn around.

  Alita must have known what I said because the next morning she was bearing a little weight on her leg. That along with her healing session must have done her some good. I praised her and gave her carrots for treats and told her 2 more days of this and I would give her the sunshine she wanted.

  Later that afternoon the neck cradle arrived and just one look at that thing and Alita decided she wouldn’t chew her bandage again. Must have scared her to death because she didn’t chew on her bandage again all week. It was the site of it or the last time she took it off she made it hurt and she decided that wasn’t the way to go. She still rubs it with her face occasionally however she never chewed it the rest of the week.

  Two days later and Alita is still bearing weight slightly on her leg so I keep up my end of the bargain and give her about a 4 x 4 space to step into the sun. She LOVES it. I then told her 3 more days and I will extend that to a small 12x5 size run so she can actually turn around in it. Every night I check her and tell her it will be alright and to fight this thing. She’s a war horse and can beat this thing.

  The bandage changes are getting easier as she is getting used to the routine. We ordered 14 rolls of vet wrap as the cost was ½ that of buying it in the feed store. She would stand patiently as the first wrap came off and then it was wrapped again. We also had mounted a fan for her on the ceiling of the stall which I think helped her stay cooler and therefore more comfortable.

  She finished her next round of SMZ tablets and I was happy not to have to try and get 15 pills at a time down the pour girls throat. That’s A LOT of pills at one time even if it is laced with lots of corn syrup. She was doing so well on her leg that we cut her Bute back to 3/4 AM and 3/4 PM. We were concerned of Kidney problems with excessive use of the Bute. It was only ½ a pill less but it was less anyway.

  Two more days went by and she was doing very well on her leg. She was walking with barely a limp and she was looking pretty good. Still very alert and alive. Even if her leg wasn’t 100% on the outside she looked it. Keeping my promise I extended her area so she could take a few steps turn around and go back in her stall. We began to put her hay outside her stall to encourage her to enjoy the sunshine.