Mea Ola

3/20/12 Update:

Mea Ola is having a hard time during these final weeks of pregnancy. She has had to be sedated twice for trimming feet, x-rays and special shoes in the last week. She has to take bute (an anti-inflammatory) for laminitis that is affecting all four feet so she does not founder. More than likely, it is the weight of her pregnancy causing all of the trouble. It is interfering with circulation and this is not a good thing for her feet. The x-rays revealed ringbone in her right front foot, probably caused by an injury as she has a whopper of a scar on her right front pastern. This is a very painful condition and has been the reason for lameness on the right front (besides the heel pain in both front feet from walking on her heels and having hooves curled up for who-knows-how long). She has special gel pad-like shoes on front with complete frog support and a silicone filling in between. Thank you, Jamie Osbrink!

Mea Ola will never be able to run with her foal. The good news is that once the bones fuse in her right foot, she will no longer have pain, but she will have limited motion and will probably never be able to be ridden.
We love her anyway. She is a special, special girl. She has touched many hearts around the world on Marestare and I would like to thank them for their support. As you might imagine, this has been very difficult and continues to be. We love her very much and want to make sure she is comfortable and has a healthy foal.

Also, I decided to think “outside the box” and asked my friend, Dr. Freng, from Tehachapi Verterinary Hospital, if he would try acupuncture on Mea Ola last Thursday. I had seen miracles with acupuncture he had performed on dogs over the years. He was more than willing to give it a try, even though he is a small animal veterinarian. (One of the best of the best, I might add!!!). We were concerned that she might not cooperate, but she was a perfect angel. She received five needles in each foot and they were left in for about 10 minutes. He said that if it was going to help that we would see results by Saturday. On Saturday morning, I couldn’t believe it! All feet were cool to the touch and the swelling was almost gone in rear legs. With no bute! By 3 pm that afternoon, feet were ice-cold and NO trace of any swelling in rear legs, or anywhere for that matter! Because this has helped her so much, he has agreed to continue her treatments. She feels so good and if this keeps up,
she should have no problem looking after baby!

We are getting closer to foaling and I hope the next update will bring great news and a beautiful foal!!!

2/6/12 Update:

Mea Ola is doing great. We are good friends now and she looks forward to our routine. I check her bag (mammary glands), tail, and female parts every morning so I can notice any signs of impending labor. She is turned out most of the day after eating breakfast. She looks forward to her lunch and gets irritated at the end of the day if I am not quick enough to get her back to her stall. She is then checked again. At 10pm, she gets a bran mash, another check, and then is penned up in her foaling stall. Joe did a great job on her stall and I can rest easy now that we are ready to go and she has a safe place for herself and baby.

As you can imagine, we are excited and a bit nervous, as her time is approaching quickly. She is making “bag” now and her body is starting to change in preparation. This could mean tonight or another couple of weeks! Some 75% of mares foal between 10pm and 4am in the morning. Each mare is a little different, and not knowing her history makes it more difficult to discern. There are a few more signs needed before we start doing all night, every 20 minute checks. We already have shifts planned and Chris Sanchez will be staying here to help with the shift work. Dr. Nelson spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me the other night, so that I could ask questions and make sure I have everything we will need. She was sure to let me know that she is a phone call away and about a 10 minute drive from us if we should need her. Thanks, Dr. Nelson!

We had a great week. Since her trim by Mark Thomson, her lameness is improving. Dr. Byerly said she could go on short walks around the yard and we have enjoyed them. She is definitely my friend now. She was very good for me when I washed in between her legs and under her tail. On Friday night, I had to take her temperature and she was very good for that. She prefers it when I am working with her alone, so that is how we do it. I don’t even have to tie her anymore to do whatever I need to with her. She started to make a little bag on Friday so I am watching her close. It could still be weeks, but I don’t want to miss when the baby comes.

1/16/12 Update:

Mea Ola has had a busy week. She got her feet done….wow! Was that an experience! Mark Thomson, farrier from Bear Valley, was very patient with her. She is so sore on that right front that trying to do her left front was time-consuming. It was painful to have to bear so much weight on that right foot while the left one was being done. But now, both vet and farrier think she is a “keeper.” There is something very special about her.  She knows who I am and knickers to me often. She loves her carrots every afternoon…that is usually Payton’s job. I go out every night just before bed and sit with her while she eats a warm bran mash with chopped carrots that I make for her. We talk about all kinds of things….mostly how she needs to really trust me before her baby gets here. I am working like mad to build a relationship so that if she has any problems during delivery, it won’t be stressful for me to be around and help. I think Mea Ola is going to be one of those “one person” horses. I am glad she has picked me, for now. She lets me in a little more every day. She also now has 4 clean legs and a beautiful mane. Next week, tail and underneath….I may use a hemet!

Mea Ola, which means Survivor in Hawaiian,  is a 14-year-old black and white Paint mare.  She is in her final month of pregnancy and is lame on both front feet.

The right foot is the worse of the two.  It was decided not to Xray her because she would have to be sedated.  She isn’t very cooperative yet.  But even Dr. Byerly liked her.  There is something special about this mare.  After she goals, we will Xray her foot to see if her lameness will be permanent.  It could very well just be severe soreness because she was rescued in knee-deep mud, with feet so long that they curled up.

Mea Ola was rescued with five other horses, including Rosie, who has her own special story too.