Vet Check

Andy had his checkup today, and it went wonderfully!

When I went to get him from the pasture, I think he knew something was up. 99% of the time he lets me walk right up to him, or he comes to me, but today I had to chase he around for 15 minutes to catch him. What a turd! I eventually caught him by petting another pony and making him jealous. It worked. There's two things that apply to my all my (2) animals: no matter what I do, they're skinny, and they're jealous. Lilly stays skinny despite all of my efforts, and she is super jealous of the other cat when I pay attention to the other cat. Why should Andrew be any different? Now, if he has to be on thyroid medicine too I will really be creeped out.

Anyways, there was a new, super cute gray horse in the pasture that was obviously nervous at being in a new place. He followed us to the gate, and stayed there pacing and screaming to Andy. Great. The last thing I wanted was Andy to act herd-bound when the vet came, and the gray was riling him up a bit. Luckily, I used my awesome distraction ability of HAY and GRAIN, and Andy calmed down completely. The vet was a little late, so we both kinda pooped out waiting. Andy was being super cuddly and friendly. I walked out of his view once to check and make sure the nervous gray wasn't still pacing the ridge by the gate, and Andy perked right up and got upset when I was out of view. Ah, true love!

The vet that came out was super nice. I'm so glad I decided to go with that particular practice. He started off by checking Andy's heart and lungs. I myself almost had a heart attack when he told me that Andy's heart rhythm was irregular. It was seriously this blind moment of panic, until I listened to what the vet was saying. Apparently, Andy has a 2nd degree atrioventricular block, which is not harmful at all and fairly common in athletic horses, such as races horses or polo ponies. Apparently, Andy has a textbook case of it, which I thought was very interesting (but thankfully nothing to worry about!)

Andy got a thorough check-up, and everything looked pretty darn good. The vet said that Andy looked very good for a horse of his age and experience. His teeth have some sort of weird slant that make them not quite match up, but other than that they have obviously been well cared for. So he's in need of a float sometime soon, but not desperately. But Andy did pitch a fit when the vet looked into his mouth. He did not like that at all!

The vet also watched Andy moved, and thought he looked very good. Which means no more lameness!!! Yay! He noticed Andy's club foot (front left), and could tell how it slightly affected his gait, but not in a really detrimental way. So we are ready to start back up with dressage lessons and light trail riding.

So Andy got two vials of blood drawn, and two intramuscular shots in the neck, and he didn't even flinch. Go figure. I thought he'd throw a hissy fit. Nope, he saved that for the strangles vaccine, which is intra-nasal...up the nose! Haha, he did not want that tube going up his nose. Fortunately, that goofball is no match for a determined vet and assistant. What a doofus. He doesn't give a crap about a needle stuck in a vein, hanging out of his neck, but try and touch his nose or look in his mouth and he gets all cranky.

As for his weight..there's no glaring issue, just some little things I can do, such as keep his teeth floated every six months, keeping up with his worming schedule (according to the fecal egg count, his worm load is low, so I'm doing okay!), and upping his groceries. He's an old horse, and he's teeth aren't the very best, so the vet also suggested significantly upping the amount of Senior feed he's getting, up to as much as 10 pounds a day. I'm still trying to work this out, as I only go to the barn once a day to feed, and my BO won't feed grain...well, maybe I can talk him into it. I'll work something out by myself if I have to. Maybe going to the barn in the morning or afternoon and feeding, then leaving grain in the stall for when he comes in. First I gotta figure out if I'm getting one of the jobs I'm interviewing for this week, and if so what my hours will be. Anyways, as long as his blood tests don't show any hidden problems, his weight isn't a huge issue. The vet said that thoroughbreds tend to be difficult to keep weight on and have much thinner physiques, and Andy probably will always have a lean, athletic body-type. All of which I knew, but it makes me feel better to hear it from the vet.

So, all in all it was a good day! The vet said Andy was a sweet, well-behaved horse in very good condition for his age, and that I'll probably have quite a while of good riding time with him. :-)