Update

We elected to put Fire Starter down this afternoon after X-rays today showed that her prognosis was not very good at all. She had two severely displaced — though remarkably not fractured — vertebrae at the base of her neck pinching her spinal column in at least two places. Though surgery was a long shot option it would have been both risky and extremely expensive with no guarantees of an improved outcome for her whatsoever. Her little girl is thankfully in a great hands with her adoptive mom, Margarita, and we are of course eternally grateful to Fire Starter for having hung on these past few weeks, being such a good sport given the pain she was in, and ultimately birthing the cria herself. The stoicism these animals show sometimes leaves me in awe. Below are some pictures from the journey that Fire Starter and her cria have been on over the last little bit. If I can convert it to a jpg I’ll also post the X-rays of Fire Starter’s neck later so you can see what the poor thing was dealing with.

Fire Starter spends a couple of hours in the chute to take some of the pressure off of her abdomen. Note the slings around the rear legs so as to not push on the baby. FS would "stand" there happily munching hay while we went about our business next door in the Arena's break/vet room. We did that daily with her for almost two weeks to allow the cria some room inside to stretch out.
Fire Starter spends a little time with her daughter, Golden Fire, yesterday morning. At that point the baby couldn't walk either. We did notice that when we took the cria away to be adopted by Margarita that mom didn't seem overly concerned. Whether instinct gave her an understanding of the severity of her condition, or perhaps because of the lack of any actual nursing with the cria prior to that moment, she didn't show any outward signs of distress.
Golden Fire and her adoptive mom, Margarita, today at the Arena.

5 Comments

  1. Oh what a rough couple of weeks you guys seem to have had. Don’t know how you deal with it. So sorry for your loss, again.

  3. Wow…it’s been a rough few weeks for you guys. Thanks for posting the update on Fire Starter. So sorry that she had to be euthanized, but it’s good that she is not suffering. Hope the next few weeks bring better things for you all.

  4. You certainly have had your hands full. Our hearts go out to you and your family over the loss of Fire Starter, she was a beautiful, brave, and tough girl. We wish the best for her little girl Golden Fire. RIP Fire Starter!!!

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