Still Puffy

Made a trip out to the barn to check on Axel post vet visit. No changes yet in his swelling. I brought him into the arena to walk him around. He wasn't all wound up like he was when the vet was here. I didn't have to force him to walk but he wasn't booking it around at all. His foot was a little sore so I ended up giving him some bute with some feed. He ate most of it but he doesn't like the apple flavor and turned him nose up at the rest. I'll have to get some non flavored bute next time. As far as I could tell there was no change at all, better or worse, with his lumps so it's a waiting game.

I brought Cody in for a while as well to see if he wanted to kick up his heels at all in the arena. He trotted around for a while if I clicked at him and bucked a little but he wasn't terribly riled up. He's looking really good though, he stretched out his back while trotting and his razor blade withers all but disappeared. It's about time I get him back to work. I figure I'll get him moving around the arena a bit for a few days then start riding again. It's supposed to get pretty cold for a while so we'll wait til it warms up a bit.

Vet Update

So the vet made it out last night to take a look at Axel. While I was waiting I brought him into the crossties and Cody into a stall. Axel stood patiently while I groomed and then I put him in the arena. As soon as I turned my back he started to run around bucking like crazy. Apparently this sore foot thing isn't as sore as he led me to believe the day before! He was really working himself up so I put Cody in the crossties and Axel in the stall. Normally I'd like him run but I didn't want him worked up before the vet arrived.

Cody's mane "tornados" weren't as bad as Axel's so it didn't take long to get him groomed. He's looking so good this winter having a round bale. As soon as this thing with Axel is cleared up Cody will have to be put back to work. Apparently the other day when J & J left the house Cody was napping in the hay, flat out sleeping. When they came back 2 hours later he was in the same spot. Not a good sign. They yelled his name and he picked up his head and looked at them. Turns out he cast himself on the very small portion of the bale that remained intact. J went out and kicked the bale out of the way and Cody got up on his feet. Goofy horse. He doesn't lay down very often and now that he's pretty comfortable with life he goes and casts himself on a bale in the middle of the wide open pasture.

So Axel wasn't too happy to be in the stall. He even bit at the metal bars on the door. J came out and waited for a bit and said he'd be back out when the doc got there. So doc arrived, J came out, and A showed up for moral support. He took a look at Axel and took his temperature. Just as my thermometer read a little low the day before, doc said his temp was 99F (should be 99.5F). A little low but he's got a good winter coat and he's not shivering so not really a concern. He poked at the swelling on his belly and confirmed that it was pitting edema and it was symmetrical. Poked his bits for a while and looked around a little. He said he didn't really know what it was but maybe it's a dirty sheath causing Axel to stand still too much and thus stocking up. He poked around a bit more and discovered Axel was a little dirty but not too horrible. But he also discovered that Axel is a liberal fellow and had no issues with doc being in that neck of the woods. So he got some warm water and betadine and whatnot and went to work cleaning his sheath. He didn't uncover any mysteries and there was no bean so that diagnosis looks a little half hearted. But he said to see if that does the trick.

When I put Axel in the arena again while doc was packing up he did his usual running around and then started in with the lame walking again so I had the vet watch. He got out the hoof testers but didn't get any reactions. Can stocking up make a horse sore? Anyway my plan is to get out there this week as much as I can and get him moving around in the arena to help reduce the swelling. The vet was terribly full of suggestions or "just in cases" so if the sheath cleaning doesn't remedy the situation I might see about getting a different vet out for a second opinion. It's hard to doubt a vet that's been working for over 30 years but he left me a little at a loss. A little bloodwork would have been an acceptable "just in case" for me. So we shall see.

Poor Axel

I went out to see Axel last night, deliver gifts and see how he was doing. He's still swollen like A said. J had called to fill me in as well and said he wasn't doing any better and she thought he was maybe a little off on a leg. Turns out his back right (the non ringbone leg) is stocked up as well now. His belly lumps have pooled to a single huge lump and the muscle area over his sternum are swollen as well as his sheath. I couldn't find anything else notable. His left eye was a little puffy if you used your imagination. I remembered the thermometer this time so I took his temp but he did not have a fever at all. I groomed him and got all the knots out of his mane and then tried to walk him around the arena a bit. If he was just stocked up from not moving enough in the pasture, walking in the arena should have helped. Unfortunately the more I walked him the lamer he got. Not knowing exactly what is wrong with him I decided to stop before I made anything worse.

So the vet is due out tonight sometime. Hopefully he has some ideas. I took a look at my calendar and wrote down anything that changed in the past couple months.

