Last Tuesday Basil went in to have his tooth taken out. It was a stressful day for us all! Despite practising our loading Basil was still not travelling well so, on the vets advice, he was sedated to travel. Chesney, as you know, hates it when Basil is away from him so, although Tommy was there, he spent much of the day trotting up and down the fence line. Tommy took the whole thing in his stride and was an angel.
After the x-ray was taken the vets had decided that Basil had an infection in the gum between the front 2 molars. As the antibiotics had not killed the infection we had few options left. Luckily they also decided to just remove the front top molar and that hopefully, the next one along would be fine.
Although the infection was in between the two teeth it seemed to primarily have affected the first tooth. We are not quite sure what has caused this infection but as the teeth continue to grow and they are narrower at the root Basil has developed a small gap or diastema. It is likely that some food has become caught in this and damaged the gum :(
It took a while to get Basil loaded up as the vet moved one leg at a time onto the ramp but then he did walk in fine. We had him loaded by about 9.30 and off we went. The journey is about 35 minutes and it would usually have been a nightmare as Basil continuously kicks the back ramp. However, with the sedative he was not bad at all. Once we arrived he was waking up and the unusual sights and sounds quickly ensured he was totally awake!
Basil had a lovely big stable with a deep bed which he promptly made wet! He had a little plait put in so that he could have his name attached - just like in hospital. I had to fill in a few forms and let them know if he had any allergies or was difficult to be clipped or anything - luckily he is brilliant for all this. I then had to leave Basil and get back to check on Chesney.
We weren't sure how easy the tooth would be to remove so we didn't know if Basil would have to stay overnight. The vet arranged that they would start straight away to give me the best possible chance of getting him home the same day. Luckily the tooth had come out by lunch time so by 4pm I was able to pick him up. We hoped that he would still be a bit dopey and not need any more sedative to travel home but as soon as we got him near the trailer he was totally awake and really stressed. Bless him he had to have more.
When we got home Chesney was so pleased to see him. Once they had said a gentle hello I left them all in the stables for a big rest. It took a long time for Basil to properly wake up to go out in the field. Apparently they are better to eat grass than hay and often it is advised that they are kept in for the night with no food. However, the priority is that they are quiet and calm. If left in the stable with no food Basil will crib bite and grind his teeth - he will not be calm or quiet. So after discussion with the vet the best option was to put them in the field. As Basil and Chesney would both be tired from their day I knew they would not be silly. They just mooched off and munched. Tommy just ate all day!
Basil has a plug of antibiotics in the hole and the plan was to put a lump of putty in too but it just falls straight out! He has been having antibiotics and painkillers everyday still, which I am syringing into his mouth. He is also having to eat as little hay as possible so they are in the field most of the time which they find very confusing and is not really helping Tommy or Basil's tummy size!
I will keep you updated on progress.
Look out for tomorrow's 'How to...' video on my You Tube channel. Horse Life and Love
Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.
You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy.
Until next time!
Jo
No comments:
Post a Comment