Panama's vet visit

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(ponytalesblog.com) I didn't make it out to the barn Thursday evening as I'd hoped, but luckily for me my horse was pretty well-behaved for the vet anyway.

Panama seemed to have missed me — when I arrived and called his name, he came in from the pasture on his own, without me having to go get him. I put him in the cross ties and groomed him before the vet arrived. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to spend at the barn yesterday, so the vet saw Panama first and I had to leave right afterward.

Here's what happened at the vet visit:

1. Panama got the rest of his shots. At the spring vet visit last month, the vet convinced me to put Panama on a slightly different vaccination schedule to reduce the likelihood of a reaction to the shots. He got Rhino flu and West Nile last time, and what will eventually be his fall vaccinations — East and West encephalitis — this time. In the fall, he'll get the Rhino flu vaccine again (it only lasts 6 months) and a booster for the East/West vaccine. In 2009 he'll be completely on the new schedule, which is Rhino flu and West Nile in the spring, and Rhino flu and East/West in the fall.

2. The vet gave me a treatment for Panama's ear mites. He gave me a package of a flea and tick treatment that is used on dogs, and told me to mix it with 12 CCs of mineral oil and put half in each ear. I'll write about the ear mites treatment in more detail in a future post.

3. The vet gave me instructions for treating a possible skin condition I've noticed on Panama lately. The skin around the base of Panama's ears and down his jaw and neck a little bit is flaky and crusty-looking, like a case of dandruff times ten. The fur is also grown thin in spots. The vet thinks Panama is rubbing his head against stuff because the ear mites are bothering him, but wants me to treat him for a possible fungus issue anyway. I'll also write about that in a future post.

Panama was pretty good for the vet, but not as good as I would have liked. He remembered that the vet had given him shots last time, and had a little bit more trouble standing still for him. When the vet poked him with the needle, he stiffened up, and then (30 seconds later) jerked his head up and danced sideways.