Horse down (open/barn staff)

[jillaroo]

Victoria stared off into space. There was a dull ache in her chest, and over and over, she imagined walking past Percy’s empty stall. Would anyone else even notice he was gone? She took a deep breath, trying hard not to cry. The vet was asking her a question now, and Victoria found herself stumbling for an answer. “I...I just found him like this when I came to visit,” she stammered.

The vet looked serious, and Victoria felt a lump rising in her throat. This was all happening so fast; she just needed some time to think. What if the vet wanted to put Percy down? She couldn’t just give up on him! “Is he going to be okay?” she asked in a small voice. Her face was streaked with tears, and her bottom lip quivered. She wished her parents were here. There was no way they’d just let Percy die.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Katherine breathed a sigh of relief as the vet answered the phone and said he was on his way. Clicking the phone closed, she pushed it back into her pocket.

~*~*~*~

Cara's full attention was on working circles down the gelding's neck and then back up again. Keeping away from his ears as she didn't know how Percy reacted to having his ears touched, and even though the ears were a good place to work to keep horses calm, she knew that some horses objected violently to having their ears touched and she was working on keeping him quiet.

She looked up as the vet entered the stall, but when back to her work as he addressed Victoria.

~*~*~*~

The barn manager smiled at Kirk as he entered the barn and walked straight into the gelding's stall, going straight to work.

She felt guilty listening to the girl answer the question and then ask her own.

"I'm sorry, Kirk." she spoke up. "He had been a little off since breakfast, but other than pacing his box there wasn't anything that screamed that he needed veterinary assistance, he displayed the signs that some horses give off before a storm hits. I made sure to keep checking in on him, then I got a phone call and when I came to see him again he was down and Miss Gibson was in there with him."

[.Rissa.]

The man listened as the owner spoke. Of course she would be shook up and on the brink of mental break down. But in times like this, even owners had to gather the strength to think logically instead of their pitty feelings in the way, as that could in truth danger the life of the animal more. But she was a young girl, so it was more understandable. The vet was not at all satisfied with her responce however, it told him presicley nothing. He was about to ask how long ago when the girl arrived when Katherine cut in.

Dr. Clarkson took his eyes off the horse and offered the woman a small smile as if she could read his mind. And, in return, Kirk figured the horse to have been like this anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour knowing how often the barn manager checked on them. Over the muffled voices and quiet shuffle of feet, he heard a slight gurgle. That meant the animal more than likely wasn't colicing. Kirk bit his lip and moved the stethescope to the lungs, his free hand soothing the horse, though Cara pretty much had that taken care of, making everyone's life 99% easier in this situation. In his head, the man counted the number of breaths per minute. The average horse at rest takes 8-15 breathes a minute. The gelding was breathing 20, but if he had been struggleing, that was to be expected, "When was the last time he was out of the stall?" Dr. Clarkson questioned as he lifted the horse's upper lip. The animal tossed it's head in protest, but was clear it wasn't going to struggle anymore. The man's forefinger pressed down on the horse's gum. His brown eyes waited for color to return. It took almost three seconds, meaning the animal had mild shock.

Kirk had ruled out colic, and there was nothing stressing the animal's breathing hinting in a blockage of some kind. He next checked the pulse. His forefinger applied pressure up under the horse's jaw bone. His brown eyes glanced to the watch on his wrist. Doing minor calculations, he determined the chestnut's heart was beating 60 beats per minute. This was rather fast, but giving the circumstances, pretty understandable. He hadn't answered the girl's question for a reason, he didn't know. He thought the option maybe he didn't hear it would be the better way to go.

[jillaroo]

Victoria sucked in a breath. The vet looked grim, and she found her stomach clench, like it did before a big exam at school, or when she knew she was in trouble. Percy suddenly started to struggle. He was snorting and rolling his eyes, and her heart sank. Victoria stroked his neck, trying to stay calm. “It’s okay boy,” she reassured him in a wobbly voice. “You just have to be good and keep still.”

Finally, the horse lay back down and didn’t try to get up. She continued talking to him in a low voice, telling him that they would out galloping on the trails soon, that she wouldn’t even mind if she never got to ride anymore fancy jumpers, just as long as he got better. One ear flicked in her direction, and Victoria smiled in spite of herself, when she realised the horse was listening to her.

Out of character: I'll leave all the talking to Katherine/Dr Clarkson.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Katherine watched the vet as he examined the gelding, she felt useless standing outside the stall as she was, but knew that if she entered the stall the chestnut would become claustrophobic and she didn't want to cause him any more stress. She lifted her brows at the man's question. "Not today, that I know of." She replied. "Victoria?" She aimed the question toward the horse's owner, knowing that the girl would have better knowledge of the equine's routine than anyone else.

~*~*~*~

Cara continued her massage along the gelding's neck as she made sure to keep out of the vet's way as he made his inspections of the horse. She swallowed hard and worried her lower lip with her teeth an inward battle happening, wondering if she should speak up. "He makes a slight whistling sound when he breaths and his left larynx isn't moving as freely as the other side. Like he's got laryngeal hemiplegia." She knew that she could be over stepping her boundaries with trying to give a diagnosis all by herself, but she knew that it was information the vet needed to know.