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At this time, the horse usually has difficulty maintaining its balance, and it is even more difficult for a person riding on it to maintain their balance.

If a person and a horse lean in the same direction, it's very easy for them to fall.

Shi Wen I know why Sikewell injured his leg. In road conditions like that, even a miracle worker would probably fall.

After walking for a while, Shi Wen felt he wasn't doing well and asked the old guide, "How long is this road? Should we get off and lead the horses?"

The experienced guide said, "Okay, it's only five or six kilometers, it'll take a little over an hour to walk across."

Shi Wen assessed the distance and then asked the team members for their opinions, "Should we get off and walk?"

Everyone agreed.

So everyone dismounted and, leading their horses, trudged forward, one step at a time.

Going out for free medical consultations is always tough. Springtime brings too much sand and dust, summer too much sun, autumn too much cold wind, and winter too much snow. In short, there are never any good times of the year.

After a long, bumpy ride on horseback, no one was really in the mood for conversation after dismounting. They simply led their horses and kept walking forward.

After finally getting through this stretch of road, everyone rode horses up the mountain.

They traversed mountains and valleys, and soon arrived at their first settlement.

The herders in the settlement were also waiting for them.

Upon seeing the medical team, the herdsmen excitedly approached and rattled off a string of words.

The old guide turned to them and translated. "He said his horse has a problem and hasn't eaten grass for two and a half days."

Shi Wen had become quite fluent in the local dialect. However, the herders spoke very quickly, and he couldn't understand everything at first, only making out the key words.

After the old guide finished speaking, everyone, disregarding their fatigue, immediately said, "Let's go take a look."

The herdsmen led them to a tree.

A jet-black horse was tethered to a tree. Its four hooves were white, and it was exceptionally tall and looked quite robust.

The horse seemed listless and barely responded to people.

Everyone crowded around to check on the horse, Shi Wen was among them.

He led the horse and patted its neck reassuringly.

The horse's mouth was covered in white saliva. Shi Wen gently pried open its mouth, its teeth and tongue appeared normal. Although its saliva smelled a bit bad, it was within the normal range—after all, animals don't brush their teeth, so their mouths are usually a little smelly.

It's not a dental problem.

Others were also examining the situation, and no one had reached a conclusion yet.

Shi Wen turned to look at the herdsman and asked, "How many days has it been since the horses have eaten?"

The herdsman said a few words, and the old guide helped translate. "They haven't eaten for two and a half days, since the night before last."

That's a rather serious problem.

Shi Wen turned his head back to look at the horse.

Unlike cattle and sheep, horses are monogastric creatures, meaning their stomachs are much smaller and they cannot store much food in their stomachs.

In contrast to their stomachs, their cecums are much more developed; they have thick and long cecums and use them to digest food.

Two and a half days without food is a very long time for a horse.

Over such a long period of time, they might even get sick from excessive stomach acid.

Shi Wen looked at his teammates.

No one has figured out the reason.

Someone said, "My temperature is a bit high. I just took it, and it's already 40 degrees Celsius, which is 2 degrees Celsius higher than normal."

"Your cardiopulmonary function should be fine; I just listened to it and didn't hear any abnormal sounds."

"The hooves and the like are fine too. I just picked them up to check, and they're all healthy and intact."

As veterinarians, we mainly start by examining the animal's exterior, then listen to its heart and lungs, using a process of elimination to determine what illness the animal has.

If the process of elimination fails to identify the problem, things can become more complicated.

After a quick search, no one was sure what was wrong with the horse, but it was sick and had a slight fever.

Fever is so common, but there are many reasons for it, including bacterial infection and inflammation in the body.

Horses can't talk, and they didn't have large equipment or the necessary reagents.

Now everyone is unsure.

No one expected that the very first case at the start of the free clinic would be so challenging.

Everyone looked at each other, then at the Shi Wen.

Although Shi Wen wasn't a licensed veterinarian, everyone admired his skill in treating livestock.

Shi Wen didn't have any better ideas either, and only said, "Let's give it anti-inflammatory medicine first. We'll rest here for a few hours at noon. Let's go see the other livestock first, give the horse the anti-inflammatory medicine, and then come back to see if the horse's condition has improved."

Since no one could see any symptoms in the horse, they naturally had no objections.

Everyone took out anti-inflammatory medicine from the medicine box and fed it to the horse.

The horse was clearly unwell and was quite resistant to eating, shaking its head repeatedly and appearing very stubborn.

Upon Shi Wen this, Shi Wen took the bowl and fed it anti-inflammatory medicine.

The horse turned its head away, and Shi Wen pulled on the reins, looking into its eyes. It hesitated for a while before reluctantly swallowing the medicine.

Seeing this, Tang Duohai chuckled and said, "Brother Shi, you really have a way with things."

Shi Wen, "I mainly raise horses."

Besides the horses, other livestock in this settlement were also sick, but their illnesses were noticeably easier to treat.

Shi Wen to check, I found a case of foot rot, a case of a cat with anal bites from insects and flies, and a case of urinary retention in a cat.

The herders came here to graze their livestock, and they even brought their cats with them.

Perhaps because of the increasing number of wild animals, there are also many rodents outside. Without a cat to watch over the food in the house, it is easy for it to be destroyed.

Shi Wen manually catheterize a cat, and looking at this listless old male cat, I immediately thought of my own Cong Zai.