Dr. Harvey donates services

About mid December I got an urgent call requesting that I fly out to Abaco Island, Bahamas to see a little mare who was struggling with some medical issues. The folks in charge of her care wanted a veterinarian who used a more holistic approach and several colleagues gave them my name.

"We have little cash to spend, but we can fly you over and the local resort will donate a room for you if you come". A farm call to the Bahamas? To save a rare breed of Spanish horse? Or at least to provide some comfort for the little mare I was called upon to help. Heck yes!

Here is the short version of a long story:

Spanish ships wrecked 100's of years ago, horses swam to shore and made the nearest island home. The herd grew to over 200 strong. Well, they clashed with the locals and some of the bad guys went on a shooting spree and killed most of them. Ate some of them. They were down to three horses and built up to about 20. Then a hurricane drove them to a "lusher" part of the island and we suspect there were some toxic weeds there too and they, being horses, ate their fill. Many died or failed to thrive and that was the end of the family making. So, Abaco finds themselves down to one lone mare. But good news! A stallion was found to be a DNA match on the mainland US who had been found via Texas A&M the previous year, with the plans to partner up with the good folks from Colorado State in harvesting her oocytes (eggs), performing ICSI from the DNA matched stallion and transferring the resulting embryos into recipient mares. The hopes are that eventually this old once well established herd of >200 Spanish bred horses can be restored. Well, to at least better than one!

The mare's name is Nunki and she is 19 years old. She had gotten a skin infection, that was treated with oral antibiotics which resulted in diarrhea, no big surprise but can become a disaster! She is minimally halter broken but was tractable enough for me to get a good exam on her and even some electro acupuncture.

Our goal is to get her super ready for her big oocyte aspiration day so she can produce the most eggs possible and I have volunteered to help her and her caretakers & fans. We are doing this via some added nutrition thanks to Purina! And I will continue to address her TCVM-wise with acupuncture and Chinese medicines to promote her Kidney essence and overall fertility and health.

Please visit their site and check it out. They are definitely in need of donations if you would like a great tax write-off. Wish us luck!