It's Been Forever

Since I last posted. So much time has passed as have so many boys. 

I lost Tucker to ulcers after a week long stay at Midlantic Equine Hospital. Not sure if treating him earlier with ulcer meds would have helped since the vet believed they were in his hindgut, where meds would not have worked. But I still second guess myself. I was a truly sad ending as Tucker was only 18. 

That left Chance and Toby together and they made a fine chestnut team. All was well. But then, one night when I came home from school Toby did not come in for dinner. I found him  lying down in the pasture suffering from a severe bout of colic. I managed to get him up and to the riding arena near the barn, calling the vet for an emergency. I was really a bad scene. In the end, it was pretty clear there was nothing we could do to ease his horrible pain and we had to euthanize him. He had lived to age 30 and was still sound and otherwise healthy. More tears and sadness. 

That left Chance by himself. So, I logged onto Facebook to see if anyone had a horse needing a home. After some 43 offers, I locked on to an aged Thoroughbred that had failed as a lesson horse after bolting with a few of his young riders. His owner had tried everything to fix the problem and finally decided to retire him to her field. I met him an fell in love immediately. He was almost a clone to Chance and I suspected I knew why he might have been running off under saddle. I adopted him and he and Chance buddied up quickly. 

Turned out my suspicions about my new horse, Lincoln, (AKA Mr. D Man) were confirmed when my vet checked his back to find it was super sore and reactive. Since, we've pretty much decided it is probably kissing spines and it will take a long rehab to perhaps make him rideable. (It's already been a couple years and I haven't done much with him.) He is a happy retiree for now. 

All was well with the Chestnut twins until Chance came up lame. Sure enough, my worst fears were realized when the vet took X-rays and we found out he had laminitis. We followed all the protocols to treat him, but when I went out to the barn to find him unable to even move away from the stall door so I could get in that I knew we were in real trouble. Sure enough, the laminitis had progressed to his hind feet and he literally did not have a leg to stand on. There was no choice. Once more, I had to end his pain. At 18, Chance passed peacefully in the front paddock, free at last from his agony. 

That left Lincoln alone. I don't think it's good for a horse to be without a friend, so once more I logged onto Facebook in search of another horse needing a home. God smiled. It took at least a month this time, but after looking at some Standardbreds I met a lovely young lady who wanted a home for her retired barrel horse. Enter Seven, another chestnut. Although his owner thought he was around 20--close to Lincoln's age--my vet thought "late teens." Doesn't matter. He is a wonderful boy. I still haven't ridden him--going on nearly a year--but that's another story. In the meantime, he an Lincoln are living the high life--completely spoiled. 

Both boys have lovely manners for the vet and farrier, although  I do need to work on some of Lincoln's respect for me as he's just a little pushy. But time will work it all out. Seven is slowly learning to trust me more and more. Somewhere in his life he was roughly handled and does have a "startle" reaction to quick movements on my part. He can also be difficult to catch, but again, I can work on that. And he is a treat hound, so carrots and sugar will go a long way. The most fun with him is that he is a "talker" and he nickers softly nearly every time he sees me. It's so great to be welcomed to his presence with a soft "hello." 

I have been having some serious pain in my feet which has slowed me down in my honest intention to do the groundwork I want to do with both Boys. For Lincoln, it's a matter of getting him to round his back, and for Seven, it's just some general lunging so remind him of getting ready for some rides. Not sure why I haven't somehow managed to do the basics so far, but I will--eventually. 

I'm sure the Boys don't care. They are both having a great time just being pasture ornaments and getting fed three times a day! 

Third Time Pays for All

Another Escape

This time I went outside to put some garbage in the outside can and I heard some crashing out back in the paddock.  Toby was frantically running about and I saw Tucker and Chance out in the woods. I hurried out to try to keep Toby from escaping, but he was too fast for me. He saw where the back gate lay on the ground off its hinges, leapt it and the three Boys headed out into the woods.

I raced to the barn, got a bucket of grain and two lead ropes and headed out on the trail.

I the pumpkin patch just out of the woods, I found Tucker's blanket. I followed the hoofprints in the field and saw they were headed towards the road.

Then I saw Geraldo of the landscape guys out in my pasture. I called to him and he pointed back to the house by the landscaping firm. There were the Boys, grazing on the lawn by the house with another landscape guy standing guard.

Geraldo had taken down the fence boards from one section of fence to try to herd the Boys back in. Bless Tucker's stomach because as soon as he saw me with the bucket of grain, he came right over and I fastened the neck rope on him. Toby scooted away, but Chance let Geraldo capture him.

