Sonny
(1/30/00)
- On a sad note, we had to say goodby to Sonny today. Information
about Sonny
was never posted as we got him on Friday and when I went out this
morning, I
found him dead in his pen. Sonny was a 5 yr. old Sorrell QH
trained in
Western Pleasure. Last year he got the particularly vicious
strain of strangles
that was going around. He underwent a month of antibiotic
treatment and then was placed with a mare in a large pen in
the back of
his owners property. Recently, when his owner was moving
horses around,
Sonny got excited and blood started coming from his nose.
His owner decided to send him to a feedlot. I stepped in and
offered to
buy him. I bought Sonny and had him taken to our vet’s
office yesterday
(1/28/00) for an endoscopic examination and chest x-rays.
The endoscope indicated damage to his throat. Also, blood
could not be
drawn from the left side of his neck. The vet took many
x-rays of his
chest/lungs and found a mass the size of a volleyball sitting
between Sonny’s lungs. Probably an encapsulated abcess. It was
decided to
put Sonny on 3 tablespoons of Tetracycaline for awhile and
then we would
have more x-rays done.
Apparently,
the stress of the trailering to the vet, the exam and moving
him to his
new home was too much for Sonny’s system and he passed away
sometime in
the early hours of morning. At least he never made it to a
feedlot! The
vet told me that this was the worst case of strangles he
had ever seen
and was amazed that Sonny was still standing. He will be
examining Sonny’s
remains to find out more about Sonny’s condition.
I
was devastated by Sonny’s death, but I know that he has crossed
the Rainbow
Bridge to be with his friends Socket, Bailey, Ace and all the
other horses
who have gone before him. We knew him briefly and loved
him with all
our hearts.
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