Exotic Feline Rescue

Our old mare with Cushings never got any better even with the Chaste Tree Berries. My DH spent many days cutting her long hair so that the hot days weren't so hard on her. But even with her hair cut she suffered in the heat. So we finally donated her to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, who provide a home for nearly 200 big cats. They were thrilled to get her at the time because they were having a drought in meat donations. They said that they would be here in a couple of hours.

When he came to get her, he said that after my Husband had called they had gotten some other calls. They feed 3000 lbs. of meat per day. Unfortunately we have several horses who are at the age that they will probably end up in the same place in the next few months or years. It isn't as bad as it sounds, the man was very skilled in putting our mare down and he did it on our own property, so the horse does not have the stress of being loaded and hauled to a strange place. We feel like this is the right answer for all involved.

General Update

Spring is a busy time for us even when we aren't having any foals. It seems like I don't have much time to blog anymore. I have taken on the new responsibility of Collette and her three doelings. I separated them for the first time last night. My plan was to try to milk her this morning but since the milk stand wasn't ready, I decided to work on that today and try to milk her in the morning.

I fed and watered the doelings and then took some pictures of Collette's strutted udder in case anyone who might be interested in her wants to see it. It is a little lob-sided with the left side being larger than the right but she has a lot of milk. With the three kids nursing her I had no idea what her udder looked like when it was full.

I put her back in with her babies after I took the pictures and they were happy to see her. This is the first step in the weaning process, spending the night apart. Hopefully she won't give me too much trouble in the morning when I try to milk her. I will post the results tomorrow.

Angus is doing great and eating us out of house and home. He is dying for a playmate and tries to play with the doelings, that doesn't work very well, when Collette tries to fend him off they get into a head pushing competition that he always wins. We have to keep a close eye on them.

I still do not have any broody hens and I don't understand it. Last year they all wanted to go broody and this year no one does.

Calico is due on Sunday, Mother's Day. I have her and Paris in the foaling stall right outside our door, I put them in there for the first time last night. She is getting very close by the looks of her. Her udder isn't strutted tight yet but is getting very full, she is very indignant when I touch it. She thinks that I am going to milk her and she knows that just wouldn't be right. I have to touch it quickly to check it because she anticipates my move and out maneuvers me.

Paris is definitely bred also. I don't think that I have posted that my doubts about her have been erased. She isn't as big as Calico but she is big and is in the process of making an udder. She is due on the May 31st.

I have a ton of work that is going to have to be done. Cooter destroyed my dog kennel, that is where I usually separate the kids at weaning time. I have repaired it before and it is a big job. We need to get a bottom strand of wire put up around the goat lot so that the babies don't just walk under it like Angel does.

Sky, our new filly is growing more beautiful everyday. It has been raining so much that I haven't been able to get out there and play with her and take pictures.

I am not complaining about the rain because rain brings grass and our pastures need grass right now for the amount of horses that we have. Of course, the yard looks awful and since our miniature horse, Mr. Shorty has already foundered once this Spring, he has lost his job as our official lawn mower.

Trouble, our Cushings Disease mare, hasn't shown any signs of improvement. I started her on the Chaste Tree Berry Powder on April 24th, so it has been two weeks today. Maybe I am being too impatient. The article said that we should start seeing results in three weeks, so I'll try not to be discouraged yet. The first result is that you will notice they are drinking less water, but she is sharing a big water tank with our large herd, so there is no way for us to notice a difference. Her long curly hair is still hanging on for dear life. We plan to shave her as soon as we get a decent day.

Cushings Disease

Our first experience with Equine Cushings Disease has arrived. Our best foundation Appaloosa broodmare has Cushings.

We rescued Trouble many years ago along with her yearling daughter after she had just lost a foal, she was in horrible shape, running with a stallion and pregnant again. She also was unsound in a front leg, she has always had a slight limp that gets no worse or better. She lost the foal that she was pregnant with when we got her and we nearly lost her. A kind Vet spent a lot of time with her that night through the early morning hours. The foal was a gorgeous black and white leopard filly.

Trouble has given us some of our best foals and we never have a problem selling her babies. She has produced a black filly with large spots on her rump, a black colt with blanket, a palomino leopard, a palomino few spot (Ranger, my gelding), a blanketed Buckskin colt, a sorrel blanketed filly (when bred to a sorrel AQHA stallion), and her last foal was a blanketed Buckskin filly. In addition to the beautiful babies that she gives us, some of them are Indian Shufflers like my gelding Ranger.

We bred her back last year after a year's rest and this winter she has started showing all of the signs of serious Cushing's Disease. She has a long wavy coat that will not shed this spring, has lost muscle tone and stands at the water trough most of the day. She is drinking tons of water. She has not gotten laminitis (founder) yet, but from what I have read about horses with Cushings, it is just a matter of time.

There is no cure, it is a tumor that grows on the pituitary gland. However, you can treat the symptoms, give them back a normal life and extend they lives with treatment. In researching the disease, I found that normal Veterinarian treatment is very expensive on a monthly basis. But I found many good reports on a natural treatment that works just as well without any complications.

The treatment I found is Chaste Tree Berries, I could buy a liquid form that is as expensive as the other chemical medicines that I have researched. So I thought surely there must be a cheaper way to go. Then I found this rescue site: Eye of the Storm. I am thankful for the information that I found there.

I began my search for whole Chaste Tree Berries in bulk that I could grind myself. I would also have to buy a coffee grinder since I don't have one. Then I looked on eBay and found a powdered form of Chaste Tree Berries from as seller who sells natural remedies. I purchased 3 lbs. for $9.40 per lb. I think she will only have to have 1 Tb. once or twice per day, so this will be a very cheap alternative treatment.

According to what I have read, we should start seeing results very quickly, so I will report how she is doing, along with pictures, here on my blog from time to time.