All better

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't written in forever. I had a stomach ache.

Last week, the ranch men fed me breakfast. I ate part of it, but I started to hurt a little, so I stopped eating and laid down instead. Then I felt better and stood up. Then I felt worse and laid down. All day long, I would feel good for a while, then my stomach would start pinching me and I would have to lie down.

Auntie Niki got me out of my stall and put me on the hot walker to stretch my legs. I think she hoped I could stretch my stomach, too. It didn't.

At lunchtime when I was supposed to get my goodies, MomToo was talking to her little talking toy instead. After forever, Dr. Wasmund showed up. She's a very nice doctor, but first she pinched my neck and I got super sleepy. Then she stuck a tube up my nose and down my neck and pumped a bunch of stuff into my stomach. MomToo mixed up some bran mash for me. It tasted good, but my stomach still didn't want any food, so I only ate a little.

By dinnertime, I wasn't sleepy anymore and my stomach still hurt. I didn't get any dinner. That's when MomToo and Auntie Niki and I walked down to the hospital. They took me into the big stall with no shavings and made clicking noises with their machines. I didn't like their machines at first, but I got used to the big creaky wall they kept moving around my stomach.

Dr. Klohnen came and looked at my pictures. He told MomToo and Auntie Niki a bunch of things. I didn't understand most of his words. He said I was dehydrated, whatever that was, and that they would keep me and give me fluids.

If that made my stomach stop pinching, I was okay with that.

I was in the hospital forever. Sometimes it was fun, especially when MomToo and Auntie Niki came to visit. They would take me to the grass area. I had never grazed before. It was fun. Doctor Brigid came to see me, too. She did not feed me cookies at first, because she said my stomach ache had to get better. But soon she started to poke them through the holes in my face bucket.

This is my face bucket. I had to wear it all the time, except when I was eating. I didn't like the face bucket.

This morning, MomToo and Auntie Niki came to walk me home. I was very excited. They brought Auntie Niki's dog Teddy and her tiny human Tyler with them. Auntie Niki said Tyler had ridden me a long time ago, but I think I would have remembered him. MomToo and Tyler got in the little cart and left. Auntie Niki and Teddy walked with me.

I was trying to be good on the road, but some horses in a pasture ran toward me and made me very happy. I reared and jumped and wanted to join them. Auntie Niki got a little mad at me for not being good, and Doctor Brigid came out of a ranch and distracted me. We all walked back to my stall together.

Now I'm back home and enjoying my hay. I hope I don't get any more stomach aches. The humans in the hospital are very nice, but I'd rather be in my nice warm stall with all my friends around.