Many thanks to Barnmice member Geoff Tucker, DVM for allowing us to share his blog!

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Even cats get hot in the summer

The summer heat could blister paint. Dogs that normally chased my truck onto the farm lay motionless in the shade moving only their eyes assessing the trespasser, then drifting off to a sleep where it was cooler and they were chasing rabbits again. Whines and gently puffing cheeks along with flicking paws were evidence of their deep sleep. “If only I were a dog,” I thought as I went into the barn for another routine call.

August days in upstate New York can be brutally hot. Life creeps by in inches. I worked my way through the morning calls. A pregnancy check, an insurance exam, and a few Coggins tests and health certificates, all not too stressful for me so far. It was almost noon and I had a lameness exam next.

Standing outside in the sun for an hour, I watched the slightly lame horse move around in a circle. He was lame mostly to the right and I did the usual exams of hoof testers, flexions, and nerve blocks. The results yielded gallons of sweat pouring off my eyebrows and chin. My shirt was soaked.

I went to the truck to get the heavy X-ray machine and bulky film plates and set up the machine. Another 30 minutes of pulling the shoes, preparing the hoof and packing the sole with Play-Doh™ to help clarify the bone structures within the hoof, I neared exhaustion. The horse was just beyond cooperation as he would move the hoof out of position just before I would trigger the X-ray for the exposure. Frustration was hard to keep in check.

A barn in summer in New York

The exam was over and my equipment was packed again in the truck. My sweat drenched clothes added 20 pounds to my weight and stuck to the hot seats. I quickly drove to the local “Red Apple” convenience store and nosed my truck up tightly to a big tree. The shade covered the cab of my truck. I turned up the music, made the air conditioning cold, cracked the window open, and tilted the back of the seat as far as it would go. Moments later I joined the same world the dogs I had seen earlier in a deep, deep sleep.

I felt nothing and my brain waves were flat lined. I could have been dead. I left my body and I could not even tell you what I was experiencing. I was in a pure state of nothingness. My body maintained this state long enough to be rejuvenated, but something was wrong. It told me to wake up immediately, but forgot to tell me who I was or where I was.

My eyes opened but my body had no feeling of the surroundings and my mind was blank. My arms lay limp at my sides and my legs had fallen widely apart. My lips could not move. Slowly my eyes focused. I saw the tree directly in front of me. I was about to die.

Geoff with a happy horse after floating

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I lifted both of my legs and slammed them on the brakes crushing the peddle into the floorboard. I braced for impact, but nothing happened. My conscious brain started to analyze things. My screaming had stopped. Music gently wafted in the cool air. I looked around hoping no one had heard my screaming.

After a few moments had passed, I slipped the gear from park to reverse and backed away from the shade tree and out of the parking lot. Heading to my afternoon appointment, I started laughing out loud. In a parked truck, I had thought my life was going to have a horrible end. It is a feeling I have never forgotten and gives me the giggles every time the long hot dog days of summer meets the late afternoon drooping eye lids.

Doc T

www.TheEquinePractice.com

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