Mustang Saga

Worry worry worry. Just when I thought I wasn't going to have to talk to the vet again for a while. Something is wrong with Soxy. And I have to wonder if vets are trained to tell you the worst case scenario. I understand where he's coming from, I need to know all the possibilities, and my kids ride that horse. Nobody wants her going down with a kid (or anyone) onboard. But it causes me all kinds of stomachache and worry.

She has yellow stuff draining out of one nostril. Lots of it. It's not thick and globby, just a liquid running out. Kinda foamy the second time I looked.

Possibilities: Sinus infection, tooth infection, guttural pouch infection, tumor.

Also a worry: Liver, heart, or kidney problems. I mentioned how easily winded she is and he was pretty concerned.

So he's coming out today. Will do bloodwork and he'll check her over and we'll go from there. (Why did this have to happen when it snowed again and I can't trailer her to the vet?)

I'm tempted to call Soxy's previous owner and give her a heads-up, but I don't want to worry her over nothing. I'll wait until after I have more information.

Then I'm led to another thought. If Soxy has to be put down, should I have Coda put down at the same time? His two joys in life are that mare and food. Other than that he's old and sleepy and stiff with constant painful diarrhea . He did live without Soxy for several months, so maybe he wouldn't be severely depressed, but she's part of his life here at our farm, and with her gone, what will happen to him? Should I shorten his life by several months just to keep him from grieving, or wait and see how he does? Could I, and most especially, the kids, handle losing both of them at once? I don't think so.

I hate making choices like this. But hopefully I won't have to. Hopefully it will be something simple and easily treatable.

Keep us in your thoughts.