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Greetings,
Welcome to the April 2003 edition of the Eye of the Storm
Equine Rescue Horse Tales. We now have so many subscribers
that we have outgrown the free email service we were using.
The good news with that is that there will no longer be any
annoying banner ads that have nothing to do with horses. Instead,
we are accepting sponsorships from vendors we already know,
love, and trust. Please take a look at them on the right.
If you offer a product or service for horses or their people
and want to be included here, please let
us know.
-Your friends at Eye of the Storm -
Welcome Our Newest Horse:
Tim
We welcome Tim! He is a 16h 14 year old Appy
gelding. He was almost totally blind. He has cataracts in
both eyes, with his left eye beginning to shrink in size.
It has a large yellow cataract that  allowed
no light in. The vet said that the eye is probably too far
gone and despite anyone's efforts he will never see again
in that eye.
Ah, but I love a challenge! We have successfully regained
the sight of blind horses in the past, once our beautiful
Taz was totally blind. It took two years, but when Taz died
three years later at 30 years old he could see again. Two
others, Ben and Fancy, have had recurring problems with uveitis
for years. When Ben came to Eye of the Strom five years ago
Lindsay Robbins (our vet) said that in five years Ben would
be blind. Well, this spring, looking into his eyes, she found
no trace of scar tissue or cataracts. His eyes were crystal
clear and perfect. The same with Fancy. She had small white
spots forming on her pupils and they are gone.
Read more
about Tim and our special diet for horses with Uveitis...
Update on Faith
We are happy to report our wonderful Faith has recovered
from last summer's surgery. The picture, taken in the fall,
shows her walking  firmly
on all four legs. The back right hoof is where she sustained
the injury. Faith was stall bound this winter to ensure a
full recovery and now she's ready to go out in her own safe,
custom-made, rubber-padded turn out. As soon as the weather
is perfect for an outing, she'll get to try it out. In the
meantime, she's keeping an eye on the barn. Faith knows the
schedule better than Nina does. When it's time for her hay
cubes, she nickers for them. If they're late, she lets everyone
know about it! Thank you to everyone who helped save this
special horse.
Read the
complete Faith story, spring 2002
Piggie in Quarantine and Rabies Alert
While trying to keep my circle safe amidst the world's chaos,
we had a small, but dangerous, insider at Eye of the Storm.
A dead skunk was found with our pig, Hamish. The skunk tested
positive for rabies. This skunk dug holes all along the outside
of the foundation of the barn until he found a small space
between the door and sill of Hamish's stall. It appears the
skunk was determined to get inside the barn.
There was not a strong smell of spray. The skunk appeared
to have curled up and died in its sleep. Other than a very
small scratch on the pig's hind leg, there was no obvious
evidence of a battle. Hamish is now facing a six month quarantine
and the possibility of contracting the disease. Though he
was vaccinated last year, there is no approved vacine for
pigs. On the plus side, the pot bellied pig people seem to
think that pigs are immune to rabies. I am also giving him
propolis, which is the antibacterial and antiviral agent that
bees make and use to sterilize their hives. (I gotta do something,
you know.)
I don't feel that the pig had enough exposure to the skunk
and I can't imagine him killing it himself as he is very gentle
with the cats (I saw him gently nuzzle and care for our dying
Lilac kitty). I guess the skunk was just looking for a place
to die.
The thing that disturbs me though, is that there might be
more. Rabies is a hideous disease. I told the horses to be
on high alert. If I see even one looking to the woods, I go
beating the underbrush! I don't mean to be flip about this,
I am scared out of my mind, but you all need to know. Be cautious
of any noctunal animal out in the daylight. Wild animals run
and hide from humans, rabid wild animals have no fear. If
you see a wild animal acting strangely in any way, assume
it's rabid. Call the police. If you need to dispatch it yourself,
don't damge the head. Its brain is needed for testing.
Though I believe, in most cases, we are over vaccinating
our animals, rabies is one disease we just can't mess with.
We know this vaccine works. Maybe yearly is too often, I don't
know. I only know that a potentially rabid horse would be
uncontrollable and horrendously dangerous. Our vet said we
probably wouldn't be allowed to quarantine one. What would
happen is the health department would come and kill the horse
and send its head to a lab. With that hideous picture in mind,
I decided that rabies vaccination is definitely the better
option. Any neurological disorder in an unvaccinated horse
would be considered to be rabies and the above would take
place.
Unfortunately, almost all the cooties circulating in the
summer, many carried by mosquitoes, are neurological, such
as EPM, West Nile, and encephalitis. Be aware of this danger.
Do what you can to keep yourselves and your animals safe.
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EYE
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Contact us at storm@equine-rescue.com
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