Looking to the future.

Sadly , on Sunday we had to make the descision and have Diablo put to sleep. An abscess had burst in his ear canal on Friday and I was really praying that the antibiotics would have begun to act - he was on a third type by this time - but unfortunately not . I took him on his last visit to the vet and made the vet promise not to mention that I cried , when he next saw me! It was incredibly quick, seconds really , and then home to the herd for mum to begin to realise he was gone. Poor Veronica was distraught and stood by him for the whole day. Finally I took him away at dusk , I really didn't want the foxes to get him . Veronica is still unhappy but is slowly getting better.

Meanwhile , matings carry on at a pace , I am determined that next year we will have a good strong crop of cria with a strong colour bias. The herd is looking well , and an infection that had started around Brizo's ear tag has subsided with the help of some anti biotic cream and anti fly cream , gosh the flies are bad this year. I am also hoping that we are nearly ready to make some hay , I leave it to the far superior knowledge of the farmer next door , but every year I am raring to go and he advises caution - he's usually right !

Maybe , just maybe

we have turned a corner . I am really praying we have . Bloods and fecals came back from the VLA showing an underlying infection , so dose of penicillin and finger s crossed. Tonight he sucked his milk down on his own - the first time he has done that in 2 or 3 days , and took almost 200ml , which is more than he took all of yesterday and today combined. Not sure that penicillin can work that fast, he only had the injection 4 hours ago , but I am really hoping we may be on the way back .

Thanks for all your advice and support , much appreciated !

Still no decision but in my heart ...

I know it cannot be good news . The blood results came back and showed no abnormalities at all , so the kidneys are a slight red herring . Poor little Diablo has had a tough weekend , his weight has gone up and down a bit , but when you only weigh 6.3kgs a little is alot if you see what I mean. He refuses the bottle most times , but is not feeding very well from mum , so it really is a case of force feeding him. He looks pathetic and listless , tries hard to eat grass but is clearly not enjoying life .
I am still waiting for the fecal results , and there is a slim chance that they may suggest an infection which we can clobber with antibiotics , but I am really not optimistic and I have mentally made the decision that unless it is clear cut and pretty good odds , Diablo cannot go on like this . You may think that I am jumping the gun , but I need to be prepared cos it is breaking my heart to watch him not make any progress and seem so miserable . I really hope I'm wrong he is a beautiful little chap.

Potentially tough decisions ahead

Diablo had his visit to the vet this morning . I was reasonably optimistic - he was brighter and more alert , still not keen to take a bottle but his belly seemed full enough. Anyway, the vet kept him for a few hours and then rang with the news I dreaded - it is not simple or even probable that it can be solved. It seems that he has mal-formed kidneys , resulting in urine not being passed to the bladder effectively . Currently we are awaiting blood results , but it seems that we are not sure how this will progress. It may be that his body will adjust at regular intervals , but equally he may not be able to survive and I must look at the possibility of euthanasia . Not a happy night ahead!