Lucy Visits the Vet

This morning we took Lucy to the vet; the same vet that took care of her while she was at Sandy's barn with her previous owner.  I led Lucy into the exam room and Linda broke into a huge grin.

Dr. Linda: She looks fabulous!
You don't think she's too fat?
Oh, no.  Lucy was hard to keep in good weight.  She had ulcers when she arrived at Sandy's and even after we took care of that, she was still a worrier.  Look at her eye; look at how soft it is.  She's a different horse.

She continued: I'd rather see a horse like Lucy at this weight than too thin.  The only thing that concerns me a bit is how the fat is distributed.  Her neck is a bit cresty; the fat is laying down consistent with her thyroid being out of whack.  She is still on her thyroid meds, right?
Me, blinking: Um, no.  She isn't on any thyroid meds.  She wasn't on them when I bought her and I didn't know....  (feeling horrible)
Dr. Linda: Okay, so we'll do a blood work to check her thyroid and her insulin levels.  I'm not going to do too much today until we get her metabolism stabilized.

On the lunge, Lucy was definitely sore in her hocks and stifle.  Her left hock was significantly more sore than the other.  Linda injected the left hock and the right stifle.  The hock is the "elbow" looking joint on the back leg and the stifle is up higher where the leg joins the hip.  While Lucy was coming out of the sedation, she also received an acupuncture treatment -- the trigger points for her hocks and stifles.  The blood work results will come back in about a week but, based on her history, she will start on a low dose of thyroid meds tomorrow morning.  The dosage will be adjusted based on the test results and when she has stabilized we will take her back to have the other hock and stifle done.

When we pulled into the driveway at home, the horses were all down by the corners of their pastures close to the gate.  Mufasa called to Lucy first, and then Pistol chimed in.  Lucy answered.  Back in the pasture, Lucy immediately pinned her ears and lunged at both Pistol and Jackson.  She was in a pissy mood all afternoon.  Getting stuck by a bunch of needles will do that to you -- and being in heat doesn't help matters.  After a few days of rest and recovery, we will get back to work and see how she feels.

In the meantime, I'm feeling pretty warm and fuzzy about having a happy horse.