Schlepped out to the barn, and sure enough, a hard lump on the right side of her face. Its not terribly tender or hot, but she clearly doesn't want me messing with it. She was eating normally, so I left her for hte night. it looked better the next day, and I found some serum-y bits on it, so I thought it was a swelling from a tick bite.
No such luck. By Sunday it was bigger again, but still no heat, swelling or problems eating. I called the vet Monday, and she was out Tuesday. The short answer? Jen had a broken tooth. It was cracked in half and sticking out sideways into her cheek. She couldn't get it out, she needed oral surgery.
So on Wednesday morning, I loaded Jen up to head to the vet clinic. She was a good girl considering she hadn't been on a trailer, or even out of hte paddock much, since she got here 3 years ago, leaving her babies behind. It only took about 15 minutes and a handful of treats.
She arrived at the vet clinic definately nervous and upset, in a sweat even though it was only a 30 minute ride on the hightway. I gave Jen a kiss, and told her that she would be home the very next day.
Jen's procedure went well. The clinic removed the #4 premolar due to a grade 3 caries and saggital fracture, and packed the socket with antibiotic packing material. They had to go in through the nasal cavity to punch the root out from above.
When I picked Jen up, she looked quite unhappy. she was tucked up and thin looking from just 24 hours. She looked depressed and miserable. They said she was eating, but not well.
Jen loaded up with no problems, and rode quietly home. I unloaded her in the driveway, and as soon as she recognized where we were, she had a definate pop in her step. We made it up the hill, I brought her into the paddock and all her friends were so happy that she was home! Jen went and had a good roll, then a looooong drink of cold well water, then itched all over on her favorite scratching tree, before settling into some hay.
But, Jen wold not eat her grain with the doxycycline in it. Jen is allergic to SMZ, she had an allergic reaction when she had the stick jammed in her coronary band. She hates doxy. My daughter (and Jen agrees), that it smells like Sharpie marker. So Jen has been refusing her grain. Flat out refusing. I've been adminstering metronadazone rectally, and she is fine with that. But the front end feels like it has to argue with me. Jen has never liked pastes, and she was just dewormed last week, after all, why would I be bugging her with this stuff already?
I tried everything to disguise the doxy, I mixed it with molasses, yogurt, Nutrient Buffer ( a gut buffer), alfalfa pellets and soaked hay cubes. Nada. Now she won't even come at breakfast or dinner time, a horse that used to dig to China because it took me soooooo long to walk 10 feet to her.
Well, I think I finally have the answer. Take 45 doxcycline pills and pulverize them in the blender until they are a fine powder. Now wait a half hour for the dust to settle in the jar before opening the lid and inhaling said doxy dust (don't ask), add a tablespoonful of water, and a teaspoonful of good organic molasses. Suck it in the tube, and adminster, chasing her head up, downback, and forth with her jaw firmly clenched and her sending the daggers of hell out her eyes into your temples. Once that goes into the front end (or on my clothes, or in my hair), next is 60 cc of Nutrient Buffer, which his to help her belly from all the antibiotics and stress. Next will be a dose of yogurt. The a temperature taken rectally to monitor for infection, then a tube syringe full of melted Metronadazole gets adminstered rectally as well.
Did I mention how disgusted Jen is with me? She LOVES me any other time of day, but at feed time, she hates me now. Poor Jen.
