Hi everyone -

Last Wednesday I went and trimmed Hope who did pretty good for the
rest of the day. Thursday she wouldn't get up at all, all day, and
when the owners went to bed that night, they figured they were at the
end of the road. They were waked (awoken?) in the middle of the night
to the familiar sound of Hope tossing her feed bin around. And after
that, Hope has been acting about as normal as ever, except for the
need for the boots and pads. I'm going to go have a look to see if
she blew out an abscess, which sounds as if she did.

The owner is eager to get a new vet out in the next 3-4 weeks to draw
labs. Is this necessary so soon if the mare is doing better? Seems
to me that no matter what the lab values are, only Hope's body knows
what is its critical value for being compensated and without symptoms.
Is there a recommended schedule for serial lab draws or is it based
mostly on symptoms or lack thereof?

Thanks -

Linda