Scope Results and Winter Rides

He's not sorry for scaring me

In case you missed my last blog, Goose choked two weeks ago now, effectively giving me a heart attack. Luckily he is doing very well and acting like nothing ever happened. Relieved as I am, I wish he seemed at least slightly repentant.

Last Monday, the vet showed up bright and early for an 8am appointment to scope the Goober and check for any hiding internal melanoma that may have caused the choke. Since she was going in there anyway, we also checked for ulcers (someone has been VERY girthy and I wasn't sure if it was because he's feral or ouchy). Because the universe had to have the last laugh, it was under 20 degrees in South Carolina, and we were FREEZING. I absolutely love the farm I board at and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else right now, but damn did I wish we had a barn in that moment, holding onto the freezing twitch, Goose's head propped on my shoulder as the vet maneuvered the frozen scope up his nose and down his never ending esophagus. The distilled water in the pump was frozen, my poor vet and vet assistant were frozen, I was frozen, Goose was drunk... but none of that matters because...

GOOSE'S SCOPE WAS CLEAN!

That's right - no gut ulcers, no growths, NOTHING! Nada, zip, zilch. Goose is as healthy as a horse (who the actual f came up with that saying anyway? Is it supposed to be ironic because horses constantly try to kill themselves?).

His gut was completely clear of ulcers or anything negative and his whole esophagus was growth-free. There was no sign of anything that would suggest he has melanoma in his guttural pouches, but we will be keeping an eye out to see if spontaneous nose bleeds start happening as that would be the first indicator he has melanoma hiding there.

I am just floored that we had such a fantastic outcome for this vet appointment. I'm so glad that I decided to scope him because I have much more peace of mind knowing this was just a "normal" choke, just a normal prank Goose decided to pull on me at the expense of himself. Take that buddy, that'll teach you to scarf your consolation prize handful of beet pulp!

In all reality I am so incredibly grateful that the vet was able to clear his choke and was able to perform the scope in less than ideal conditions. I joke about it, but of course this was not Goose's fault and I am beyond relieved that the worst that will come of this is that I'll be panicking every time I feed him a treat from now on. He is off beet pulp and on a glorified handful of senior feed soaked in half a bucket of water - we are not messing around with this and if my poor barn manager has to deal with one more equine emergency I'm going to owe her SO many more beers than I already do. We also still have enough pasture that he is fat and happy sans full feedings of grain.

Back to normal life, Goose is a feral monster. He's actually been much better for me than I thought he would but there's tell that he's been pushing people around, and it's a good reminder that I need to start prioritizing him more especially as the weather improves.
Our ground is not ideal right now, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to manage to ride at least one, if not both, weekend days and will do my best to get out at least one day after work a week. It's ambitious right now since things have not slowed down enough for me to stop working extra, but it's getting there. Even if I go groom him and take him on a walk, I think we both benefit and feel better from it.

This past Saturday a whole group of us made an incredibly poor decision to hack out to a neighboring field. All we wanted to do was walk around and enjoy the chilly, sunny day. We casually forgot to take into account our wild beasts who were all a bit "up", but we survived with minimal dismounts, quite a bit of jigging, and a normal amount of me screaming at drivers to slow down as we rode up the side of the road for the short walk to the field. We got some pictures and all in all it was certainly an adventure, just not one we'll likely repeat while the horses all have winter brain.

This winter has not been the busiest in terms of my horse life. It's been a struggle to spend enough time with Goose and I'm feeling especially guilty for that after his latest episode of "Alyssa Needs to Pay Vet Bills". I am grateful at least that I've finally moved into my new place, so at least I can check this one big thing off my list! Many plans await Goose and I this year, and I hope to blog more often to share our adventures and shamelessly share more information on the Plaidcast Junior I'm cohosting with Jess. 

"You pay the bills, I get to give you judgy looks for not feeding me enough snacks," -Goose, probably.