agonizingly slow and nerve-wracking. Heather was tense and whispered, “I’m sorry,” at every bump and bend in the damaged road, knowing that Gunner was feeling every jolt. “Just make it home, Gunner. Then it’ll be all right,” she encouraged him over and over, although he could not hear her.
When they finally pulled into the yard at Picayune, the vet, Dr. Anne White, and Maria were there, waiting. Gunner had managed to get to his feet when the trailer stopped, and now staggered onto solid ground very unsteadily.
“Oh my,” breathed Dr. White, approaching to put a steadying hand on his side. She gave Heather a look that told her to prepare for the worst.
Two things helped Heather make up her mind in the next few minutes. First, her mom smiled at her and said “He doesn’t look quite as bad as I expected.” Heather could have laughed – or cried – she wasn’t sure which would come more easily. She had watched her mothermend injured dogs, children, broken hearts, and many, many horses over the years. If anyone could pull Gunner through, it was Maria.
The other deciding factor came from Gunner himself. Wes stood by the trailer with tears streaming down his face while Gunner was being unloaded.
“Is Gunner gonna die?” he sobbed.
At the sound of the boy’s voice, Gunner stopped and nickered, soft and low, as though to comfort him. That clinched it. They had to try.
“No honey,” Heather said, smiling encouragingly at her young son. Poor Wes had been through so much lately. “Gunner’s going to be okay. He’ll be sick for a while though, and we have to take good care of him.”
Gunner would be sick for a long while! The effort of getting into the barn was too much, and as he turned in his stall, he went down again. They knew that without intensive help, he would soon be unable to rise at all. He had very little left.
The emergency room nurse in Heather kicked in as she assisted Dr. White in starting an intravenous line and hooking up a bag of nutrient-rich fluids to start rehydrating Gunner’s depleted body.
They set up a body sling, supported by the barn rafters, and a pulley system to help Gunner stand. Horses spend the vast majority of time on their feet, even sleeping standing up. They cannot be off their feet for extended periods of time without suffering life-threatening damage to their hooves. A special structure in their hooves, a triangular, spongy bulb called the frog, works like a pump to force blood through the hoof and lower leg. Blood is pumped with every step the horse takes, and without this vital blood flow, a hoof suffers very serious damage.
They wrapped Gunner’s lower legs with support bandages to try to prevent fluid from building up and to assist with standing.
With Gunner now supported by the sling and the IV in place, Dr. White was able to conduct a more detailed examination.
Gunner’s right eye was badly damaged and now infected. He had likely been struck by blowing debris during the hurricane and had been coping with the painful, untreated injury for all those weeks. The extent of his suffering must have been terrible. Partially blinded, he would have tried to seek shelter, food, and water, only to find a confusing and unfamiliar landscape. How he had gone unnoticed all this time, and how he had made his way to Waynesboro was anybody’s guess. Along the way he had gathered many scrapes,gouges, and one deep laceration on a hind leg, but he had survived – barely. The following hours and days would be critical.
Dr. White added strong doses of antibiotics and painkillers to the IV “soup” already coursing through Gunner, and then left Heather and Maria with instructions for his care. They blanketed him to reduce the effects of shock. They offered him small amounts of hay and water, but he was too weak to do more than nibble just a little of it. There was a long road ahead for the pretty Paint … but first, he had to make it through the night.
G unner did
When they finally pulled into the yard at Picayune, the vet, Dr. Anne White, and Maria were there, waiting. Gunner had managed to get to his feet when the trailer stopped, and now staggered onto solid ground very unsteadily.
“Oh my,” breathed Dr. White, approaching to put a steadying hand on his side. She gave Heather a look that told her to prepare for the worst.
Two things helped Heather make up her mind in the next few minutes. First, her mom smiled at her and said “He doesn’t look quite as bad as I expected.” Heather could have laughed – or cried – she wasn’t sure which would come more easily. She had watched her mothermend injured dogs, children, broken hearts, and many, many horses over the years. If anyone could pull Gunner through, it was Maria.
The other deciding factor came from Gunner himself. Wes stood by the trailer with tears streaming down his face while Gunner was being unloaded.
“Is Gunner gonna die?” he sobbed.
At the sound of the boy’s voice, Gunner stopped and nickered, soft and low, as though to comfort him. That clinched it. They had to try.
“No honey,” Heather said, smiling encouragingly at her young son. Poor Wes had been through so much lately. “Gunner’s going to be okay. He’ll be sick for a while though, and we have to take good care of him.”
Gunner would be sick for a long while! The effort of getting into the barn was too much, and as he turned in his stall, he went down again. They knew that without intensive help, he would soon be unable to rise at all. He had very little left.
The emergency room nurse in Heather kicked in as she assisted Dr. White in starting an intravenous line and hooking up a bag of nutrient-rich fluids to start rehydrating Gunner’s depleted body.
They set up a body sling, supported by the barn rafters, and a pulley system to help Gunner stand. Horses spend the vast majority of time on their feet, even sleeping standing up. They cannot be off their feet for extended periods of time without suffering life-threatening damage to their hooves. A special structure in their hooves, a triangular, spongy bulb called the frog, works like a pump to force blood through the hoof and lower leg. Blood is pumped with every step the horse takes, and without this vital blood flow, a hoof suffers very serious damage.
They wrapped Gunner’s lower legs with support bandages to try to prevent fluid from building up and to assist with standing.
With Gunner now supported by the sling and the IV in place, Dr. White was able to conduct a more detailed examination.
Gunner’s right eye was badly damaged and now infected. He had likely been struck by blowing debris during the hurricane and had been coping with the painful, untreated injury for all those weeks. The extent of his suffering must have been terrible. Partially blinded, he would have tried to seek shelter, food, and water, only to find a confusing and unfamiliar landscape. How he had gone unnoticed all this time, and how he had made his way to Waynesboro was anybody’s guess. Along the way he had gathered many scrapes,gouges, and one deep laceration on a hind leg, but he had survived – barely. The following hours and days would be critical.
Dr. White added strong doses of antibiotics and painkillers to the IV “soup” already coursing through Gunner, and then left Heather and Maria with instructions for his care. They blanketed him to reduce the effects of shock. They offered him small amounts of hay and water, but he was too weak to do more than nibble just a little of it. There was a long road ahead for the pretty Paint … but first, he had to make it through the night.
G unner did
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