Frustration

I gave in and called the vet this morning. Turns out they're also wondering where their test results are! The receptionist kindly called the lab who, it turns out, sent everything to Washington state and are expecting the results in two MORE weeks. I feel really really sorry for all the people waiting for more important results than me - I know I'm beyond frustrated so I can't imagine how upsetting it would be if you were waiting for results of a more life or death type test. It's pretty unacceptable even for me since the vet is back over here on the 16th and won't have any results to work off of. I will be leaving the following week for Alberta so I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I'll have him look her over again and do her spring shots, but I'm not pleased to be paying a $100 call fee just for that. I'm not prepared to wait until mid May for him to visit again (besides the fact that I won't be here) but I'm also apprehensive about putting her on a long trailer ride when something is obviously not right with her. I'm leaning more and more towards the shorter ride to her breeder's and letting her have the summer off out at pasture. They have a good vet who will do farm calls there too. I hate that I won't be there, but it's unlikely I would be able to take a day off to attend vet appointments in Alberta either - I usually have to let the barn manager handle it.

 It's funny, if Ginger had a definitive diagnosis requiring time off, I'd be disappointed but accepting. Since I feel like we should have been able to get to the bottom of things by now, I'm resentful and upset not only about the lack of treatment, but that it might be an easy fix and we've been put on hold anyways. Selfish, I know -in the grand scheme of things a summer isn't the end of the world and giving her time off can only help.

I sure wish there were more equine vets in the world. I always thought it was just where I live now, but after travelling a bit for work, I'm finding they're sort of a rare breed. Even in Alberta, the 'good' vet is a 2 hr drive away in Edmonton. I'm grateful we do at least have an excellent one that visits us here every month or so.

The good news is that Ginger continues to look better - her coat is shiny and healthy and her weight is already at an acceptable level. Obviously her teeth were bothering her - can I be frustrated again with the vet that looked at them/floated them last time and apparently missed the back left corner of her mouth? I'm still concerned by how sensitive her back, flanks and girth area are although my thoroughly unscientific poking may indicate she's feeling a little less sore. I'm not sure whether the lack of topline and muscling over her hindquarters are soley due to decreased exercise. She still appears slightly tucked up, but she's eating and drinking very well. I've been giving her a ration balancer, beet pulp, and alfalfa, as well as free choice local hay to keep her weight up. The alfalfa is intended to add calcium and soothe her tummy in case she was/is dealing with ulcers. It's also higher in protein to help those muscles out. Once we can get her out to full time pasture I think that will help as well. I'm just taking a shot in the dark with this so don't take any of this as feeding advice - I'm doing the best I can with limited resources :)

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