Friends are making me
A is BO, longtime (now retired) breeder.
B & C are boarders & personal friends of BO
B helps around the barn with chores: feeding, T/O, etc
C was until recently BM, but not popular with many boarders because she is prickly & opinionated < opinions often baseless
Both board 2 horses - actually B has pony & mini, C has horse & pony.
Yesterday I picked up A for a lunch date.
B joined us.
A casually mentioned that C - now acting again as unofficial BM, causing actual BM to quit
- had said Bās mini was lying down this morning, did not get up when she went into his stall.
But: āhe was not thrashing or biting at his gutā
So apparently noone did anything to check further on potentially colicing mini.
Lunch at noon, Cās observation at 8A.
We had a temp drop of 40 degrees from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning.
After lunch we go back to the barn & I go with B to check mini.
A goes to get her banamine.
Miniās standing, there is a small dryish pile in the stall - from ??? - but she doesnāt seem interested in doing anything else to check on him.
I ask her if she wants to check gut sounds, cap refillā¦ Crickets.
So I check both - report good gurgling on the right, not so much but still apparent on the left. Refill is fine.
She asks me if the gut sound is a good thing to hear. I tell her YES.
I suggest offering a handful of hay, he eats that.
If he was colicy he seems fine now, I call A, tell her banamine can go on standby
Now my rant:
HOW can a longtime horseowner - at least 20-30yrs+ each, possibly more - not know how to do a simple check for colic?
How can a self-proclaimed BM think because a horse is not in great distress, colic is not happening? Or check further herself?
Addendum:
Couple years ago having dinner with A,B.C - B reports when she fed (probably an hour ago) Cās pony had āGreen stuff coming from his mouthā
Does C excuse herself to check on pony? No.
After dinner I suggest we go to the barn to take a look at pony.
C & I go, pony is dribbling green from his nose.
Not a doubt in my mind he is choking.
I tell C she needs to call the vet.
She hesitates because āItās Sunday, I donāt want to bother herā
I advise this kind of Red Alert is exactly why you ābotherā your vet, regardless of time or day.
Vet comes & tubes pony.
I have had horses for over 30yrs, been around them for nearer 60.
How did I manage to get the elemental knowledge these 2 (3?) seem to lack?
The God of Fools must work overtime at that barn.