Man, oh, man. No one can lay on the guilt quite like a chestnut pony Arabian mare!
Arielle was due for her 5-month EHV-1 booster on Friday. Yesterday evening, I gave it to her. I used Prodigy, since I don’t have a ton of history on her and wanted to hedge my bets against an injection site reaction. Best laid plans…
When I went out to feed this morning, I noticed that she was holding her head/neck awkwardly and was reluctant to lower it to eat her breakfast. I held her feeder at chest height, and she was happy to eat then. She has a small, thumb-sized, swelling at the injection site but no significant heat. Other than being stiff and lethargic, she’s fine. No elevated temperature, heart rate, or respirations. She’s drinking and passing both manure and urine normally. She’s not grazing much, but she does nibble here and there, so I know she can put her head down - she just doesn’t want to. But she sure does have the sad puppy dog eyes down to an art!
Sheesh. The vet was just out two weeks ago for her regular fall vaccines (E/W/T and WNV). She didn’t react to either of those, but my invoice doesn’t indicate what brands were used, so I’ll call in the morning for that information and in case I need more treatment instructions or another visit from him. I’ll give the 7 month shot in her pectoral muscle, I guess, and maybe try Pneumabort K for that one.
As far as vaccine reactions go, this one is pretty darn mild. But I still feel a bit guilty. The poor girl just looks so sad and uncomfortable. :no: Anyway, just looking for a little commiseration; I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been there/done that.
