Now What?

I love having Speedy and Izzy living side by side. They are both much happier and more relaxed. They might be happier, but I am not. According to the ranch owner, the boys play off and on all day. They tear up and down the fence line, striking at each other over the fence before charging off the other direction. 

The good thing is that Izzy's energy level is much more manageable. The bad news is that they are chewing the crap out of one another. Both horses are covered with bite marks from head to rump. Most days, I shake my head in exasperation. Over the weekend, I worried that a vet visit might be in order.

It's not supposed to be that marshmallowy.

Speedy had a hunk of hair missing from the side of his face with a very obvious bite mark in the middle of his jaw. The missing hair and rumpled skin weren't the problem, it was the swelling in his cheek that had me worried. I couldn't tell whether the damage was on the inside or the outside. I poked at it gently only to feel a very squishy pocket of liquid. Dude.

For comparison, the other side.

I did what every take-care-of-it-yourself horse owner would do. I grabbed my head lamp and the hose and did a pretty thorough investigation. I flushed out his mouth, grabbed his tongue, and peered up in there to see what was what. All of his teeth were still there, which, if you've followed our story for any length of time, you know doesn't always happen. He's already lost one tooth from fooling around.

Pull out the tongue over his bars where there are no teeth. They won't (usually) bite their own tongue.

My view wasn't as good as it would have been with a speculum to hold his mouth open wider, but I could see pretty well. There was nothing obviously out of place. He's also eating quite enthusiastically which I know he wouldn't do if he had a wonky tooth. Past experience is quite a useful predictor of behavior. He's also taking the bridle willingly. The swelling is seems due to a little edema, and thankfully, it finally started to go down yesterday. I think I can skip a vet visit.

Every day as I pull into the barn, I cross my fingers that no one is dead. I swear I don't make this stuff up.