Home Again, One Step at a Time

After 7:00, I settled in with a coffee while gathering some information on ChatGPT. It was such a beautiful sunny morning that Harley, the cats, and I took my second cup out to the deck to enjoy the fresh air. I even picked a bouquet of peonies to brighten the house—and my mood. S was still enjoying his coffee in bed when I came back in for a shower.

 

horses all sleeping in the background

Once he was dressed, he headed out to work on the swather. Even though there's a chance of rain tomorrow, he decided to keep pushing ahead. I tossed Roo her hay, kept the laundry going in the garage, hauled the folding pen down from the mezzanine, and gave it a good wash. After that, it was time for my weight workout.

B came out later, and since she didn't want Cooper feeling left out from accompanying her when she was riding, she and I took Roo for a ride first. After a quick hose off, Roo got to spend some time with her buddies in the pasture. We shared a simple bologna sandwich for lunch before heading out around 1:30. S was stopped with yet another swather repair.

We made a quick stop in town so B could change into shorts—it had warmed up to 25°C—before arriving at the veterinary clinic right on time for Cooper's 2:30 pickup. Seeing him come through the door was emotional. He was walking on his front legs while supported in the back with a sling. The staff showed us how to express his bladder before sending us on our way. I think just climbing into his own car bed brought him a huge sense of comfort.

Our next stop was Boysis's to borrow Renn's wagon. After a quick hello, we headed for the ranch with one more stop at Superstore to grab a few supplies. S had just finished the big field and moved over to the winter pasture as we pulled into the yard just after 4:30. Harley was waiting to greet Cooper while B carefully carried him over to the grass so he could stretch a little. Even Stella cautiously wandered over to check him out.

He sat up as we drove into the yard

We settled Cooper into the wagon and tried to tempt him with something to eat, but he wasn't interested. Instead, B, Harley and I took him for a slow walk down the road. It was hard not to think that almost exactly 48 hours earlier he had walked that same stretch on all four legs. Back at the house, we tucked him into Harley's bed where he immediately looked much more relaxed.

Stella, Harley and Mr Jenkins all checking in on Cooper

While Cooper drifted in and out of sleep, I made some pasta for supper and B quietly slipped out to feed the horses. S came in after another repair, grabbed a bowl of pasta, watched a little rodeo, then headed back out to finish swathing.

burning off steam

Later, B and I gave Cooper a bath. She dried him off and stayed with him while I freshened up Harley's bed with clean sheets and started another load of laundry. Once he was settled back into bed and comfortable, B headed to town to shower, feed Gulliver, pick up her overnight things, and make one last stop at Walmart.

Cooper loves his zoomies

With the swathing finally finished, S came in for the evening and relaxed on the couch with his laptop while I slipped outside to put Switch's fly sheet on. The mosquitoes have become awful again. S enjoyed a soak in the hot tub while I worked on today's blog. By then it felt like we'd lived two days in one.

B made it back before 9:30 and climbed into Harley's bed beside Cooper for the night while S settled onto the couch to watch more chuckwagon racing. Around 10:00, B and I took Cooper outside for his evening pee before getting him tucked back into bed. S and I started another soil documentary around 11:30, but it wasn't long before B needed help with Cooper.

The night quickly turned stressful for both Cooper and B. The poor guy became increasingly anxious, and it seemed to be because he needed to poop but didn't want to do it in his bed or inside the house. He just couldn't settle. A call to the emergency clinic reassured us to keep watching him and call back if he vomited. Since he hadn't eaten a thing since Thursday morning and had only been drinking water, it wasn't long before he did vomit, which naturally worried B even more.

An RVT was wonderful, calling with suggestions to try to get some food into him, but nothing tempted him. After a bout of diarrhea, he finally settled down a little. The RVT even called back around 2:00 a.m. to check on him, although she still hadn't been able to speak with a veterinarian. B and I took Cooper outside again at 4:30 am and once more at 7 am hoping each trip would be a little easier than the last.