This message is from: GAIL RUSSELL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Well - you guys are great! Saved me big hassles. The horse with the swollen eye is *perfectly fine* this morning. One mistake I now realize I made in my diagnostic attempts was not to distinguish between "sore" and "swollen." In retrospect, the eyelid was "swollen" - and I assumed the eye was sore. However, he did not shy away from being touched, nor was he blinking constantly - it was probably NOT "sore."
We did not call the vet, which turned out to be a very good thing. I called the vet this morning to ask about a persistent skin problem on my black horse - one that I can't put in the ringworm, mange, scabies, rain rot, or any other category. I had been trying to ignore it for months - thinking it was just "horse dings" that were going to heal, but it became clear that the two bare, slightly scabby (but NOT round or, apparently contagious) patches are not going to go away - and may even be gettting bigger. So...decided today to call the vet about that problem. Turns out the vet is out of town for two weeks. My old super-cautious vet that I used to have would probably have been on call for my vet. That means she would have come out (about $130) rather than try an interview and over-the phone diagnosis. When she got there, she would have sold us some ointment, just to be doing something, and told us there was nothing to worry about. Additionally, wimpy me would have had to deal directly with the fact that I had simply stopped calling the old vet. I'll have to do that one day, I suppose, but not really anxious to have the confrontation any time soon. She tends to be a prickly sort - and she is unlikely to be good natured about having lost a client who was a pretty good source of no-hassle revenue for her- what with annual shots, teeth, and the occasional minor scrape or cut on seven easy-to-handle horses. In defense of my old vet - she started in practice in her late 30's - after burning out as a horse trainer and mountain packer in Yosemite. Right about the time she bought her practice (which she has done pretty much solo - straight out of vet school) her then-partner made a BIG mistake - resulting in a nasty law suit. He was called out to an injured horse. Diagnosed a broken leg (without x-rays) and recommended putting the animal down. The owners did an autopsy. Leg was NOT broken - and was, I suppose, at least to tell the court, easily fixable. I'm told she has been pretty gun shy since. Anyway - long story - and thanks. Gail Gail Russell Forestville CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