I led Tucker into the pasture through the open fence section and Toby galloped right in with us as Geraldo and Chance followed behind.  Geraldo and the other guy put the fence boards back in place, and I locked the gate between the pasture and paddocks until I was able to put the gate in the back paddock together again. I tied it with baling twine to make it more secure.

The only worry left is that Chance was looking really lame after the escapade. I could not find anything visibly wrong, but he was definitely favoring his left front leg.  I will keep an eye on him to see if he just kind of banged himself or if something more serious is wrong.

Of course, it's Christmas weekend, so a vet visit would not be exactly the best option unless I can really see something wrong. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for now.

Third escape this month. Not my the best record.

Meanwhile, I will try to share some holiday cheer.

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

Tucker's Liberation

Dr. Klayman was out today to give fall vaccines. He examined Tucker and decided he could go back out with the other horses.

He decided to give Tuck a pretty good dose of tranquilizer to keep him calm until his buddies settled back down with him.

Tucker was super quiet with the drugs. Toby was rather confused and tried a few "stallion" squeals and strikes. Not sure what that was exactly unless he was reestablishing his role as dominant horse. At any rate, there was nothing malicious about it and soon all three Boys were scattered about the front paddock nibbling on what is left of the grass.

Later, they all made their way out to the pasture.

When I went out to feed dinner, all three came to my whistle at a nice walk and headed for their original stalls. (Tucker and Chance had switched stalls for the three month lock up.)  It was as if the imprisonment had never even happened.

The run-in on Chance's side still has the side blocked off with corral panels just in case Tucker's hock flares up and he has to be penned up again.

I do need to monitor Tuck for a while to be sure his leg is really OK. Dr. Klayman told me to call him immediately if it causes any problem. Tucker also does not have front shoes for the time being. No point in shoeing him until I am sure he is OK. I would actually love to leave him barefoot, but that has not been possible in the past as he seems to bruise easily.

Right now, it's a happy "wait and see."  It is quite a relief to have Tuck out and about. He was supremely good about the layup, but freedom is so much better.

Saw Them A-Frolicking

The Chestnut Frolic

I was so happy this morning just before I went out to feed the Boys.

Chance and Toby were trotting, galloping, and frolicking all over the arena and paddocks. Chance, especially was full tilt and trotting along without a trace of a limp.

Normally, this would not be a big deal, but considering that a month ago, Chance was dead lame and Toby was just coming off some soreness himself.

Toby was sore in front in September, to the point that I called the vet out to make sure he was not having a bout of laminitis. (he has Cushings)  My vet was totally puzzled and we even drew blood to rule out some kind of other physical issue including Lyme. We ruled out EPM or other neurologic conditions and later discovered all the bloodwork was perfectly normal.

I bought some Keratex and started painting Toby's soles with it, and that seemed to do the trick. Scott, my farrier, had trimmed him a few weeks before, and I guess his soles were tender. The trimming was not too short by any means, but the dry, hard ground may had played a role.

Anyhow, that did not solve Chance's lameness. As readers already know, my treatment for Lyme disease may well have helped him turn the corner.

However, I had not seen the Boys playing much and Chance didn't seem to be expending any extra energy out on the paddock. He was generally walking kind of slowly and just lazing about.

Not this morning. It gave me a thrill to see them romping like that.

I did feel sorry for Tucker, though. He was watching them frolic from his tiny little pen.  He looked more wistful than anything. I've only seen him get riled up once or twice since his confinement. Either his hock hurts or he understands he must be careful until he heals. Too, over the last nearly three months, he's lost a lot of muscle.

Dr. Klayman, the vet who took care of Tuck's hock in the first place, will be out tomorrow to give all the Boys their fall vaccinations. I will see what he says about the hock.

Meanwhile, I do need to share a trail ride story to finish. up:  I'm not a big fan of hunting, but I do respect hunter's rights and the game laws. I could never do it myself, but I do understand those who hunt.

I just want to compliment a hunter I met while I was out riding Chance the other day. He was aiming his gun into the woods from the field lane I was riding in. I whistled to let him know I was coming and he immediately dropped his gun, "broke it" and stepped backward off the lane to give me room to ride past. He also asked if my horse would be OK if he was standing there.

I thanked him, of course. Then he told me he was just about to shoot a squirrel when he heard me.

"So I saved a squirrel's life?" I asked.

He grinned and nodded.

"I like squirrels," I said.

"So do I," he answered. "They are delicious." We both had a bit of a laugh and I rode on, telling him I'd be back along the same track shortly after I rode one of the shorter wood trails.

He told me he'd be gone by then and we parted our friendly ways.

I have such respect for him. Not only did he give up his shot, maybe his planned dinner for me, but he also went out of his way to make sure I and my horse were safely on our way. Thank you, sir. You are a true sportsman and a gentleman. You are a model for hunters everywhere.

