Freedom is feeling better now but on Sunday, he gave me a bit of a scare.
I’d taken Zelda out for a ride. He looked fine when I arrived; he’d galloped up to the fence and begged for some extra hay. But, when I got back, he was just not right. You know what I mean — you come out to the pasture and your horse is standing funny or has an odd expression on his face, or is just not looking like himself.
In Freedom’s case, he was standing with his back to me, slightly tucked up and his tail was held to one side. I pulled him out of the paddock and he started to clench his tail down hard.
He didn’t look colic-y, but he didn’t look right either.
A quick call to the vet confirmed my suspicion that Banamine was required. My vet also suggested some milk of magnesia, as Freedom’s muscles were very tight.
Thankfully, he responded well and twenty minutes later, he looked noticeably better.
I’m still not sure what made him feel off — my guess was the big temperature swing we had here. It was 93 on Saturday and just 61 degrees on Sunday. It’s possible he also ran a bit when Zelda and I were out, although he wasn’t hot when I got back.
I’m just glad his body language was so clear and direct — and that I had Banamine on hand.
Thank goodness you trust your knowledge and instincts!
I think that it’s one of the benefits of being in a self-care barn. When you see your horse every day, you start to recognize the very small things that may point to a larger problem. Since horses are prey animals, they are likely to try to conceal any signs of weakness. Freedom is also a pretty stoic horse so when he looks uncomfortable, it’s worth paying attention.