Phase #2: Past and Present

After I arrived home with the new project mare, the next few weeks felt like they were a blur. I got the dark brown striped mare settled into my quarantine barn in a nice clean stall, unfortunately I did have to close a couple windows on that wing of the stable to darken it just to calm her down. Every feeding time I would open one up just a little more to allow more light in that way she was hopefully distracted a bit and could slowly get accustomed to light again. 

Right away I had my veterinarian, Amy, out to check out her sight and overall health. Unfortunately we had to lightly sedate the mare to pull her out of her stall and get her checked out without her flailing and hurting herself or one of us. The vet noticed that her eyes were weeping, swollen, and a little cloudy. The mare slightly reacted to light which we knew from her recent panics. Amy also says that she noticed she had a slight fever and was a little on the thin side. The mare hadn’t been eating that great since she arrived. The vet took blood samples and swabs to have them tested. 

The vet was suspicious of her having Leptospirosis which is a bacterial infection that can sometimes cause temporary and permanent blindness among other things and can be quite serious. She instructed me to keep her stall clean and dispose of all her waste properly as Leptospirosis can spread through contact with urine. It is also a zoonotic disease which means other animals, including humans, could possibly contract it.

I abided by all the vet’s instructions and while awaiting test results I only worked on her getting more comfortable with me and allowing more light into her stall. I even set up a comfy chair next to her stall door and would read to her so she could hear my voice and hopefully feel comforted knowing that she was not alone. She never did lunge at me again, I was very grateful for that. She seemed more at ease here than at the rescue facility.

The mare did end up having Leptospirosis so after getting a confirmed diagnosis my vet started her on the proper antibiotics as well as some steroid injections to hopefully help out her eyes. The vet was hopeful that the uveitis caused by the Leptospirosis was only temporary if she could get the swelling down and the infection under control. 

Over the course of her treatments we noticed we no longer had to sedate her for it and she was starting to act more comfortable around us. My windows in the barn were also fully opened by now. Soon the mare even began to give an ever so soft nicker as she would hear my approach with her feed, her appetite back in full force. She loves her food lol. She also began to really enjoy my company in general. I would still sit and read to her in the evenings, her head calmly hanging out of her stall, with her dark ear cocked towards me and eyes closed. She also liked our daily grooming sessions. I was very happy to see her feeling better and enjoying life again.

One warm bright morning as I came into the barn to greet the mare I had to stop and watch her. She had her head up at one of the windows that was facing the paddocks. This was very unusual for her and she appeared like she was staring out at my other horses, her green eyes seemed more focused instead of faded and distant. She had a soft look on her face, ears pricked forward, her contrasting pale tail relaxed. I snapped some photos on my phone to send to Amy and told her I’d like her to check her eyesight again for me. 

After Amy arrived, she took a good look at the mare again. She says that she’s pretty sure she has regained sight in her left eye but her right still looks compromised. Amy also let me know that this is potentially a recurring issue and she’ll have to be on a treatment regiment the rest of her life to try and keep her from going completely blind permanently. But other than that she gave the pretty mare a clean bill of health and gave me the go ahead to start exercising her.

After getting the go ahead from the vet, I began working with the pretty mare, whom I’ve affectionately nicknamed “Saanvi”. I thought the striped mare deserved a name that reflected her exotic tiger-striped coat. I found she was extremely easy to work with after her illness had been treated. She was willing and wanting to please. She also knows her basic groundwork skills and seems to be broke to ride.