Poppi's trip to Tufts...

I will start off by saying that I almost had to cancel Poppi's ultrasound appointment at Tufts.  Why?  Because he would not get into the trailer!  Matt took the day off of work to go with us and drive us to Tufts Hospital.  Poppi had no intention of loading.  Thank goodness Sherry and John were driving by and helped us "push" him into the trailer.  Finally, he got on, but only after tip toeing and taking his time.  Off we went, and as soon as we drove into the parking lot at Tufts, he screamed his head off in pure Poppi style until he backed out of the trailer and saw where he was.  Walking in, he was fine.  Once inside the big hospital, he paced a bit and waited patiently for me to give the staff all of his updated info.  He was mad at me because he kept pushing me with his nose and head and stared at me like he was terrified I was going to leave him there!  We then walked into the ultrasound room, he walked in with his head down like he had been there a million times.  His ultrasound was amazing to watch.  It was confirmed that he has a hernia, though not a terrible one and with rest and more time to heal, it may get smaller than it is now.  It is about the size of a grape sticking out from the incision site and it feels like its full of fluid.  The chances of his large intestine getting strangled are very low, and the ultrasound tech was very positive about how he looked.  He weighed in at 1166lbs, heavier than I had taped him.  Doctor Provost was so sweet, she gave him hugs and was pleased with him and said that he didn't look overweight, which was my concern.  The one staple he had left in his incision must have fallen out because they couldn't find it.  So that was a good thing.  All in all, good news.  Two more months of stall rest and then we can start letting him out into a SMALL turn out at first so that scar tissue can continue to form and he can heal better.  He gave us a little trouble getting back onto the trailer but with some help, he did his slow walk into the trailer and gave me the look like, um, I'm in charge here and I'm ready to go home now.  The ride home was great, due to Matt's pro dirivng and Poppi was more than happy to be home.  It did take two full syringes of tranq to quiet him down for his ultrasound, but he sweat that all out on the ride home.  He was so happy to be home, he pranced to the barn and greeted his buddies with his high pitched whinnies.  A true sign that he feels very good and he is back to his old self again.  He really is the most amazing horse I have ever known. <3