Never assume

Yesterday I had all 4 equines vaccinated, I did not have them vaccinated the past 3 years because it is my belief that vaccinating year after year can cause issues. Most people would not agree with me on this but I felt that it was best for me and my horses. 

The vet came out and we did the basic spring shots. I was very concerned with vaccinating Cody because last year he had his first colic, he is 26 and has really never had a problem that required more than a yearly check up. He got a life threatening infection from an injection on top of the colic and it was really scary. 

Naturally, I was the same thing might happen again so as a precautionary measure I clipped the place where he would get the vaccinations and the doctor swabbed the area with alcohol. The rest of the day I kept a close eye on him. I noticed that when I let him out in the evening he didn't want to stay out long, he came and stood at the outside door to his stall so I let him in. 

This morning he was not feeling well and slow to move but there was no swelling in the area he was vaccinated, he didn't carry on like he normal he did at breakfast time. Lil Bit my miniature horse was laying down and didn't want to get up, no rolling but he didn't have much of an appetite either. Aubrey and Hugh were acting normal so I went in and called the vet. Cody and Bit were having a reaction to the vaccines so I gave them both a dose of Banamine. This evening they are more like themselves. 

I did opt for a vaccination for botulism since the vet had treated and lost several horses recently in his practice area. I feed mainly round bales and there is a greater chance of contamination with round bales so I heeded the vets advise and let him vaccinate for botulism. 

Since the 2 horses were off, I decided to leave the horse in this evening. Eli is 60 plus year old Amish man that picks stalls for me three times a week. When Eli showed up I went out and told him to leave the horses in and explained to him why. 

Ely had an accident when he was young and he it somehow affected in a way that he is a little slow in speech and thinking. He cleans stalls to earn money for his family, he is always on time and does a very good job. 

While explaining about the horses we talked about how old Cody is, he is 26 now. I always feel kind of strange talking to Amish about how old Cody is because I assume they would think it crazy to spend money on an old horse. One should not assume things though, Levi explained to me that they had an old horse and that he couldn't ship him off but rather wishes to take care of him.

Eli said that the horse had worked hard and served him for may years and to him it didn't seem right not to take care of him till the end. I thanked Eli for sharing that with me, it is the way I feel about it and it made me feel like crying. So many people sell or try and give away or even ship old horses. People think they'll find a good home but I could never do that to an animal I have taken care of for so many years, an animal that trusts me. Eli is a very simple person, he is quiet and humble but to me he is a good and fine person, I feel so blessed to know him.