I didn't worry too much at that moment. Instead, I walked out to her, grabbed her by the halter, and walked her up to the fence so that my friends could see her up close. Her nose was running a little, just out of her left nostril, but that didn't worry me since my mom had already explained what a veteranarian told her, that horses' noses will sometimes run after switching their alfalfa, as they'd had to do on the way up.
After the short visit I let Fancy go back to grazing, and I sat outside the barn with Lauren and K-girl. As usual, Ms. Wilson was doing something in the barn, and we were supposed to wait until she gave us the okay to go inside.
When at last that okay came, Ms. Wilson told me she'd called the vet about the discharge from my horse's nose. I tried to explain what my mother had told me, and I handed her the papers including the vet check saying Fancy was okay and not contagious. But she told me she'd already talked with my parents about having the vet come. So I worried.
I went to the hayloft as I'd been commanded and threw down haybales with K-girl and afterward took my place in the breezeway of the barn. People came in, telling me how beautiful my horse was, and my chest swelled with pride. Either that, or it swelled trying to get air past the lump in my throat.
But we all had barn chores to do, and since it was raining, we didn't ride. I had a sample of the hard work I'll have to do since my horse is here. People wanted to clean her pasture, so I had to move her, wait for them to finish, and then move her back. Then I had stalls to do, and I was already behind. So I ran out to the wheelbarrow line-up and couldn't find a single wheelbarrow. All of them were being used. I asked around for one and was finally told to just take the one sitting idle outside one of the stalls and empty it. I emptied, filled up with sawdust, and headed for stall 7. I performed my usual routine of dumping the sawdust in a clean corner and filling the wheelbarrow with Chance's mess. Then I went to dump it on Poo Mountain and was told immediately afterward by Ms. Wilson to clean up the hay mess by my trailer.
I went that way and was stopped by one of my friends telling me to go inside the barn right away since I had someone to see me. And there were my parents. Instead of running up and hugging them, I told them I had work to be done and proceeded to clean the hay mess. I was stressed. People kept asking me if I wanted help with anything, so I gave in and let someone spread out the sawdust in stall 7. Then as I went for stall 10, I saw Hiram cleaning it.
"Hiram, you don't have to clean it; I can do that." He shrugged that off and told me that I could get the sawdust for the stall and call it good. So that's just what I did. And then somehow, when I thought I was so busy, I was done.
At that moment, the vet arrived. So much for breathing! I headed out to Fancy's pasture again, and she walked right up to me, her ears pricked forward. I took a moment to stroke her before leading her up to the vet.
He did all sorts of wierd tests such as knocking on her nose and forehead to see where the congestion was and feeling around in her mouth for any rough spots since her teeth had recently been floated. I wondered how on earth teeth could have anything to do with sinuses.
The vet explained that there is a single tooth he's suspicious of, since it feels a little rough. That tooth could have some pus buildup underneath, in which case he would have to perform an expensive surgery to remove it (I guess novacane and a little tooth wiggling woudn't do the trick...?). Somehow that affects the sinuses and makes the nose start running.
And of course, he told my parents and me to hope for the best, giving us three days worth of antibiotics and telling us that if the discharge clears up, the tooth is okay (...?).
I'm praying for the best right now, because not only is the tooth-removing surgery expensive, but it'll mean that Fancy won't be able to work for two weeks afterward. And that'd be terrible for me. If you've ever read "The Shack", remember that part where Misty's father can see her from behind the waterfall, but he can't reach her? And he's in agony, because he loves her so much and wants so much just to hold her? That's what I'd feel like if I couldn't ride Fancy.
But on the optimistic side, at least Fancy's not contagious so that she can run with the herd. Plus, I can ride her for now. This whole situation makes me think of the song "Wild Horses" by Natasha Bedingfield.
*All I want is the wind in my hair,
To face the fear and not feel scared...
Wild horses, I wanna be like you,
Throwing caution to the wind; I'll run free, too...*
And I don't know what this next part has to do with it, but I like it.
*...Wish I could recklessly love,
Like I'm longing to,
I wanna run with the wild horses, run with the wild horses...*
So pray with me, please. I want Fancy to be okay; we have that dream together, remember?
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