Funny that we are talking about taking a pounding from animals - I'm pretty sore myself today. Yesterday, I had the vet out to give the horses their shots and pull blood for the Coggins tests. Blondie was her usual sweet self - though she tossed her head once and swished her tail a couple of times ('ouch, that hurts!') she was about as good as she could be, then followed us around like a puppy while we did the others. Latte was about like Blondie; not thrilled with the needles, but cooperative. Sunny could be used by a vet school for the students to practice on; I don't think she even blinked. Syd? Well, "Wig Out First, Ask Questions Later Syd" had to be tied to a fence to keep her from jumping around so much, but once she figured out she couldn't go anywhere, she wasn't too bad. But then there was Betsy. Dear Betsy. Doing medical stuff with The Mule has always been challenging, but this was the worst time ever. Over the years, there have been many needles that got bent or went flying, and lots of trodden on toes and stuff. But this time, for some reason, the vet just couldn't seem to get the blood sample. I kid you not, we spent the better part of two hours on and off trying to get that sample. She had problems hitting the vein on the other minis, too - they are shaggy beasts at this time of year, and it can be hard to keep your bearings in all that fur. But Betsy was by far the worst, and like most donkeys and mules, once she starts to fight, she doesn't quit. I told my husband that after spending so much time trying to hold Betsy still, I feel like I've done a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson. His response was, "I'd bet Betsy could take him."
We're all on pain relievers today; the minis got their Banamine, and I got into the Ibuprofen. Betsy probably feels like a pincusion, poor baby, but at least she is still talking to me. The good news is, the vet just called - apparently the few drops she managed to get were enough, and the lab got the test done. Whew!