10/27 Both he and Cody had rain rot for about 2 weeks
11/9 We stopped giving him the 4-in-1 HA supplement
11/20 He started excessively chewing on wood
11/30 We put him on the Quitt supplement for a month
12/7 He stopped chewing on wood for the most part
Some time in here they got their first round bale
12/15 Farrier trimmed hooves
Second round bale was put out
12/24 We first noticed the swelling and gave him some benedryl
12/28 We first noticed he was lame on the back right and still swollen

Interesting to note that the wood chewing started after stopping the 4-in-1 supplement. At the time I didn't even connect the two. The 4-in-1 has probiotics, biotin, joint supplements, and omega 3&6. I'm not sure if any of that would make him want to chew wood in it's absence. Maybe just the sudden change in itself? Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the vet knows what this is and fixes it.

Merry Christmas

We stopped out to the barn on Christmas Eve morning to check on the boys and deliver some carrots for a holiday treat. I hadn't been out there in over a week and it showed. The horse's manes are a mess. It's going to take me forever to get them detangled.

I noticed as we drove up that Axel looked exceptionally lumpy. But since he's so hairy I thought it was probably just puffy winter fur. Of course I was wrong. His boy parts are all swollen and he has some big swollen lumps on his belly. We brought him into the barn to check him out. His attitude was the same as always, he was happy to eat carrots, and he was happy to eat the feed and benedryl we gave him. He went right for the water fountain when we turned him back out and he was very willing to chase down Jeff in the pasture to try and get more treats. So he's feeling okay just really puffy.

Cold Day for the Farrier

So we picked the coldest day so far to have the farrier out. He said if it was too cold he would have canceled so I guess it wasn't too cold. Axel was super mellow and only wanted to lift his right hind (which is weird since it's his left hind that hurts). Cody was a good boy as usual. I don't think either of the horses needed much trimming, just some filing and cleaning up. I really should get one of those rider's rasps and try it out.

It was a pretty uneventful trip to the barn. I helped bring in Vinnie for his manicure and stood around chatting. Cody is looking awesome now that he has a round bale and that was one of the many reasons they decided to put some out. He and Vinnie seem to be pretty good buddies while Axel still chases Vinnie around a little. Vinnie wants to eat at the feeder with Cody and Axel but he's not allowed to do that quite yet. There's a few "test bites" on the rafters in the shelter but other than that everything looks unchewed. And the round bale makes me feel better about the horses when it's below zero. They can keep warm stuffing their faces with grass.

One of these days I'll settle into the cold and get back to riding. Winter conditioning and winter therapeutic riding classes start the first week in January so I'll have to get used to the cold by then. At least the TR class I'm teaching is in a heated arena at the U.

Round Bales

We made it back from the farm with the intention of going to a film festival. Unfortunately Jeff thought it started at 5 and in reality it started at 3. So when that went out the window I went out to the barn to check on the horses. It has been -5F in Canby so the 16F at the barn felt like a heat wave, for a few minutes at least.

The three amigos were still in their pasture together. Cody and Vinnie were hanging out by the round bale and Axel was standing off by himself. That's right, a round bale. Apparently the horses were all eating their hay so fast and then standing around being bored so J decided they needed some round bales. A had suggested getting a round bale to deter the wood chewing but J said they had already spent a bunch of money on all the small squares for winter and didn't want to get more. But in the end the small squares aren't going anywhere and now they'll be there for next spring when hay is harder to find. Cody is looking pretty good and the free choice hay will really help him.

Axel, on the other hand, is going to be a fat fat horse. But like I said, he was off standing by himself not eating, I thought maybe his foot was hurting. I grabbed his halter and went out to get him. Luckily he wasn't lame, just lazy. Very very lazy. I just put him in the arena and left him loose while I groomed. He didn't even want to run around at all. He walked a bit and sniffed at various things on the ground but that was about it. I lunged him for a quick few minutes just to get him moving a bit. Just a bit of trotting and no bucking. I tried to give him some carrots while doing some tricks but he always gets my fingers. I guess I don't learn my lesson very well.

When I was done with Axel I grabbed Cody and brought him in the arena as well. He seems to be filling out a bit finally. You can just feel his ribs if you look for them. He was a little more willing to lunge than Axel was and even gave a few feisty hops when asked to change directions. We even managed some sidepassing at the wall in one direction.

Snow!

I took a couple really crappy phone pictures last night and I don't think I'm even going to bother uploading them. By the time I got out to the barn it was dark, the wind was blowing, and there was snow everywhere. Axel is now back in with Cody and Vinnie and from what I can tell in the dark there isn't any new chewing. It's hard to tell though.

Cody and I trampled through the snow into the barn. All the horses had their custy layer of ice and snow on their backs and I didn't want to scrape it off. Supposedly it creates some insulation to keep them warm. I just let him run around a bit in the arena. He bucked a lot and kicked up his heels. It was pretty windy so I think he was just a bit on edge. I thought maybe he'd want to roll but he just wanted to go back outside. So we only spent a few minutes in the arena.

