@drcvs Thank you for your reply. The 4 parathyroid glands and 1 thyroid gland are separate glands located near each other in the neck. The thyroid controls metabolism, and the parathyroid controls deposition of minerals in bones. I take thyroid hormones too. The danger is when one or more parathyroid glands goes bad unnoticed and is pulling calcium out of your bones. My mom had a couple of parathyroid glands removed and during surgery, they were testing blood for changes to figure out if they had removed the malfunctioning ones. These are located in the front of the neck right under the voice box, so it is an easy to reach place for surgery and a quick recovery.

I understand the cougar issue. I used to live in southern CA and would hear them scream. There is a place that breeds minis near me and they have gorgeous little paints, appaloosas, paint appaloosa mixes in addition to regular colors. I have visited there and played with the foals some years ago. That was fun. I sent the link to the farm to you in a message. It's fun to look!