Bonus Prompt 1: Vet Check

“Thanks for calling Dr. Amerson, Samuel,” Sylus sighed, finally pulling Wings inside the quarantine barn as Samuel smirked.

“It’s no biggie, you have your hands full this time, Sylus,” he grinned, orange eyes flashing mischievously, “I was calling her anyways because Takashi ran into a tree and has some splinters in his face. I’d rather her be here to help me remove them than do it myself alone.”

Wings snorted, pawing at the ground as she glared at Samuel. The brunette stuck his tongue out at her, laughing as the mare reared.

“Not helping, Sam!” Sylus growled, holding tight to Wings’s lead as she tried to pull back against the crow piece of the halter, “Oi! Calm it down! This ain’t the place for a panic!”

Wings kicked out, nearly nailing Samuel in the chest as he ducked for cover. The Loshenka was almost out of control, snorting and pawing as Sylus tried to direct her towards one of the quarantine stalls.

“Come on!” The ravenette growled as he eased Wings’s head towards a stall, the mare recognizing the water bucket as well as fresh hay. She calmed momentarily, earfuls walking towards the fresh food to munch down.

Sylus took the chance to unclip her lead, deciding it was best to leave her halter on under supervision so he didn’t have to wrangle it on her again later.

Samuel patting his shoulder, “You’ll do fine, Kitty. I wrangled Takashi and he’s a sweetheart. She’s got a heart under all that, remember that.”

Sylus rolled his eyes at his barn owner, leaning against the stall door to watch Wings sniff around the hay. He eyed the white hairs along her back, the sign of a previously ill-fitting saddle… god how long was she ridden with one? It had to hurt.

The ravenette clicked his tongue, looking to see if Wings perked up at his call. The mare flicked her ears back towards him, raising her head briefly with some alfalfa between her lips before snorting and going back to chewing.

“Your owner said you had no issues. Nothing wrong with your health… I call bullshit,” Sylus groaned, “I just hope you’re going to be nice for Dr. Amerson.”

As the two waited, Sylus watched Wings’s mannerisms. The way she tried to scratch at her belly with her back hooves, or how she liked arranging her sawdust bedding before laying down to roll. She had her own little quirks, the same as him.

Finally, the rumble of an engine outside confirmed the vet’s arrival, Sylus leaving Wings’s stall to greet Dr. Amerson, “I’m glad you could make it. Samuel said you’d see Wings first, right?”

The graying woman smiled, “Yes, he mentioned to see her first before Takashi. The stallion’s got some bumps and scrapes he’s already put treatment on, I’ve just gotta check for splinters. Where’s your new girl?”

Sylus led Dr. Amerson to the quarantine stall where Wings was stalled, the mare suddenly becoming tense at the presence of a new human. She snorted, pawing at the ground as Sylus cooed to her, “Easy now… hey, hey, it’s okay… she’s just going to make sure you’re okay.”

He entered the stall with a lead in hand, taken from the hook by the stall door, and clipped it to her halter. Wings was seeming to calm down around him, despite being irritated by his presence in all sense.

“She’s been…. Bitchy,” he sighed, “Aggressive and always getting aggravated. I’m worried there’s more to this behavior than just ‘being a mare’.”

Dr. Amerson nodded, “Does sound like there’s something going on. Horses don’t react like that without cause. They don’t have the brain capacity to be mean.”

Wings seemed to take offense at that and snorted, trying to wack the vet with her long tail as Sylus clipped into cross ties.

Dr. Amerson got to work checking her over. She felt her legs, checked her teeth, wrote down notes, but soon discovered a problem as Wings snapped at her when she tried to feel her belly.

“….. would you mind if did a gastroscopy?” She asked, “I have a feeling I know the issue.”

Sylus nodded, rubbing Wings’s head as she was administered sedation. Her head hung low, her lip droopy as Dr. Amerson slid a fiberoptic scope up her nostril, guiding it to her stomach, “It’s okay…. Easy, girl.”

Checking the video on her portable laptop, she nodded, “Yep, there you go. I can see some ulcer signs. Likely has one in her stomach…. But I have a sneaking suspicion she has a colonic ulcer too.”

“Colonic?” Sylus raised an eyebrow, patting Wings’s head.

“Yeah, she reacted pretty severely when I placed my hand where the girth normally sits. Her large intestine sits there, not her stomach.”

Sylus sighed, rubbing Wings’s cheek, “She was likely ridden with the damn things untreated…. Can we get her on treatment for it? She’s been miserable for a while if what I said is true, the poor girl.”

Dr. Amerson smiled, “Of course. I’d suggest making a diet for her, putting her to pasture more to let her graze with minimal grain for now. Better to let her naturally forage and have a more mimicked natural feeding time.”

Wings looked up at Sylus with a pitiful, sedated gaze as Dr. Amerson spoke on about pain medication.

“Start making her grain meals smaller as well, add more corn oil and psyllium mucilloid too. Around 1 cup of the first and 5 tablespoons of the second, once or twice a day. See if her gut can get to work because I’m really worried about that colonic ulcer more. If things start to get wary, you have my number.”

“Thank you, Dr. Amerson,” Sylus smiled, turning to Wings, “We’re gonna get you better, okay? No more pain.”

Wings gave a sedated nicker of relief in return.

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Word Count: 978