Lost in the mail - sort of

My vet ordered the Oroquin the day we found out he was positive for Sarcocystis Neurona. But SEVERAL snafus delayed getting the Oroquin to me.

And Blue went downhill fast.

He was still eating and drinking, but he looks dangerously tilted. His hind end sways precariously. He is so crooked that he barely fits in his stall door between his shoulder and hip. Finally, I decided he could not go out with the other horses - one bump and he'd fall. I also requested that he be put in the indoor arena while his stall is cleaned, because I am so afraid he might fall on the girl who mucks the stalls. I do not let my children around him, which breaks our hearts. He is just too off-balance. He wanted to be in his stall so he could lean up against the wall.

It looked pretty bad:

Little did I know it was about to get MUCH worse.

The next day I went out to the barn and I was putting away his supplements when I saw him turn. It looked like he wanted to roll. But when I looked up a few minutes later, he was still turning circles in the same spot. He couldn't walk forward. He was stuck doing circles and he couldn't get to the water trough. It was incredibly heartbreaking.

I'm going to put on my honesty hat here. If the Oroquin wasn't on the way, I would have put him down on this night. This is exactly what I was trying to prevent for him. I love him too much to put him through this low quality of life. I felt huge guilt for keeping him alive through it.

But the package of Oroquin was on the way, so I switched into "hospice mode." The question on everything was "how can I make him most comfortable?"

We did a few things:

1. Dexamethazone shots to relieve inflammation. This is a short term fix, and I'm not convinced it worked, but he got one shot for two days, a rest for two days, and then a shot for the next two days.
2. Flyspray. I doused him. I didn't want him kicking and stamping at flies when he is already so off balance. I also purchased Equi Spot from Smart Pak. 
3. We put a box fan up on his stall door to blow constant air to keep air circulating and to cut down on flies and heat.
4. We doubled up on the bedding in his stall
5. I added U Gard Pellets (pellets!) to help his stomach and esophagus while he is on so much medication.
6. I bought a coffee grinder to turn the Oroquin tabs into powder and I bought maple syrup to help hide the powder in his food.
7. We left Blue and his girlfriend, Sunny, both in all the time. This kept them cooler, without the flies, and they got out when their stalls were being cleaned. He had a buddy, and that reduced his stress. 
8. I also made a point to be at the barn in the mornings to brush him and at night to give his meds, fuss over him, feed him treats, etc.

I beat a path to the mailbox every day for nearly a week, and watched Blue go from sidewalking to circling. Turns out, the medicine was waylaid at the vet's office. It was never sent. I met the vet at another farm to get it, and on Thursday night, we were able to give him his first dose of Oroquin. But Blue certainly wasn't going to make it easy on me.