Vet Day

This afternoon we went out to meet the vet who would be checking out Freedom. He was a very nice (looked very young, but hey I'm getting old) man who had a great manner with the horses. My friend had 2 of hers checked for stuff as well, so we got to split the call fee. I got a little anxious as I led the vet and his assistant to Freedom's stall. I worried he would tell me something was horrribly wrong with him, and that I should put him down, etc.. He quickly checked him out, the assistant got a stethoscope and listened to his heart, lungs and gut noises. She finished and told the vet Freedom has a pretty significant heart murmur. He listened as well, and agreed. He explained that as emaciated as he was, there was a lot of muscle loss going on, including his heart muscle. Also he said more than likely he was really anemic, resulting in thinner blood. He said that after gaining a hundred pounds or so, it probably will go away. He estimated Freedom to weigh about 800-825 pounds, and said he should gain 300-400 to be at a healthy weight. I cannot imagine losing 1/3 of my healthy body weight, that would put me at about 80 pounds. That would not be pretty. Not that I'm anywhere close to my healthy weight though any weight loss would be nice :) I was given the green light on my proposed feeding plan, incuding beet pulp, rice bran, senior feed and canola oil in a soggy bucket in addition to his hay. I was also told to pick up some Red Cell and start feeding him that as an iron supplement. Apparently he's missing a lower tooth, no biggie but the upper one above it has grown down a ways. We'll get that fixed when we can. So, long story short, Freedom looks like a pretty healthy, sound, nice horse with a little (ok a lot) of feed.
I am convinced though that I NEED to have my own property. I have horses running through my blood, plain and simple. I want nothing more than to be able to look out my window and see my baby(ies) out there. I also think it is a valuable learning experience for the kids. Not that they are lacking in the animal department already... Of course my kids and husband are my number one priority, but horses run constantly through my mind, my heart, and my soul. They need to run in my backyard now too :)