Festus
#298
Older (approximate age unknown) Palamino Pony Gelding. Wide
blaze. Appx. 12 hands. This cute guy is quite underweight and
quite fuzzy. His thick hair coat may be the result of poor nutrition
and your "basic fuzzy pony coat" or, it could be indicative
of Cushings disease. We do not know. He is somewhat lame in
the front, but he did have an abcess which was opened and quite
a bit of infection drained out. It is not known if the lameness
is due to the abcess or other problems. He does have shoes on
his front feet. He has been ridden recently by children.
Update
1/14/03 - The person who was going to take the pony is no
longer able to. Due to the fact that the lot wanted him out
of there quickly, he was recently brought to TIER. He is MUCH
thinner than was originally thought, and we are piling on the
groceries, vitamins, etc. TIER paid for the Coggins in anticipation
of him going to the original interested party ($60). We also
had to pay tax of $22.79 on the $300 ransom fee. Therefore,
his adoption price will be $400.00.
Update
1/23/03 - The best info we have is that Festus is in his
late 20's. This information came from the dentist who worked
on his teeth.
He
is very thin under all that hair. We are in the process of body
clipping him. Vet is quite certain that he does have Cushings
and we are also in the process of ordering product from A Drop
In The Bucket that will help with some of the symptoms of Cushings,
i.e. hair coat, etc.
The
abcess in his left fore has not completely drained due to the
fact that manure/dirt was packed in his foot from walking around.
I have cleaned out his feet, soaked the abcessed foot in epsom
salt, used some sugardine, packed it and wrapped the hoof in
shiney duct tape. Our farrier had a death in the family which
necessitated him going out of town. We have scheduled an appointment
with him once he returns.
Festus
is eating well, and has put on some weight, but still remains
thin. At times, his breathing is a bit labored. We are hoping
that clipping him and using the herbs from A Drop In The Bucket
will help.
Also,
there is a great yahoo group that deals with Equine Cushings:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/
Mystery
at TIER Ranch
CHESTER
(aka: PEARL): Marshall Dillion! Marshal Dillion! There's
odd business goin on! Festus is missing and there's
a stranger in town!
MARHSALL
DILLION (aka: MOSES): Hold on Chester (Pearl)! Calm
down and tell me the particulars.
CHESTER
(aka: PEARL): I've been huntin Festus to help me make
the rounds about town. I can't find him anywhere and
nobody's seen him! While I was down by the Long Branch
Saloon talking to Doc (aka: Pepper), I saw a stranger
walking around. He seems familiar Marshall! Probably
some bad hombre that's done sumpthin with Festus!!
DOC
(aka: PEPPER): I saw him too Marshall! Strange fella.
Reminds me of someone......just can't place him. As
for Festus bein missin, he's probably gone and got hisself
in trouble somewhere as usual. But, just in case, we've
put out posters with his picture on them. Somebody's
sure to spot him somewhere!
MISSING!
Cute
furry dude, kinda short |
MIZ
KITTY (aka: Tiera): Oh My!!! Something awful has happened!
That stranger is up to no good Marshall! Why..........he's
standin over there with what looks like the remains
of Festus!!
FESTUS:
Hold on a darn minute!! What's all the ruckus?? Marshall,
Chester, Tiera & Doc have gone off half cocked agin!
Jumpin to conclusions as usual! There ain't no stranger
in town and, I'M NOT MISSIN! You know me don'tcha Doc?
DOC
(aka: PEPPER): Why shore I know ya Festus! I was just
seein how long it would take Chester (aka: Pearl) to
recognize you since you finally made a trip to the barbershop
to get that fuzz off of ya! Looks like that gal really
went to town on ya with those clippers!
CHESTER
(aka: PEARL): Clippers? Did you say CLIPPERS??? She
ain't fooled with no clippers before! Oh No! Afore,
she gits Clipper Crazy............I'm outta here!
SHAVE
& HAIRCUT - - 2 BITS!! |
|
BIG
thank you to Alex of a Drop In the Bucket for providing Festus
with Hormonise for treatment of his Cushings. Her committment
is to send the necessary amount of Hormonise for his monthly
treatment for as long as Festus lives! That INCLUDES continuing
treatment when he finds his very own adoptor/home!
http://www.dropinbucket.com/cat1.htm
Update
01/13/2004 - Festus has been off his feed for the past two
days. Let me tell you......when it comes to feed, Festus is
usually a bit "piggy". He loves to eat!! HA! He also
developed diarrhea, so we gave him some Banamine. He seemed
to be a little more interested in food after his shot. This
morning his appetite seemed to be somewhat better, but we felt
we had better have the veterinarian look at him. Festus' gums
are pink and he was not running a temperature. The vet arrived
and began his examination of the little guy. Listened to his
heart, bowel sounds, checked his gums, nasal pasages, eyes,
and temperature. He also checked his manure. The vet thinks
Festus is having a bout of colitis. He has prescribed 5 cc's
Banamine twice a day for the next couple of days. Looks like
Moses and Festus will be able to exchange pincushion stories!