I guess the squirrel needs to thank me.

Rather Excited

Good News So Far

As you recall from my last post, Chance was VERY lame.  It could have been a resurgence of his navicular, but I suspected, since he seemed sore on all four, that it was actually a recurrence of his Lyme disease.

After a some research and a better understanding of how the Lyme bacteria can hide and play chameleon in the body I decided that another course of antibiotics might not fix things.

For more information on how insidious Lyme is, this is an excellent presentation by Dr. Joyce Harman:  Lyme Disease in Horses.

After listening to an online forum presented by Dr. Harman, I decided trying some other protocol would be worth the effort.

My research in the past into colloidal silver as a good antibiotic which bacteria and viruses cannot resist, led me to this site:  Colloidal Silver for Horses  This is a veterinarian's site and he endorses the silver.

So, using information from both sources, I decided to put Chance on colloidal silver and colostrum to build up his immune system. I also ordered another herbal immune booster from Australia, but that just arrived a few days ago, so I will not yet put it into the equation.

After about a week or two of treatment, and a new set of shoes from Scott, my farrier, Chance did seem a bit better, but not quite.  So for about four days, I put him on a course of bute, twice a day, tapering down to once a day. He was much better on the bute and it may well have triggered the inflammation to subside.

I have continued the silver, colostrum, and immune supplements since. I has now been just a bit under a month since I started treating him.

I am excited and delighted to say that after a quick lunge to see how Chance looked at the trot, I saw a virtually sound horse!

So, I saddled up and took a short trail ride. I could hardly keep him at the walk as he just wanted to trot merrily off.

My seat was OK, but definitely not good enough to ride an eager horse for too long, but my brain was so happy I didn't care.

I need to work on my own seat until I regain all the riding muscles I need, but at last I have a horse ready to go.

I am absolutely delighted.

Chance Report

You Never Quite Know

I am currently treating Chance for Lyme disease by using immune system herbs and colloidal silver.

I am not 100% sure that is why he was lame, but it's worth a shot here.

My farrier, Scott, came out and checked his front hoofs, trimmed and rebalanced his shoeing, and that also helped. When he pulled the shoes, he tested for soreness and found absolutely nothing.  I would have thought if it was navicular syndrome, there would be some heel soreness.

After listening to a lecture from Dr. Joyce Harman on the Internet, I realize that Lyme is a most sinister disease that hides in the body where antibiotics cannot touch it. The only way the body can rid itself of the bacteria for good an all is for the immune system to figure out what the invader is and finally conquer it instead of being led astray.

I am still awaiting an immune formula from Australia, but I am using colostrum supplement at the moment.

Colloidal silver is a very effective antibiotic that attacks bacteria that are immune to antibiotics. It disrupts their ability to function.  It has been successfully used against Lyme.

I gave Chance a course of bute for about four days and have since weaned him off. So far, as of this morning....third day without bute...he looked pretty good.

I'm keeping my hopes up. He is such a sweet horse and such a good trail mount, I really do want to be able to ride him.

But for now, I just want him to be happy and sound enough to enjoy the lovely fall weather roaming about the paddocks and pasture.

Good News, Bad News Again.

Back in the Saddle

I finally managed to take a ride today.

I knew as soon as I got on Chance that he did not feet super sound. He had lyme disease last summer and when he finally recovered, the vet was pretty sure he had navicular. We treated that with Osphos, he seemed much better and then we found out he had OCD in his stifle. That would not keep him from being a trail horse--and he LOVES trails.

So today, after working all summer to fix my own hip issues, I saddled him up and headed out for a short trail ride.

It was shorter than I expected because a tree branch snagged my prescription glasses about 2 feet out of the arena and I had to dismount to look for them. Since I really couldn't see to well, I didn't find them. So I headed back into the barn, cross-tied Chance and went into the house to put in my contact lenses so I could hunt for my glasses.

Fortunately, I found them hanging on a bush.

I remounted and headed out. Poor Chance felt like he was walking on rocks. He was decidedly lame on both front feet. Bummer.

I've contacted my vet to see if there is anything we can do to help him out.

Meanwhile, Tucker is still laid up and will be until at least January.

And Toby, the elder master of the herd is just acting strangely. I had to vet out to look at him when I thought he might actually be having a bout of laminitis. But he was fine. His blood work was fine, neurologic tests were fine, and he does not have Lyme disease.

He is sluggish come in for meals and is walking "funny."  I did start to paint his feet with Keratex just in case his feet are sore from the summer ground.

It's just strange.

So, three horses in the barn and I'm not sure I can ride.

At least the Boys are in my back yard, so I can easily take care of them with all their special needs.

*SIGH*