Monday, January 3, 2011

One week down...

...now maybe I can stop expecting to show up at the barn and find Seamus dead in the paddock! Okay, okay... so maybe I'm a little melodramatic, but his condition was kinda scary last week. The first photos I took of him actually make him look like he carried more weight than he did. He tottered around like those steps were gonna be his last and I'm glad to say his walk is a little more firm now and his body doesn't look quite so dessicated.

The vet came out today to do Seamus' exam and draw blood for a Coggins test. Dr. Burnes spent quite some time listening to his heart and gave me the news that Seamus does have a heart murmur and was likely born with it given he is still a relatively young horse. He did say that it will probably not affect him in any noticable manner, though. Seamus was a fidgeter, but I took hold of his lip and in true racehorse form he stopped moving entirely for quite some time.

I did get some new photos today:





And here are two headshots; as you can see, Seamus has a fine profile and very expressive eyes:



And before I leave you for the night, I want to give a great big shout-out to COTHer SonnysMom for sending Seamus a nice mid-weight blanket and a bag of horse treats. I am ever so grateful to the folks who have sent Seamus donations of any kind- we've had several monetary, the blanket and treats, and the initial vet work donated to the big guy... much love and our undying thanks for helping us get through the first week!
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4 comments:

  1. Katherine L. SchmidtJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:08 PM

    Hey Shannon! What does he need? I can see if I have extra stuff laying around :)

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  2. Shannon (de Waal) HaydenJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:18 PM

    Hi Katherine! The most important thing he's gonna need, aside from feed and hay, is going to be a light weight turn-out once we hit our rainy season (spring). He's going to be a size 76-78". Once we get into spring, a mid-weight is too heavy for the temps but he will still need something on to stay dry. A regular stable blanket wouldn't be turned down, either ;) Thanks so much!

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  3. Herecumztrubble0January 7, 2011 at 8:34 PM

    I have a THIN and used baker stable sheet... I don't know if it would be very hepful, it is very thin and it has a few holes in it. :( Defintely couldn't be used for turnout, unfortunately :( --Katie

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  4. Shannon (de Waal) HaydenJanuary 8, 2011 at 4:15 PM

    Katie, if you don't need it, Seamus could use actually :) In the spring, he can come in at night and wear it. Even if he does get a light-weight turn-out, it rains here so darn much it would be nice to be able to put a dry blanket on him for the night. He's going to be a bit more "delicate" than my mares for awhile until he adjusts to being a real horse and not a hothouse flower racehorse! I can reimburse shipping, happily :)

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