HA!
Update
06/20/2004
It's
Father's Day and some of us were wondering what kind of treats
we would get for the occasion. Ya see, we usually get apples,
carrots, shelled sunflower seeds, apple flavored horsie treats
or some kind of fruit on holidays and big occasions. Of course,
we get treats at other times too, but we figure every day should
be a holiday! Don't you?
Some
of the guys were out in the arena and getting pretty boisterous
in anticipation of the goodies to come. I was visiting with
Pepper & Dottie while my usual living quarters were being
spruced up a bit. I tend to be a bit messy and that Gail person
said I could spend the night in the pen between Ms. Dot &
Pepper. She calls this section Pony Row since we are all shorter
than most of the others here.
By
some means, one of the guys in the arena managed to undo the
latch to my pen and I was waiting for that Gail person as she
came out this morning with a bag of apples & plums that
I could smell as soon as she came to the gate. I tried to walk
over to her, but somehow I had hurt my leg and couldn't get
to her. As soon as she saw that I had hurt myself, she dropped
the goodies and came running over to me. I was shaking some
because my leg was hurting quite a bit. She felt my leg and
shoulder and started crying. She was blubbering something about
"Oh Festus, I'm so sorry. Hang on little buddy, just hang
on." Like I might be going somewhere???
She
then goes into overdrive and starts putting all the horses that
had been out in the arena back in their pens. She puts a bucket
of water in front of me and runs into the house. I guess she
forgot about giving me any apples and plums? I tried to walk
over to the bag of goodies, but the best I could do was hop/shuffle
to the gate. My friend Prince was giving me words of encouragement,
but I think that was because he thought I might roll some of
that fruit over to him.
Gail
comes running back out, and as usual, she is running her mouth.
Telling me she loves me; the vet is on the way; how sorry she
is; that she loves me, etc., etc. I guess the vet person will
make me feel better, but I really wouldn't mind having some
of those apples and plums! She gives me some wetted down pellets
and I munch those and take a big drink of water. Now that the
other guys are back in their pens and don't need me to supervise
them, I can relax a bit. So, I hop/shuffle off a ways and lie
down. I tried to roll, but my leg hurt too much. Gail brought
me an apple (FINALLY!!) and held my head as I munched. That
was the best apple I had had in awhile!! Once I finished my
apple I laid my head in Gail's lap until the vet came. You see,
I was pretty tired after a night of supervising those hooligans
and my leg was pretty painful.
The
vet arrived and I tried to get up, but they both told me I would
be more comfortable if I would just lie down, so I did. The
vet gingerly felt my leg and shoulder. She then moved my leg
a bit and stopped. She let out a big sigh and said "Gail,
a horse's leg isn't supposed to move like that. His humerus
bone is broken. It's possible that this can heal, but it would
take awhile and he would probably limp pretty bad." Gail
did this shudder/crying thing and told the vet "No, let's
let him go. This little guy is pretty old. He has Cushings and
problems with his front feet. His left front foot would have
to bear most of the weight while he tried to recover and, most
likely he would founder. He doesn't deserve to go through that
much pain. Let's let him go."
While
the vet went to get the medicine, Gail kept talking to me. She
thanked me for being who I was and kept telling me how sorry
she was. She told me to give Pearl, Grace, Libbey, Dobbin and
all the others a big hug for her. She said at least I wouldn't
have to put up with her giving me one of her weird haircuts
anymore! HA! I didn't really mind the haircuts at all......even
if I did look like a patchwork quilt!!
I
really enjoyed the kids coming out to brush me and braid my
mane & tail. Seems that everyone liked to braid my hair
because it was so long. And, I always got some sort of treat
for putting up with the fussing!! I liked hanging out with Prince
(after Pearl & Grace went to live with the BIG Guy at the
Bridge) and visiting with Dolly was always nice. Following that
Gail person to the feed area while she fixed up our breakfast
was nice too because she always gave me extra handfuls of pellets
while I waited. Leaning my head into her tummy while she stroked
and hugged me usually made me nap right there! I liked to get
into stuff and cruise the backyard to see what I could get into.
But most of all, I liked the kindness, the love, the special
attention we get from visitors and volunteers. After years of
not getting much attention, it was nice to have people care
about me.
So,
today, on Father's Day, I get to go live with BIG Guy at the
Rainbow Bridge. I will no longer have my heavy coat, my feet
won't hurt and I will be able to run with my friends from TIER
through meadows and hills. The sun will dapple my golden coat
and my mane will float behind me as I race to and fro. I will
be whole again and I will remember. I will remember how some
people came together to help me out of a bad situation and made
my last days so much better. TIER cannot do what it does by
itself. Because of people like you, horses & ponies like
us have a chance. Because of YOU I was given an opportunity
to be loved deeply. Every day is a holiday because of YOU! Thank
you for you!!
All
my love.....Always!!!!!!
Festus