Seriously 2020? Go to hell.

Actually, the last 12 months have been hell with the horses. And my emergency budget is gone.

I mean, there was Batt and his heaves. Then Batt and the colic with the multiple emergency visits followed by the clinic and the end. Let’s not go there.

Then Subi losing his mind.

Then Subi tried to die on me.

Then Subi’s ulcer treatment.

Then Nay Nay decided that he was missing out and got ulcers (in his defense, he probably already had them) and developed an allergy to soy.

3 months of ulcergard, 1 scope, lots of alfalfa, and a diet overhaul later, Nay Nay was healed.

Then Subi decided that it was a good time to grow grapefruits for hind legs.

And Nay Nay’s back hurt and he started acting like a fool requiring a saddle fitter and new saddle.

Then the farrier came out and asked how things were. Saturday at 12pm things were good. No REAL disasters. My husband said the famous last words. “No major vet bills lately.”

An hour later? I was on the phone with the emergency vet on call.

Guess who felt left out?

JIMINY. Jiminy decided it was a good time to CHOKE.

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Emergency vet call for this guy…

A post shared by Sarah Katz (@katzs44) on Sep 12, 2020 at 10:51am PDT

ON GRASS.

Scariest thing every.

With more sedatives in him then any miniature ever should have, the vet and I wrangled him the best we could and tried to tube him. Pony shook and reared and fought with every bone in his 300lbs body. Many attempts later? We succeeded and thought we resolved the choke.

Then he started coughing. Then retching. Then green started flowing out his nose again.

So, we tried AGAIN to tube. More sedatives. More fighting. His nose was too small to twitch. We tried. At one point? He gave himself a bloody nose and blood was flowing everywhere. While supporting the entire body weight of a mini, I was also coated in mini blood. It worked for a while until he fought so hard I almost fell and the vet pretty much twisted her wrist. We got a little more fluid in him before calling it an afternoon…while he was still choked.

See? There is a limit to the amount of sedatives a 300 lbs pony can get. And we reached that. So, with a muzzle on, we left him to try and resolve it himself. Jiminy got some banamine, Ace, and Excede. 7:30 I checked back in with the vet and the direction? Hand graze and if he starts coughing, call her back and more tubing. Thankfully he did OK.

The next morning, he had mucus discharge and coughed a bit at 5am, but did ok at 7am for his grazing. Then later on? Found peppermints in wrappers and ate those… WTF pony… But, other than an initial freak out and coughing spell, seemed iffy-ish OK. That afternoon, he got a soupy bowl of hay pellets and some more grazing.

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Big brother watching. FYI choke is freaking scary! Hopefully Jiminy has turned the corner and it’s finally resolved. #choke #minisofinstagram #miniaturehorse #horsesofinstagram

A post shared by Sarah Katz (@katzs44) on Sep 13, 2020 at 4:36am PDT

Yesterday? He still seemed iffy. We continued more of the same. Stall rest but without the muzzle. Grazing. And lost of tantrums without his brothers. Last night he finally looked like himself and got some hay. This morning he finally had dry nostrils and got turned out with his brothers.

At this point? I’m HOPING we’re through the woods, but seriously? WHO CHOKES ON GRASS????