So after deciding on Monday of that week in February that I was taking him to the hospital I made the appt for that Wednesday . As a side note I would like to add that I try to keep Ben as healthy & in shape as possible. He gets massages every 4 weeks, chiropractic work along with acupuncture every 8 weeks,& his feet trimmed every 4 weeks. He gets blood work done routinely 1-2 times a year to make sure everything is as it should be. He's lightly ridden & we just have fun together. He was just tested for Lyme this summer & was thankfully negative. I also had him tested for EPM this summer & he came up low positive so vet felt it wasn't indicative to treat so I put him on vitamin E as a support to that. Now that I gave a little more into the type of care I give him back to our journey.
The night before the visit was one of the most stressful nights for us both. I don't believe I slept nor did my barn owner or some of the workers. As stated in previous post he had to be fasted so no food... & he had to go in a stall to ensure he didn't eat anything... Well that didn't go over very well at all. To save a long story We tried him in a double stall , his stall, gave him ace per vets instructions, & he finally was turned out in the indoor ring for the evening. He would again not stop walking himself up into a sweat & have himself more cuts on his face by hitting his head on things. This was not the horse I knew he was unrecognizable & my heart was shattered.
Next morning I found him sleeping in the indoor, but when he woke & came to see me he was grinding his teeth which was new I've never seen him do that before. I assumed because he was fasted & wasn't allowed his gastrogard the night prior. Got him dressed in all his Back On Track gear & in the trailer & off we went.
Bens a good traveller in a sense he is very used to it from being a show horse all his life & he is very steady during the ride. He never got used to coming off though he tends to fly off. So after over an hour drive up north we arrive & I check in. They take him to a holding stall until the exam room was ready & straight away he proceeds to stall walk mindlessly. I go to the office area & wait until they are ready for us knowing I can do nothing to calm him.
After a short while they where ready for us. I go to the exam area & there Ben is being checked over. All came back normal for his physical upon arrival . He gets sedated & the gastroscopy begins. As soon as they reached the areas I saw them & knew exactly what it was. The dreaded ulcers . What I did not expect however was the amount , severity, & bleeding shown on exam. He was graded as having grade 2 and 3 ulcers in the squamous mucosa greater & lesser curvature, & glandular mucosa of the pylorus. After the gastroscopy the vet recommended an ultrasound to be sure there was nothing else going on because he said you can be fooled thinking it's just the ulcers sometimes. So we went ahead & did the ultrasound to get a better look at things. The ultrasound showed no significant abnormalities. He was found to have a smaller kidney on one side so they did a transrectal ultrasound to rule out kidney stones as a source of his issues. None where found nor any abnormalities. The Dr also did a fecal blood/albumin test for colonic ulcers which we would have to wait for the results until the next day. They also found he had cataracts especially on his right eye which means his vision is decreased to a degree. I have noticed he hits his head randomly especially on the right side so that explains that.
Medications prescribed where of course the gastrogard for 30 days along with Sucralfate dosed 4xs a day for 30 days. He was also to be put on anxiety supplement of some sort & alfalfa for his stomach. My regular vet had that covered she immediately put him on Shen Calmer & Stomach Happy. He was to continue the Succeed Vet Formula , & Assure Plus because again even this Vet who is a specialist said it was the best product out there for sand removal.
After all the discharge instructions & medications & Ben waking up from sedation , they gave him his first dose of sucralfate for the ride home & he had hay waiting in the trailer. He was happy to go home! So off for our hour long drive in the rain we went.
Next post the arrival home & the recovery process begins.
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