Tierklinic Hochmoor

Baasha went to the eye clinic today, our firechief friend drove us all the way to Munster, 2 hours each way. This is one of the top horse hospitals in Germany, where veterinarians come to learn their specialties. The art on the walls, the crema coffee we were given, the impressiveness of the place was hard to enjoy because of my worries about Baasha. Here is their website, if you're curious.

It was disappointing, even though I had little hope to begin with. The eye doctor found no source of the problem, and he found a mixture of vague, unhelpful symptoms.

Poor Baasha bled all over the place. They sedated and twitched him (to my knowledge my horse had never been twitched, and most likely did not need that!) and squirted saline up each nostril to see if the tear ducts were clear. The saline came out both eyes, and then a large amount of blood came flowing out of his nose, making a puddle in front of him. The doctor said that indicates an infection, but what type, why, who knows.

He did ultrasounds on both eyes and found troublesome substances in his eyes, and he took a sample from the fluids in the corner of his eye to send to the lab. Determining what bacteria he is fighting will be helpful.

The doctor felt in his eyes, sticking his finger way in there (!!) and found those calcium deposits. He said they are inconclusive but not serious.

It was really hard for me with the language barrier, and thankfully the firecheif said "Can you email the results? That way she can read everything?" Good idea!

I am sitting here with a big bottle of buteless solution and more acetylstein, the expectorant that he was on last Spring when he had Bronchitis.

Devil's Claw (buteless) is an illegal substance, so it never crossed my mind that it could be helpful after Baasha's retirement. I also tend to avoid anything herbal, but after spending some time reading about it today, I am hopeful that it will make him more comfortable.

Why the buteless? The doctor said, and the package says, that it fights infection. What? Is that a fact? I see nothing supporting that on the Internet. But that is why he gave it to me.

He wants Baasha to get more exercise because it will help clear his nasal passages when he gets the expectorant.

Funny, my man was home sick all weekend on the same medicine.

Poor Baasha, I cannot tell you how awful that was when he was bleeding all over the floor, getting blood on the doctor and his assistant, and us.

There is one humorous part of the story though. I had outfitted Baasha in a brand new fleece cooler, a lovely soft navy blue one with a belly band, and I had washed his halter and we had our new lead rope. He looked like an advertisement. But when we arrived, the doctor wasn't ready, so he went into a fancy brand new luxury stall. I was very leery of this beautiful stall, because I knew sick horses had probably been in it. Baasha dropped into the shavings and rolled both sides comletely, and his brand new gorgeous cooler was completely coated with bedding. Every inch of it. I just had to laugh. His first time in a real horsie hospital, and he has to go and make himself look foolish. I was able to take a horsebrush and get all the shavings out, whew.

Ah, I'd better go check on him. He's still sleepy. My poor baby.