Medical Care for Gunner

My horse Gunner has been through so much. Over the last 9 years, he has moved from working on a cattle ranch, to working in a lesson barn, to being my #1 for leading trail rides, teaching riding lessons for all ages and levels, and teaching many leasers what it takes to own a horse.

Since discovering and battling PSSM along with several other medical conditions, his physical condition and exercise tolerance have drastically changed, both for worse and for better. He is the reason I went back to school and then founded Gallyp Equine Nutrition, and through all of it he has taught me so much about really listening to your horse and the importance of promoting health from the inside out. Lately we have both been getting back into work and he's been in the best shape of his last 2+ years.

But then everything changed. On Wednesday 02/14/2024, he and his brother saw the vet for their annual shots, bloodwork, and teeth floats. Everything went as expected. Gunner has shown signs of a minor sinus infection for some time, and the first round of antibiotics in December didn't clear it, so we started another round of a different antibiotic on Wednesday night. Then on Thursday, I found him with a swollen throat and struggling to breathe. I thought he might be trying to choke, but after several phone calls with the vet, we decided he did not require treatment for that. We had another vet visit scheduled on Friday for his brother, so I added him to the list. Thankfully the vet was able to get to our barn before the snow storm really picked up.

On site diagnostics revealed that his guttural pouches were absolutely full of fluid and they were pressing on his epiglottis, making it hard for him to breathe and swallow separately. He was given pain meds, a steroid, and 5L of fluids. For the next two days I gave him more steroids and pain meds. Since Wednesday night he has not been able to eat or drink much, but he's been hanging in there and eating soaked feed when I hold it for him. For the last two days I only had pain meds for him, and the goal has been to keep him stable until Wednesday when we have an appointment with the veterinary team at Mizzou (the University of Missouri Columbia). But his fever has been slowly increasing despite the meds, and from Monday to Tuesday he was barely able to eat or drink even compared with the previous days. By Tuesday morning, he was starting to drain blood clots out of his nose, and the vet told me we needed to take him in to Mizzou ASAP.

I'm typing this as I wait for more paid meds to kick in so he can handle the trailer ride. Mizzou already quoted me over $4000 for everything he needs, and that was before this turned into an emergency expedition. This, on top of the expected $2500 in vet bills from the previous week (I haven't seen these bills yet so I'm making an educated guess on the amount), is a big hit for us. I'm setting up this fundraiser because over the last few days it has been made clear to me how much this horse means to me, and I've also been reminded of how many other people he's taught throughout the years.

Asking for help is not something I take lightly, but this is not about me. If Gunner or I have made an impact on your life in any way, please consider helping us out. I need to do everything I can to give him a fighting chance. We have not come this far to give up now without shooting our shot.

*More of our backstory can be found in the 03/15/2024 update.

*His total vet bill has increased since I started this campaign, but our bill currently has 300 lines on it so I have not posted the document at this time. I can share it with interested parties upon request.