A Bloody Battle

Warning! This post is not for the faint of heart....I know, because I had a hard time dealing with the events of the day and I consider my self pretty tough. The pictures are a bit graphic.

And so... another beautiful day on the homestead. Lots of things to do. The first was to bring in all the goats and lambs and separate those that would be headed to the sale barn tomorrow. This is a February tradition as the income pays for most of the fertilizers for the hay fields. I also needed to pull the rams out of the breeding groups, move the dairy goats to a pasture where they had access to more feed since we will be kidding in a few short weeks AND start cleaning out the milking parlor.
First on the list was to haul out all of the feed bags from the milking parlor. Over the course of the winter they can really start to pile up. That done, I got most of the sale barn bound critters locked up. I moved the first of our rams from his group to his "summer" home. I got the second larger ram and his junior buddies moved to that pasture as well. This too, is a February tradition, the reuniting of the rams. I always put of lots of extra hay and bits of food to try and distract the boys from getting too violent. Normally the pecking order is established rather quickly without too much fan fare. Not today.
I watched for a few minutes, lest I needed to grab a hose pipe and cool some tempers and all seemed to be going as usual. I went to grab a drink of water, some crackers and my camera for a few pics. I headed back to check on the boys. This is where my day took a VERY bad turn.
Pegasus, my favorite ram, was standing back at the gate I had just put him through and was alone. I walked to check on him. The crackers in my hand dropped to the ground and for the first time in my homesteading years, I thought I might be sick. His face was torn to pieces and I truly thought his eye was missing. I called the vet. I need someone now. It's bad, very bad. I was told the vet that would be sent my way was on a colic call and they would let me know when she could arrive. I called my sister. I may need help holding him. I know you hate blood....I called my mom, same thing. The vet called back and said they were sending "Parker". He has been my vet for 22 years. Apparently when I told her it "was bad", he said it must be so and he decided to make the call. He was here within 40 minutes. Bless him.
This is what he was met with. Again, it's ugly!

For the next 2 1/2 hours he stitched and sewed. Pegasus was a champ, only flipping me once. That got him a second dose of sleepy meds.

My sis was a great assistant, handing out suture materials and needles. Mom was holder of the rear. Pegasus's prognosis is guarded. He is up and doing well. There is an area at the base of his horn that could not be sutured and could invite infection. We are not sure about his eyesight.

The good news is that he is back on his feet, eating hay and looking like Muhammad Ali. Time will tell.
The other ram? Headed to the sale barn...