Page 37 of Deadly Attraction
“Yeah, about that,” Mitch said, as he continued to sweep the surrounding area with his focused attention. “I can probably help.”
“It’s colic,” Mitch told his eager audience. He’d checked Second Chance’s vital signs and listened to her gut sounds. The only thing left was a rectal exam.
He could hardly wait.
Rubbing a forearm across his forehead, he wished he hadn’t opened his mouth. “Probably due to stress from foaling.”
“Colic.” Emma gave a nod. “Is that all?”
“Colic can be serious.” He wiped his hands on his pants, gave the horse’s belly a pat. “Depends on what type it is. If it’s impaction or displacement colic, she needs surgery. If it’s a gas buildup, I can relieve that with a tube.”
“We’ve got one of them naso tube thingies,” Will said. “Will that help?”
Mitch wanted to say no. Why was he doing this? “Nasogastric?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Doc Jane left it here with some meds early on in Second Chance’s pregnancy in case the horse had bowel issues.”
“She show you how to use it by any chance?”
“She did.”
Looked like he would at least have help saving the damn horse. “Go get it. The meds too.”
Will trotted off to the other end of the barn. Emma crossed her arms and gave Mitch a curious stare.
“What?” he said.
“You know a lot about horses, Agent Holden.”
This wasn’t his job. He shouldn’t be worried about this horse instead of Dr. Collins, but something in him wanted to save the damn animal just for her. “Cleaned my share of stalls growing up.”
She entered the stall and rubbed Second Chance’s nose. “You grew up on a ranch?”
“Sort of.”
When he didn’t come forth with anything else, she chuckled. “Seems like you picked up more than the basics of cleaning stalls if you can diagnose what’s wrong with a horse.”
“I’m no vet, just seen a lot of this sort of thing. Sweating, bloating, the sitting down. Classic signs of colic.”
“When I brought you out here the other night, you acted like you didn’t care for horses. You said you’d never ridden a horse.”
“I said I rode motorcycles.” He leaned against the rail. “And you’re right, I don’t care for horses.”
Her brow furrowed as she stroked Second Chance’s ears and jaw. “How is that possible? How can you not appreciate these beautiful creatures?”
Will returned, saving him from talking about it, handing him the medication. “Will this help?”
Banamine. Good enough. “Yep. Let’s get that tube in her, see if we can get the gas and fluid accumulation out. Then we’ll administer a dose of this stuff.”
Guiding a stomach tube into a horse’s nose and down her esophagus into her stomach was not exactly a walk in the park. She fought them for a good, long time, and Mitch didn’t blame her.
Will managed to get the back flow of gas going and she settled down. Probably because she was finally getting relief.
Thank the stars. He wouldn’t have to do a rectal.
He wrapped things up, giving the horse a dose of the meds through the tube. Then they removed it.
Second Chance seemed like her old self, moving around without issues and nuzzling Mitch’s shoulder as he wound up the long, flexible hose. Hope was nursing a minute later.
