UPdate on HB

Just a quick update. Today was pretty exciting.
After a sleepless night with HoneyBandit, I was worried. He'd been restless, wanting to get up and down all night and he was making weird noises.

However.....HoneyBandit managed to get up BY HIMSELF today!
When I tried to take his blanket off, he figured -- no thanks! -- and thought he would leave! He even tried to buck.
Didn't work, but it was heartening that he reacted like a "normal" foal for a few seconds and later he actually tried to run across the driveway! That was quite scary as he almost landed on his face, but he boot-scooted for a few seconds.
HoneyBandit is not out of the woods, yet, but each day he shows a teeny bit more life!
Hopefully we will have some video and more pix up tomorrow. Take care and God bless. Thank you for all your continued support. p

From Tuesday the 21st
Wow, what a night. I am writing this from the beautiful barn at ANSELMO VINEYARDS. Yesterday, the showers that had been forecast for Shingletown, actually turned into a real storm. Within minutes, we were flooding. The driveway had at least an inch or two of rain and the carport, which had been our temporary "intensive care unit", was also full of water.

The bed that I cat nap in while spending 24/7 with HoneyBandit was soaked within a few minutes. So I picked up the phone and called the beautiful Chicken and her husband "RC" and told them of HoneyBandit's plight. Being the fabulous friends that they are, Chicken simply asked "Do you want me to come and pick him up?". I told her no, my voice choking, we would bring him down. Thank you so much.

So about an hour later we were all tucked in to one of the most beautiful stalls I have ever slept in. HoneyBandit is not in any condition to become chilled or wet, and being able to come and stay here was a true blessing. I would have picked him up and brought him into the house like ChillyPepper, but he is too big and our floors are hardwood and he might have slipped and gotten injured. We all know that he has had more than enough injuries for the rest of his life. Also, even though he does not "potty" on his bed, the deck we used for ChillyPepper to "do her business" had to be torn down, and that is why we are going to build a little "hospital room" for him to live in this winter. We didn't expect quite this much rain this early. But all is good as HoneyBandit did not even get the tiniest bit wet or chilled.

The even better news is that something happened last night. It was almost like a teeny light turned on, and HoneyBandit seems a little bit more aware of things. Last night instead of going to "his bed" and lying down to sleep, he was on his way to get a drink, when I thought he "fell". I realized later that he had deliberately stopped there to lay down. He landed right by where I was laying. It took him doing that a couple of times before I figured out that he was actually coming to lay down close to me. Throughout the night he would rest his head against me, and this was the first time he had ever done that.

On one side of the stall there were about 2 or 3 horses peering through the window of the stall. The 2nd wall had an opening to the stall next to it, and "Timmy" was standing guard all night. He would whinny softly and nicker at him. So although once again the little Bandit kept me awake all night, it was a night filled with blessings. I had a warm and dry little guy, and he started to make that emotional connection.

I can't tell you how much we are looking forward to building him a safe, warm, dry place that will withstand even the wildest of storms. So please remember to look in your back yard, barns etc. And see if ya'll have any old, but usable lumber so this little baby can stay on his road to recovery with no additional struggles. God bless you all for helping. Just remember, HONEYBANDIT is going to congress so no other foals have to go through this, and we can't do it without you.