The news is good.....but now the work begins

I was absolutely thrilled to get a phone call from the vet late yesterday afternoon. Here's the current condition:

No liver or kidney damage at all. His teeth have been floated. He shows a pretty good load of strongyles so they will go ahead and worm him there-where any ill effects can be handled. Other than that, he is eating, drinking, peeing and pooping with gusto. The swelling is starting to recede in the groin area already-possibly due to the fact that he is certainly stall walking. The vet felt that the remaning swelling would resolve on it's own, given enough exercise. Everyone I ask at the clinic has a giggle in their voice when they describe "cute, sweet, and boy howdy is he talkative!" Great personality is what I am hearing, very responsive-yay!

We then discussed future accomodations for him. I described buttoning up one stall and hanging the radiant heater above, coupled with lots of bedding, a good quality blanket, and an insulated stall bucket for water. The vet felt that was perfectly acceptable for him, with turn out above about 15 or 20 degrees if blanketed. (He will have to stay blanketed for the winter, pretty much) the only thing I didn't know, was what size blanket he really wears, lol! I left two there, and I have no idea which one got on him. Today, if it slows down enough at work (which it should, given the -16F temps this morning) I plan on running in to see him myself.

The other bit of good news is that the vet does not think he even needs a mash.....just lots and lots of good quality hay, a bit of something to balance cal/phos. ratio, V/M sup, probiotic, and a small amount of concentrates. They are also going to attempt to age him, after I related his stated age on the papers that came with him. In his dirty, starved condition, there is no knowing what his true color is-the survival coat is dull and a rather uniform greyish white color. If they can place him somewhere around what he's supposed to be, that's close enough for me.

Building that stall front will have to wait until the temps come up some. On Friday the excavator is supposed to arrive to do the new water line and hydrant. So I don't imagine anything will get built then, but one can always hope...I would love to have him home for the weekend.