Fantaa was doing great until Sunday, June 12, 2022

We noticed him rolling and acting colicky - not eating, pacing, and hanging his head: we knew something was wrong. We gave what medicines we could to help Fantaa and he seemed to get some relief.

By Monday,

Colic symptoms escalated and the clock ticking because colic is life-threatening for horses. We decided to call the veterinarian.

Tuesday

The vet immediately put Fantaa on life-saving IV fluids to hydrate him, to help keep his digestive tract from developing necrosis. Fantaa had an intestinal obstruction and the vet found a life-threatening intestinal stone called an Enterolith. Tuesday’s vet bill came to $764.

Tuesday evening Fantaa was in clear distress and was rushed to Steinbeck Equine Veterinary Hospital, Salinas, CA, USA, the stone was evident in an ultrasound further validating the urgency of the situation. They kept watch and planned to do the surgery as soon as possible.

Surgery to remove the intestinal stone was completed Wednesday and seemed to go well.

However, his health was challenged by two issues while in recovery. Fantaa contracted a Salmonellosis infection, then developed pneumonia. Throughout this ordeal, we were told to say goodbye, but Fantaa never gave up.

Each day he remained alert, ears forward and friendly, always ready to greet us with a nicker or a whinny even as his appetite dwindled and his weight tragically dropped. He needed to be strong to fight the Salmonellosis infection and fight pneumonia –all while healing from his intestinal surgery.

For these reasons, he remained in intensive care for 14 days, and his hospital costs skyrocketed beyond the estimate to $24,645.27

Long term care

On June 30th, Fantaa, emaciated, was finally able to return to the ranch; despite his condition, he was elated to see his herd and be HOME! His pneumonia care required three lung treatments daily. On a slow road to recovery, never have I met a horse so willing to stand still and receive care. He’s such a good guy.

We are amazed at his intense desire to thrive despite the colic surgery and contracting a life-threatening bacterial infection from the surgery, and pneumonia.

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