Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5-7 (NIV)
Yesterday, my horse and I shared a bottle of Maalox because we both had stomach aches. He prefers the fruit flavored ones so that is what we had. Believe it or not, horses get upset stomachs and one thing that helps them is to eat a ton of Maalox. He will eat just about anything that resembles candy, so it was not difficult to get him to take a massive dose. In fact, for a while, I thought he was going to run off with the bottle and eat the whole container. When horses get stomach aches, it can start for a variety of reasons. Bad hay, too much food, or a change in feed are the obvious causes. But, it can also be triggered by a difference in weather, like temperature drops, a new environment, a loss of a horse buddy or medication. For a large animal, they have unusually sensitive temperaments and anything that upsets them can make their stomach hurt. When they get the first twinge, they start to worry and anxiety just makes it worse. Of course, they cannot tell someone their stomach aches. Instead, they pass gas, bite at their sides, sweat, roll, lie down, refuse to eat or appear depressed. It is a guessing game to figure out what is wrong and what causes their behavior. I debated about calling the vet as it is costly and often there is not much a vet can do. Unless a horse starts becoming severely distressed, it is a waiting game. The vet can give them pain medicine and pump oil down their stomach to get things moving again. In my case, I started with the Maalox. After a few hours, when he had not done what he does best (eat and poop), I gave him some mash, a mix of warm water, apple juice and wheat bran. He slurped it down and almost immediately, I got the action I had been hoping for. He is much better today. I think his problem was caused by eating too many oak acorns. This weekend, I may go into the pasture and rake up what I can to remove them from temptation. His problem is easier to cure than mine. In my case, my stomach ache came from some stressful days at work and some problems that I cannot solve. I have prescription medicine that I can take, but did not have it with me so choked down some Maalox alongside my equally stressed horse. I didn’t enjoy them as much as he did. There is a better cure for my stress than Maalox. Paul says it is called THANKSGIVING! Remembering all the good things that God has given me and all the times He has been faithful to help settles my nerves better than any antacid. I will try to keep my horse from eating any more acorns, but my stomach will settled down when I quit worrying and start making a list of reason to be thankful.
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