Since we got our good boy Larry we have learned so much from him. He taught us about winning the trust of a mule. He taught us that mules have a built-in GPS system (he always knows where the trailer is). He taught us two ways of showing that he is in pain (one: don’t let your rider mount, two: run for your life when you are in back pain). He taught Steph to pay attention when riding or he would take shortcuts or snacks. He taught us that it may take a year and more until you really know your mule.

Larry is a wonderful teacher, thorough and with a great sense of humor. Those of you who read my articles regularly understand what I mean when I say he is truly special and we love him from the bottom of our hearts.

This winter he told us a lesson that will in the future help us detect health problems sooner. I want to share this with you because I think it can be very helpful for us mule folks that usually rarely deal with health problems.

We have been aware for some time that Larry is dealing with some underlying health problem and had thought we had identified it correctly as IR (Insulin Resistance). This is a condition where cells do not respond to insulin, the hormone primarily responsible for transporting glucose into the cells. It's sometimes referred to as "Equine Metabolic Syndrome". Larry had sported the telltale fat deposits (the most known probably is the cresty neck), among other less obvious signs. We had then put him on the adequate diet: cut out carbs and sugars, balance the hay with a supplement that adds what is missing in the hay. You have your hay analyzed for that. Feed 1.5 to 2% of ideal body weight out of small meshed hay nets or slow feeders. Horses, mules, donkeys and especially mini donkeys, mules and horses are candidates for IR. Also some horse breeds are more prone than others.

Larry’s fat deposits vanished, other symptoms lessened. We thought we were doing pretty well, although I thought he had lost muscle mass in his back. Katie is on the same regimen as Larry, and she is looking great with good body tone.

In December we got the first health scare that did tell us that something else is going on.

You try to watch out for symptoms and you know the first symptoms of whatever conditions equines often end up with. But the best advice ever is to know your mule/ horse/ donkey. Know his everyday schedule. Watch for changes. Many mules especially seem to be able to tolerate pain better than horses, and will show pain much later than a horse. And a serious condition doesn’t necessarily start out with being painful.

One day in December it was unnaturally mild outside with a strong wind going. I had come home from work and found Katie eating hay from the hay nets while Larry looked like he was taking a nap, standing in the shed. It wasn’t cold outside but the wind made the weather pretty uncomfortable. When I looked out of the window again a little later, I expected Larry to eat hay, but instead he had lain down. That was a little weird, not strange but at least a little weird. Taking a peaceful nap lying down in a storm is not something Larry would normally do, and the time of day was wrong for this kind of nap too. Now I’m not a hysteric kind of person, so I kept an eye on him but did not panic. After a while he got up and walked down the dry lot. There he lay down again. I went out to take a look at Larry, he seemed sleepy and peaceful, not stressed out and in pain. Still, this was weird. After a while of watching him I decided to call the vet, who asked if I had taken the temperature. I had not, as Larry was lying so peacefully and felt not warm at all. I thought only about an elevated body temperature then. The vet said he’d be out in 1.5h. I told him I was not sure what we’re dealing with, but that Larry’s behavior differed from his usual happy self. He seemed a little sleepy and did not react much to me or the storm. He had a bowel movement in my presence that was somewhat too soft.

Half an hour later I was so glad I had called the vet although Larry had showed nothing more dramatic than a variance of his regular schedule. Things were starting to worsen, although it did not seem very dramatic. Larry started to show the first signs of mild colic. He was lying down as before, but now he would not nap peacefully but let himself roll on the side, now and then looking at his belly. I called the vet again and he said to blanket Larry and he’d be there in about 45 minutes. I put a blanket on Larry which did not interest him at all (and usually he’s interested in everything). I also checked his gums then (why hadn’t I thought of that before?!) to check the capillary refill time. The capillary refill time is determined by pressing a finger against the gums for about 2 seconds, so that a white "thumbprint" is left. After releasing, it should take no longer than 2 seconds for the gum color to return to normal. Larry’s gums were pale and I could not get any white spot when I put pressure on the gum. His circulatory system was slowing down. That also means that the action of the bowels is slowing down, leading to the colic symptoms I was seeing. By this time Steph had arrived home from work. The situation had changed from me observing a change in Larry’s daily routine to a serious condition, in little more than one hour. I was so glad I had called the vet at once!

When the vet came Larry had been blanketed for an hour and still his temperature was below normal. The vet said that the circulatory system slowed down due to the weird weather change, and that lead to the slowed down bowel action. He had to give Larry an injection to get his system up and running again. The vet said he had spent all day with these kinds of problems. We were told to watch Larry and call if things would not improve in the next two hours. He’d had a case with a weanling that day that cooled down so much and could not be helped and had to be transported to the vet hospital. Luckily for us Larry perked up during the next hour and got back to his happy self. We kept the blanket on him over night which he didn’t mind (Larry likes blankets). We also set the alarm clock so that in the night we could go out and check on him. He was his old self, munching on hay from his small meshed hay net.

The situation was under control again so quickly because I had called the vet when I saw Larry being just, well, different. He wasn’t acting sick, just different. Taking a nap when he usually wouldn’t. Now the next time anything like this happens I will remember to check the gums, and take the temperature. Now I know that I’m not looking necessarily for a higher temperature, but also for a lower temperature. I will also check the gums at once. In future articles I will talk more about health, nutrition, and also healthy hooves.

In the meantime, if you would like to know more about IR in equines, check out www.ecirhorse.com for good information.