Sometimes you have to go beyond what is logical

So, through a friend, I contacted an *equine intuitive*.

Yup, a good old fashioned animal communicator. Naturally, when conventional methods don't seem to be so hopeful, you go ahead and look elsewhere for help and support.

Enter "Vicki" from Colorado.

Now, for the record, I am not a firm believer in this kind of thing. However, I have also not had any previous success with it either. Mostly, I have been told that Parlay is "not social," and "very stubborn about communicating." Why not? He is so difficult about other stuff, why should THIS be any different?!? LOL!

Anyway, I had heard at a seminar recently that it will work better if the horse's person gives the animal *permission* to speak to a stranger. I went ahead and did that this morning over breakfast. I would like to say that I gave permission, but honestly, I think I really just DEMANDED that he comply with this effort!!

After 89 minutes on the phone, I think I came away with some really interesting ideas about my old man and other avenues of treatment and additional diagnosis theories. I learned a bit about Vicki, I became more aware of some things that I had observed with Parlay, and I even learned a little bit about myself.

I have a huge page of notes that I took while she was speaking to me. We bantered back and forth about what has transpired up until this point and what course of action I am currently following. We talked a bit about Parlay's past and about the professionals that I have chosen to work with. We chatted about the diet and the supplements and the environment that Parlay lives in.

Vicki was sweet and thoughtful and kind. She is a horsewoman and an animal lover and it was very evident in the way that she tackled my request. She "read" Parlay and pinpointed some areas in which to focus. She suggested some things to check and recheck and encouraged me to continue plugging along.

Most noteable was her thoughts on Parlay's digestive tract and more specifically, his intestines. She seemed to think that perhaps he is having trouble with parasites. Interestingly, Vicki thought was this was NOT an ingested parasite, but perhaps one that had gotten "in" through a bug or fly bite.

Belly aching. Hmmm... I will say that it IS weird that Parlay has 1) gone off of his beloved Senior feed cold turkey, 2) is looking at his sides immediately following each meal, 3) has minimized gut sounds since this all went down, 4) and now totally abhors molasses after a life long love affair with the sticky, sweet stuff!

As for the vector? A bug or fly? It brought to mind a recent incident. About a month or so ago, Parlay developed a very odd looking mark on his eye, just outside of the iris. It looks as if a small circle had lost some of the pigmentation. I sent a picture of it to my Vet via cell phone for her to think about(thank goodness for modern technology!) Initially concerned about it, we both kind of shrugged it off as it never really amounted to anything.

During this time, I did quite a bit of research on the potential causes of depigmentation of the eye and found only one thing that seemed plausible--- a parasite carried by a fly of some sort. I mentioned this to the vet, but we both kind of wrote it off. Pish posh... what kind of weirdness is THAT!

Naturally, because I really want to find that article again, I can't, but I do remember that the treatment was Ivermectin. The horses were due for a wormer anyway, so what could it hurt? They all got Zimectrin Gold in the first week of June. Weird? Coincidence??

Next, Vicki mentioned Parlay's sinuses. Since I just had them scoped mid May and found nothing I am not sure about that, but Parlay DOES have some allergy issues, is still having nose bleeds (the reason for the scoping back then), and he HATES to have them tapped on, so maybe there IS something there. I also did have to stop the antihistimine treatment due to his lack of eating and have not re-established it yet. Something to think about.

She also thought that another physical factor could be found in Parlay's back (2 places) his left hip and his poll. She asked if we had mud (and do we EVER) and thought that he may have slipped and hurt himself recently. She advised a chiropractor and perhaps an accupuncture/accupressure specialist.

From here, we began to explore Parlay's mental and emotional state. Notice what is missing? There was no mention of his heart issues or his trouble with breathing! Does this mean that what I am looking at is just a symptom of something else? It is a question that I have been asking myself for days/weeks! How does a very fit and healthy horse decline in such a rapid fashion?? But I digress...

Back to Vicki's analysis of Parlay's extrinsic nature. I KNOW that Par is stressed, anxious and agitated. I can see it every day. Vicki picked up on it and told me something that I probably already knew--Parlay is mirroring me. Guess what? I AM STRESSED, ANXIOUS AND AGITATED!! Darn it!

But, what am I to do? I am trying desperately to hold on to my best friend---I want to prolong his life, to make him more comfortable, to play with and ride him again... And these negative feelings and emotions that I am harboring are carrying over to my guy according to Vicki. Curses!!

The prescription? Take a pill and chill. Yup, that is the prescription for ME.

Vicki feels that Parlay is not ready to leave me. He is a strong willed and stoic creature, to be sure. He has something left to teach me, she says. I hope it's not a lesson about death, but ultimately, isn't that the lesson learned from every long term relationship? I am THANKFUL for the character that this horse posesses. Honestly? Without these qualities I think Parlay would have left me way back before this blog got started...on that fateful Saturday---when he had his internal, heart racing, lung pounding race and won.

So I better save my energy for more writing---I think that this final journey may be of epic proportions!

One can hope!

Stay tuned....