Best laid plans

I've been waiting for this day for months. We were planning on taking Sparkler and Banjo to Baraboo for their month of training. But last night when I checked on Sparkler she was lame. Sam told us she had carried on like a crazy lady after we left for Dan's with Banjo and Gilly, so I figured she had banged or sprained her leg.

I called the vet and she said bring her in. She was running a slight temp and the front of her right rear leg was slightly swollen, so we drew blood for a test. Being afraid of needles, we had to get her in the horse stantion and hold her nose tight. At the same time, she gave her a dose of tetracycline, then did the quick test. As the vet suspected, Sparkler turned up positive for Equine Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (EGE), a tick borne bacterial disease. There's a human version, too, HGE.

So, I have 10 days of treatment with powdered tetracycline before she can go for training. The good news is she will have complete recovery and will be immune from this disease for 2+ years. Luckily, my trainer can accommodate this delay.