Post by msdani1981 on Apr 18, 2015 23:08:23 GMT -5
Okay, I am officially um...close to...one of the worst rescuers on the planet!
Cami came home in January 2014, and I had the vet come out about 10 days after she arrived. He said that she needed her teeth done, but they weren't terrible and he wanted to wait until she was stronger before he sedated her (she was about 200lbs underweight). There was a spring special on floats, so we were going to do it then. My barn buddy decided to put it off, and so I put it off too (we try to split the farm call whenever we can). After awhile, it completely slipped my mind.
She finally got her teeth floated today, and I feel like a complete a**hole. She'd never had them floated before, which we found out because she had a rotten chunk of a baby tooth that she didn't lose for some reason. Dr. Sauter said "Hmmm.....this is interesting. She has a piece of tooth that shouldn't be there. I'll have to look at that in a minute." He finished filing her teeth, and went back to the "interesting" area. He was using a curved flathead screwdriver type tool, and he said he was using it in between her teeth to try to pry it loose, and then got his forceps and as soon as I asked if she would need surgery to get it out (he was having a really hard time) he yelled "Got it!" and said it was the biggest chunk of a baby tooth he had ever pulled from an older horse. In addition to that, her teeth were really sharp.
This was long overdue, and I feel terrible.
My poor girl. No WONDER she didn't like any of the bits I tried! I mean, I was using one of the mildest bits that I know of, a french-link eggbutt snaffle. I think the only thing milder would be a rubber mullen mouth snaffle.
He was really satisfied, saying "It's so nice to get my hands on these horses, and know that I really am going to make a big difference." I absolutely ADORE Dr. Sauter at Kulshan Vet in Lynden.
On a really positive note, she is now a 5 on the Henneke scale (the Henneke scale is a body scoring system from 1-9, with 1 being emaciated and 9 grossly obese...5 is ideal) and he was amazed when I told him that he had scored her at a 2.5 during her first visit. He said "You've done an excellent job!" That made me feel good.
But still, I feel bad! LOL I know, she'll be much better now, so I don't need to feel bad anymore. I'm taking care of it. She'll have an exam in 3 weeks, to make sure the area where he pulled the tooth is healing okay, and will have another float in 6 months.
Cami came home in January 2014, and I had the vet come out about 10 days after she arrived. He said that she needed her teeth done, but they weren't terrible and he wanted to wait until she was stronger before he sedated her (she was about 200lbs underweight). There was a spring special on floats, so we were going to do it then. My barn buddy decided to put it off, and so I put it off too (we try to split the farm call whenever we can). After awhile, it completely slipped my mind.
She finally got her teeth floated today, and I feel like a complete a**hole. She'd never had them floated before, which we found out because she had a rotten chunk of a baby tooth that she didn't lose for some reason. Dr. Sauter said "Hmmm.....this is interesting. She has a piece of tooth that shouldn't be there. I'll have to look at that in a minute." He finished filing her teeth, and went back to the "interesting" area. He was using a curved flathead screwdriver type tool, and he said he was using it in between her teeth to try to pry it loose, and then got his forceps and as soon as I asked if she would need surgery to get it out (he was having a really hard time) he yelled "Got it!" and said it was the biggest chunk of a baby tooth he had ever pulled from an older horse. In addition to that, her teeth were really sharp.
This was long overdue, and I feel terrible.
My poor girl. No WONDER she didn't like any of the bits I tried! I mean, I was using one of the mildest bits that I know of, a french-link eggbutt snaffle. I think the only thing milder would be a rubber mullen mouth snaffle.
He was really satisfied, saying "It's so nice to get my hands on these horses, and know that I really am going to make a big difference." I absolutely ADORE Dr. Sauter at Kulshan Vet in Lynden.
On a really positive note, she is now a 5 on the Henneke scale (the Henneke scale is a body scoring system from 1-9, with 1 being emaciated and 9 grossly obese...5 is ideal) and he was amazed when I told him that he had scored her at a 2.5 during her first visit. He said "You've done an excellent job!" That made me feel good.
But still, I feel bad! LOL I know, she'll be much better now, so I don't need to feel bad anymore. I'm taking care of it. She'll have an exam in 3 weeks, to make sure the area where he pulled the tooth is healing okay, and will have another float in 6 months.
