On your marks, get set ... GO SILAS GO!

Silas came down to the house today to stretch his legs and stretch his legs he did! Check him out as he busts a few moves on the driveway! OK, so he is not going to be winning any Kur with movement like that but good grief, what an improvement! He's actually using that off hind now and although still a bit stumbly on the front, even that has improved. Very, very encouraging stuff.

Today the vet bill arrived for last month. I knew it was going to be pretty scary but what I did not realise was that Silas' guardian angels would've paid 1/3 of it off for us! Incredible, kind, generous, amazing are just some of the adjectives I could use to describe how we feel about these wonderful gestures of kindness. Silas is obviously one very blessed boy and I credit his progress to each and every single person who has helped us. Thank you all, I cannot say thank you enough.

Day 32

The x-rays showed nothing overly concerning but there were a couple of spots that could indicate some damage and the vet would like to x-ray again as the exposures, he said, could be better. He wants to do this for his own peace of mind which I took to mean at his own cost too ... (a girl can hope!).

Some random pix and video today. Had to laugh earlier, heard Christina laughing while I was videoing Silas so swung the camera over only to see see Aine feeding ... off Hooty! Hooty absolutely could not care less! What a cheeky filly!!! Just realised that sound has not been edited on video - oops, apologies for language!!!!

Hooty feeding ... Aine!

Ror ror
Purdy Rory
Purdy Aine
China
Tall Aine

Silas gets zapped!

So today our vet turned up with his x-ray machine and Silas got zapped (no sedation required, he's such a good boy). He took plates of his hock and stifle and now we await his findings. Finger's crossed he finds nothing too sinister. He also looked at his near fore lameness and suspects some sort of radial nerve problem. HOPEFULLY if this is what it is, it is the type that repairs with time or we may just have ourselves a very expensive, very big lawnmower! At the end of the day the most important thing for us is that he is happy and healthy and free from pain. If he can never be a working horse, we'll cope - he'll make a lovely pasture pet but, I'm kinda looking forward to riding the big bugger so have everything crossed!

China and Penny have given us about 12 litres of milk so far, which is a saving of about $50 in 3 days so if you multiply that over a few weeks, you can see just how valuable these dear little girls are!

A couple of quick videos

Of course my batteries went flat today when I went out with the camera so I am afraid it is very slim pickings! But, you can still have your Silas fix and a little bit of Aine as a top up.

Eatin', poopin' and runnin'

So Silas is going great guns! He has now got to his feet unaided three times! He can't quite manage it every time but when he does, it is such a rush to see! Yesterday he drank just over 15 litres of milk, including nearly 5 litres kindly donated by China and Penny - GO goatlings!!

At his 11am feed we decided to take him for a walk so we wandered down the race together and ended up in our 'one tree hill' paddock, across from Meg and the other empty mares. And, that is where we left him, with his buddy Bados. He's practicing being a real horse in a real paddock with no hay filled stable to sleep in. Hope he can suck it up - He's tough, I am sure he can!

He's so funny to watch running. It's funny and sad but funny first because he's doing it and that's wonderful. He's a bit like a Jack Russell, you know how they run around hitching up a back leg? That's kinda like what Silas does when he tries to canter. He bunny hops behind a bit too but hey, he's DOING IT!!!

So, to all you absolutely wonderful people who have helped Silas make it this far, thank you! For the very first time since the beginning I have a good feeling about him and am feeling really confident that he can do this growing up thing. I can't wait for our vet to see him again. He has not seen him since Friday and I really think he will notice the improvement - it's hard not to!

Do you guys want more pix/video? Just let me know and I will see what I can do!

Introducing Penny and Little China Girl

Amy's pony Maxi has a very lovely owner, Robyn who, over the weekend, organised us a couple of milking goats and we collected them late (very late) last night. Their names are Little China Girl and Penny and they are such sweethearts. They will supplement Silas' milk by providing him with super fresh goat's milk.

This morning I milked my first goat! Well, goat's plural actually. Penny has a much better stream and is happier to be milked whilst China is going to need a little more gentle persuasion before she really gets the hang of it. She's pretty young and has tiny teats - she also doesn't really appreciate being milked so much but, we'll get there! I managed to get just shy of 3 litres by hand out of the two of them - I need practice but it's a start!

Here are some pics!

Penny reposing

I'm a milkin'
Little China Girl strikes a pose
China says 'Hi!'

One of the important things for invalid/convalescing animals, or animals under a lot of stress, is managing their digestive system/gut so, from the beginning we have had Silas on ulcer medication to help prevent ulcers, which can really set an animal back. We upped his ulcer meds last week as well as introducing a new product and starting him on PROENZ, which I have had success with in the past.

Silas also had a visit from Sarah Linton and I am looking into some homepathic remedies for him but need to make a few phone calls there. He's getting so much stuff it is going to be impossible to pipoint one solitary thing although I believe that everything is playing a part in his overall improvement.

Hopefully the vet will bring his xray machine out in the next couple of days so we can have a closer look at that stifle and maybe get some answers. The pronounced toe drag needs further investigation too.

Things are pretty busy with mares and foals at present too - not really enough hours in the day at this time of the year and it doesn't help when the maiden mare we have here for Reilly refuses to stand to be served, even after sedation and twitching. We've missed out this time around so she gets a few weeks to think about it now and then we'll have another try. Poor Reilly, very frustrating for him.

NEWSFLASH!

This morning, Silas got up all BY HIMSELF!!!!

A new video!

Obviously Silas still has issues - check out his near fore. What do you think it is? Tendon or shoulder or something else? BUT just look at him compared to the foal I took the last two videos of. He is on bute now so still on pain medication but it is not as strong as the powerful stuff he was on last week. We're still quietly confident.

So, what's been happening ... Happy 4 weeks old Silas!

It's four weeks today since we lost Debi and Silas entered the world. What a lot has happened since then!

Silas is definitely getting stronger (and a bit easier to pick up!) but his legs still bother me something awful. All I can do is hope that with time and increased strength, they will improve. He's still not using his off hind properly and his near fore is tending to knuckle over, quite disturbingly at times. I'm going to talk to the vet about splinting but he is definitely getting about ok and trying really hard to be spritely - He tried to gallop across the paddock to us this morning after we had been to see Robbie (I had a ride around the paddock on the big goof ball) and he really picked up some speed ... on three legs! *insert frowning smiley here*. He's also taken to 'killing' the cover that I have draped over the gate by his stall and the cover I have coverng some old fenceposts by the yards. He paws at them, licks them and bites them. There is a naughty colty boy in there dying to come out!

His temperature has stayed within normal range for 48 hours, which is very promising and he is now reliably drinking 2 litres/feed with the occasional top up of 500 or so ml of water. He would drink more but with the milk situation at present, he's going to have to go a little bit hungry for another day. He's taken to chopped up apple pieces too - nothing wrong with his Clydesdale appetite!! Oh and he is still pooing well - a little firmer than it has been but very green with lots of grass and meal being digested. Yay for good poo!

I will try and get the camera out this afternoon and grab some photo and videos. He's filling out now, although he is nowhere near the size he would be if he was with his mum. I was looking at last year's photos of Kenzie at his age and the resemblance is remarkable, as is the difference in weight. Still, his joints will not benefit from too much weight so being a bit light is probably really a very good thing.

He's really stolen my heart now. Yesterday afternoon I fell asleep for a wee while in his stall with him and woke up to his whiskers tickling my cheek as he snored. He's so opinionated and single minded, I think it is what is pulling him through this. His mum was exactly the same. He has her steely determination and stubborn willfullness and I think it is probably saving his life.