Whispering 'You are going home' into the ear of a TIER resident is something we look forward to. Our dear Slim came to TIER emaciated & broken. Feed, foot care, dental care & love helped this sad boy to blossom into a stout, bright eyed character that would chase The Amazing Grace http://www.tierrescue.org/horses/grace/ around the arena at full speed. When Slim was let out to roam the property, you could usually find him getting into things, knocking things over, opening bins, or hanging out with Panache!

Slim was placed on supplements for Cushings and he had his feet trimmed every 5 weeks by our barefoot trimmer Michael LeGrone. The Cushings took it's toll on this Old Soldier who was a favorite of youngsters. On 7/13/05 at 10:20 a.m. I was able to wrap my arms around Slim's neck & whisper 'you are going home' through my tears as our vet helped him cross the Rainbow Bridge. Slim is now pain free and running through the meadows & streams at the Rainbow Bride. We miss him terribly and are so very grateful for having the opportunity to have had him in our lives.

Yak No Mo!

Whose idea was this??

WHOEVER thought this was a good thing wasn't the one that had to stand around for hours without having finished breakfast!

You're takin a break and I gotta just stand here looking like this?

As my friend Pearl used to say........
Mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter

Not only did I have to stand there forever, I only got 3 breaks to eat a little bit AND THEN they made me take a bath! Finally, I was allowed to go back to my pen and have breakfast at lunchtime! Grrrrrrrr

I'm so glad that is over! I think that Gail person was kinda shocked to see how much my back had dropped and the muscle tone in my butt is gone. This Cushings stuff can really wreak havoc on ya!

The vet has come and gone......to the tune of 260.00!!!!!!! Arghhhhhh! But, Slim is doing so much better!

The vet arrived and promptly went to work on Slim. She bathed his sheath with antiseptic soap and cleaned the area. A &ldquococktail&rdquo (I believe it was a combination of Ace & Rompum) was administered so that Slim&rsquos penis would drop and she could examine it to see if the swelling, etc. involved this part of his anatomy. Thankfully, all is well in this department. Whew!

I had wanted to take pictures so that folks would be able to see what it was that we were so concerned about. The vet was insistent that I hold Slim so that she would be safe and also because he was pretty groggy and I needed to hold his head up. So.... no pictures of the hugely swollen problem. Sorry. That boy's head sure did get heavy!! By the time she was done my arms felt like they were going to fall off! HAA!

The vet injected a combination of injectible ivermectrine, Lydocaine to localize the treatment and Vetalog (steroid). Slim does have Cushings, and she was concerned about the use of steroids so she kept the amount used to a minimum. She did several small injections - mostly done directly in the lesion. She called it a lesion and I called it Slim&rsquos attempt at Do-It-Yourself Sheath Reconstruction since he had torn the sheath open as it began to heal and itch.

After sticking it to Slim, she administered a mixture of Panalog and injectible ivermectrine to the outside of the sheath and over the affected area. This mixture, along with a tube of Bute paste will be used in the coming days as his follow up treatment. Even though Slim had been wormed with Ivermectrine the week before, the vet told us to give him another tube and that was done. A pretty drowsy Slim was placed back in his pen until the drugs wore off and he could again be turned out to move around at will and keep the circulation going.

Our fear of infection spreading through Mr. Slim&rsquos body has been put to rest! Hallelujah!! The vet indicated that there was not any infection and even told us that we had done a good job of keeping it clean! I asked if we had over reacted in calling the vet out for an emergency and she indicated that we hadn&rsquot. Had the swelling been allowed to continue, we might have had quite a different update for everyone.

We did not notice any huge reduction in swelling after Slim&rsquos treatment that day. But, the following day, the area behind the sheath and the sheath itself has greatly reduced. As Slim is older, some of the &lsquoswelling&rsquo in his sheath will remain as the skin has thickened. Because of this thickness, it was a bit difficult for the vet to inject and she had to change needles.

Slim is getting his Panacur/Ivermectrine ointment applied three or four times a day. The great thing about this (other than the healing) it that it also repels the flies. We don&rsquot have to put SWAT ointment on the area. The SWAT was keeping the area moist and not allowing it to heal well even though it did keep the flies off. Slim will also be receiving Bute paste twice a day for a couple days. When I turned him out this morning he immediately found a place in the arena to roll, got up, bucked, ran around a bit and then turned to look at me as if to say......&rdquoSee! I still got it!!&rdquo

Thank you all for your support, prayers, thoughts and caring. We appreciate it very much. Slim thanks you more than you can know!!

A Veterinarian is coming out for Slim. Over a period of two days his sheath began to really swell (he has a huge summer sore on it that he keeps ripping open) and the swelling has gone back to where his testicles used to be. Our regular vet AND our backup vet are out of town until Monday. I have called 4 vets last night! Two of which are out of town and one didn't even bother to call back AFTER 2 calls!! The one that is coming out will have to make a special trip (their office is in San Dimas). She cautioned me that the charges would be quite steep. When I asked for a ballpark figure, she apologized and said for her step out of her truck and onto the property would cost 90!! From there we go to treatment, etc. Can you sing CHA-CHING in a high hysterical voice????? She intially said they treat these sores by injecting Lydocaine/Ivermectrine/steroids directly into the lesion. She is concerned about the amount of steroids due to Mr. Slim having Cushings. Grrrrrrr!

We&rsquove double dosed with Ivermectrine, cold hosed, applied Derma Gel, Wound Relief, Swat, and adminstered antibiotics, ad infinitum. But, everytime it begins to heal and starts to itch, he rips it open. He's done major reconstructive surgery on his sheath twice. Both times ripping off a chunk of skin the size of a walnut!! I noticed the swelling (who could miss it??), washed with Benzal, applied triple antibiotic, covered in SWAT and gave him the last 20 of the SMZ's. The next morning. I again cleaned it up, turned him out in the arena in hopes that a full day of walking around would help the swelling (he is turned out every night with Princess Dot). When I got back from various errands/appointments,I noticed the swelling had progressed to the area behind his sheath and began calling vets.

This year has been quite a struggle financially. We would very much appreciate your assistance in paying Slims&rsquo vet bill. An update on Slim&rsquos visit with the vet will be sent out as soon as possible.

Thank you for being there for the TIER residents!!

Most of the time Slim is just a Teddy bear. But......he has some fire in that stove still! He is picky about which horses he likes and doesn't like. If he doesn't like them and is turned out with them, he corners them, chases them, etc. He's pretty quick on his feet and I'm sure he was used to cut cows at one time or another because has the moves!! After bullying one of the horses on his "not my favorite" list, he is pretty sore and tired. Not every time, but generally. He is great with kids and people unless he is pretty certain he doesn't want to do something. Then......he is very strong minded and tough. Slim was probably VERY good at whatever he did in his past life. Sigh.....that is why he is so damaged, they used him up. His rear legs will still stock up and he gets pretty sore in the front at times. But, when he's at his bestest, it is a sight to behold!!

Slim is doing very well. Although he is still getting abcesses in his feet everytime he is trimmed due to the angle change, (which will be ongoing until his feet are at the correct angle), he is putting on weight and enjoys cruising around.