DEEP IN THE PINEY WOODS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS

Friday, June 17, 2011

Meet Hatchet...The newest member of our Family

We bred Hawk to a friends mare last year. She was going on vacation around the time the foal was due so we agreed to do foal watch. We brought the mare to our house and a few days later I rushed her to the vet. She was not able to have the baby herself. He had to be pulled by chains on his front feet. He was kinda skinny but other than that, very healthy. His mom for some reason was not so happy for him to arrive, She totally rejected him. I had to keep her tied to try and get him to nurse and she still kicked him across the stall. I ended up milking her for 2 days to get him the colostrum, but she would not produce enough to fill him up. Had to make a flying trip to tractor supply for milk replacer. His mom dried up so we brought her back to her home and he took up residence in the back yard with the big dogs. His owner came home a week later and gave him to us. She does not have the know how or the time to bottle feed a colt. We are excited to have a baby out of Hawk since the mare we bred did not take. Not so excited about the every 3 hour around the clock feedings. I know why we have our kids while we are young. Now the challenge is to teach him he is a horse and will someday weigh 1000 lbs and he cannot sit in your lap. I guess he will fit right in with the rest of the spoiled critters around here :)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hawk

Hawk lost the fight with his illness yesterday. It breaks my heart to know that I could not save him. He was the sweetest ,gentle and Beautiful Stallion I have ever owned. It was so hard to go to the barn this morning knowing he would not be there. I am the animal fix-it person. I am really having a hard time with not being able to make him better. Keith is taking it hard. I bought him Hawk for his Birthday. He was soooo proud of him. We can't even look at each other with out crying. I know we did everything possible to save him, but that doesn't make the Hurt any less. Please keep us in your prayers

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Hawk

For those of you that have been keeping up with our stallion and his illness. We brought him home after 3 weeks at the Vet. Under the circumstances he is doing great. They weren't able to do surgery to remove the hematoma. It was just to big. The hole they would have had to chisel in his face would have been huge. Doc was also afraid it was attached to the main vein that feeds blood to all his face and brain. If that was the case he would have bled out on the table. A&M has been doing a experimental procedure where they inject this things with formaldehyde. The success rate is only 30%. and there can be some bad side effects. Mostly from the formaldehyde eating through the bone that protects the brain causing neurological problems. The recommended % for the injection is 10% and has to be done repeatedly until it shrinks. The more injections they have to do it the higher the risk of side effects. After one injection there was no change. We were at a having to put him down spot he was so bad. Doc took a huge risk and injected him with a 40% solution. Thank heavens he is still alive and doing well. The formaldehyde also destroyed is taste buds. He went off his feed for most of the vet stay. I was pretty shocked when I saw the weight he had lost. After being home a few days and trying him on some different things including cake scraps. He is eating his full ration and gaining weight. His breathing is loud because of the air passing by the remainder of the tissue. We are working on clearing up the infection in it right now. What is left of it can't be removed, it is attached to the main artery and there would be no way to stop the bleeding. He will live out the remainder of his days her as a beautiful pasture ornament and breeding stallion. So thankful for our dear friend Doc Howell.