Snowflake's Story

My Second Week -- Normalcy
April 15, 2005

I am still getting brushed and shedding extensively. I look bedraggled. My ribs seem to be a little less visible, but that is not saying much. When the vet was here, she rated my body condition as a "2" on a scale of 10 (10 being normal) . When she comes back next week, I hope I can move up a few digits. On the evening of the 13th, I will have been here for two weeks. Oh, how my life has changed.

I get a big bucket of grain every morning and evening. I have hay whenever I want and lots of fresh green pasture when I am not in the barn. I have friends and, oh yeah, some bullies too! We are working on a truce. It just takes time.

Foster Mom has replaced the pieces of salt block in my grain dish with rocks. I wasn't eating my grain as enthusiastically as she thought I should. She wondered if my grain was getting too salty. She said it was hard to find 3 or 4 fist-sized roundish rocks on the farm. She had just spent the last 8 years getting rid of any rocks in the pastures. The purpose of these rocks is just to slow me down when I am eating my grain, so I don't choke again.

Foster Dad checks on my every night and fills my water and hay if necessary. Sometimes I am alone in the barn at night and sometimes one or more of the other horses are in their stalls too. It usually depends on the weather. The night temperatures have been cold, in the low 30s. The day temperatures have been anywhere between 50 and 65 degrees. I think some rain is moving in.

As it has warmed up this week, I have been allowed to stay out in the pasture in the evening. This means I can eat fresh green grass all day and all night. I still get a big bowl of grain in the morning and in the evening. My appetite is improving and my people are encouraged by the larger size of my manure piles. They look just like a normal horse's manure.

The vet called again and said my Coggins test was negative and my Thyroid test was in the low end of the normal range. Good news for an old boy like me. My thyroid may have been a bit low due to my previous poor nutrition or my total lack of nutrition on some days. Those days are behind me now. I am blessed with all I can eat and surrounded by kind people.

Sometime on Friday, my personal assistant brought more items which were donated by my people. I have another feed additive called Ration Plus to improve my digestion and I have my own beautiful halter and leadrope. It looks great on me. It is teal in color with beautiful designs on the cheek peices of the halter. I finally have something I can call my own. I want all my people to know how grateful I am for their contributions.