and so my show season will be short, my “dressage horse” lame, and a huge vet bill on a horse, and still no diagnosis…   am I disappointed. I actually don’t know. Last Tuesday one of my cast of characters (Mocha) was standing like usual in his stall, it was raining and everyone had stayed in, trying to keep them from tearing up my valuable ground so I have some kind of grass to turn them out on… I went up the barn aisle giving out a treat, when I got to Mocha, he tried to take the treat, but saliva poured out of his mouth, pooling on the floor outside his stall. I took a step back to look at him, he peered back at me, with an expectant look on his face, ears forward, and reaching for me,, so I checked his stall, all his morning hay was gone, as was water, and he didn’t appear to be in distress.  I gave him a handful of hay, he chewed, but then the hay fell out of his mouth, it seemed his tongue couldn’t move the chewed matter back to his throat in order for him to be able to swallow.  As much as I know about horses, this was above my pay grade in terms of diagnosis, and treatment… I called the veterinarian.  She came, did an exam, checking his mouth, and neck area thoroughly, finding no obstructions, or cuts, or bad teeth in his mouth,  gave an early diagnostic possibility of botulism, or vitamin E deficiency .. she pulled blood, gave him a whopping does of Vitamin E, because that was her best guess, some banamine, and told me to call if he got worse.  The tab for this hour plus, was well over 500 dollars.  So, there went my show budget of the season, but since Jack is lame, and has melanoma, well.  It is what it is.