Thanks guys, and thank you Amy especially for posting an update. I was stuck away from any internet access last night and hated knowing you guys were all out there worrying about us! I'm beginning to feel like Chicken Little posting this stuff only to come back 24 hours later and say "He's fine," but honestly.
I've never in my life had a horse just stop eating for three days like Spyder did or start falling over like Kody was and it scared me terribly. And both times, as soon as I posted and you each started praying the horses recovered right away.
I'm becoming a firm believer in the power of prayer and want, once again, to thank you for your help.
The vet got here maybe 40 minutes after I posted yesterday and by that point Kody was showing few signs of the neurological problem although he'd become overly quiet and hadn't finished his breakfast. The vet checked his vitals and temp (normal), did all the standard front-end neurological tests, said his reactions were completely normal and tried to write it off as a pinched nerve without doing any other tests at all. I wasn't comfortable with that since he was still clearly off and asked about EPM, West Nile, plant toxicity and any number of other things that had occurred to me and she said none of them were likely. Mom asked about Rabies and she said we couldn't rule that out yet but that if he had that he'd have major disposition changes very shortly. Kody was still not being himself at that point although to a vet who didn't know him I'm sure he seemed fine so I asked her to please physically test his hind end for range-of-motion difficulties or chiropractic problems and to check the hay for anything I'd missed. I've got to give her credit, she did so without any fuss and when I asked her to draw some blood and test it she was perfectly willing to although she didn't feel it was warranted. When she left I at least felt like I'd stood up for my horse and my instincts and done everything I could.
I stayed out there for the next hour or two cleaning paddocks and keeping an eye on him. He finally began to brighten up and eventually came out of his stall to poop and visit with me. At first he just stood there quietly but then he began to move in front of me and solicit attention and pretty soon he was frisking my pockets, stealing my gloves and trying to knock over the wheelbarrow.
That's my boy! I even had him do a tentative rear when he looked like he wanted to offer one and he was able to do that with pretty good balance. At that point I surrendered, threw my hands in the air and left him to my parents' supervision while I ran some errands, which is how I ended up at Amy's.
The vet called me later to say Kody's bloodwork was completely normal (glucose normal, electrolytes normal, everything else under the sun normal including any indicators of inflammation) and when she heard about his improvement she said he must have twisted his lower back rolling or something and pinched a nerve. I doubt I'll ever know what really happened but I sure am glad he's okay. I'm getting so tired of my ponies deciding to play with my adrenaline level!
Again, thanks for all your prayers and good energy. I'm sure they helped tremendously!
Leia
ray