Sometimes I get to see Axel as a real horse and it's always dependent on his height when I pull him out of the pasture. Last night he was pretty tall. I put him in the arena and he cantered around *not* on the forehand. He was light and fluid and looked like a real horse. He too didn't want to roll and wanted to get back out to the great weather as soon as possible. So back outside he went to stand in the snow and the wind.

Poor Vinnie is apparently not allowed in the shelter so he stands on the side where he can be blocked from the wind. Though all the horses had a layer of crust on them so even Cody and Axel had spent a fair amount of time outside of the shelter during the storm. I distributed carrots in everyones' feed bunks and headed for home. Then it snowed 6 more inches. Maybe the snow will keep Axel occupied for a while so he forgets about chewing on things. Of course now they won't be able to find their toys under the snow. The race car tire was still in the shelter so they can play with that if they get bored.

Getting Colder

It's really sad but I'm kind of bored of riding in the arena already. I'm going to have to really start working on some specific things so I don't pull my hair out. It's only December!

So the good news is, Axel hadn't chewed his way out of the pasture. Wednesday I noted he had found a new spot to chew. While that was a good sign the stuff we were using was working, it still meant he was chewing. So we stopped after work to get more "stuff" but didn't make it out to the barn until Saturday due to cold and laziness. So armed with the spray container I went to the barn. Low and behold, the new spot Axel had chewed on was exactly the same as it had been on Friday. Plus I don't think anyone had put anything new on it to deter him. So either the supplement is working or it took him a quarter of a post to realize it tasted bad. Either way, I resprayed that spot and a few others just to make sure.

Because of my laziness or boredom I just groomed Axel quickly and turned him out in the arena and let him cruise around a bit. There wasn't a lot of bucking and horsing around but when we first got in the arena I could tell he wanted to move. The ground is now frozen so it's a little hard to get around in the pasture so some leg stretching was in order. No worries I'm putting his boots on for these little romps no matter what. I'm hoping that'll keep him sound and let him work of some steam at the same time.

I'm rethinking my feeding him treats by hand while trying to teach him tricks. Holy wow is he mouthy. Someone's going to loose a finger if I don't stop. So we did a few little ground work things and he'd get his carrot from the mounting block.

I didn't want Cody to feel left out so I brought him into the barn as well. If anything I like to make sure I check on both horses at least once a week to make sure there isn't anything going on that wouldn't get noticed during daily feedings. He was a little slow in the pasture but it was just from the frozen lumpy ground. Once we got in the barn he was fine. Luckily with the frozen ground the horses are easier to groom, no mud!

Cody was feeling okay as well and did some leg stretching in the arena. He even threw out a few bucks and head tosses while he trotted around. The old man still has a little spunk left in him. And if there was any doubt that Cody and Vinnie were getting along, it's definitely gone. I put out some extra food for Cody and he just stood there while Vinnie ate some of it. Silly horse.

I Knew It

And I was right not to think this issue with Axel was over. Went out last night and he had started chewing again. Though this time he's chewing in a different spot. I'm wondering if the stuff we put on the posts soaked in good to the already chewed spots but maybe didn't soak into the fresh smooth wood well enough. We might pick up some more stuff from Fleet Farm tonight as I'm still waiting for the Bitterlicks to arrive (or for them to even answer my email about when it'll ship).

Cody was looking pretty good so I didn't give him any extra food I just brought him in the barn to scrape some mud off and get out of the wind for a while. I hadn't really planned to ride but decided at the last minute to jump on bareback for a while. This of course was not as easy as it sounds. Cody decided standing by the mounting block was not in his plan for the evening so it took a lot of adjusting to get there. We mostly walked around, a bit of trotting, and then worked on some of the side-passing exercises. Cody isn't quite getting the point of moving his hind quarters when I ask so we worked in the corners of the arena for a while. Near the end of the ride I tried the forward into the wall and then sideways thing and Cody kind of got it. I don't think he got it enough to do it all on his own but he was getting somewhere so that was good. I might have to grab a carrot stick and practice having him move parts of his body with a tap. Kind of get back to basics.

I finally remembered to bring some carrots so Cody did some stretches for his. I put a few in their bunk so Vinnie could have some as well. And I passed Axel some through the fence. I was too lazy to open all the gates to get to him.

Not Relieved Quite Yet

I'm still holding my breath but so far, as of Sunday's concoction and Monday's concoction, no one has chewed on the wood. We're going to give it at least a week, due to the supplement, but I'm hoping this is working. I should be able to make it out there tonight to check on things and groom Cody. And I should have numerous chances to get out there Thursday-Sunday as we're staying in town this weekend.

After checking the posts quickly I grabbed muddy Axel and brought him into the barn to get ready to ride. Axel has apparently found the mud as well and my new favorite grooming tool is the metal cattle curry. A had some obstacles set up in the arena so we set to work. It's not really work for Axel, not a lot scares him, but I think it might have been interesting enough. He's been chewing on his bit a lot when we ride but he kept it to a minimum last night. And I don't mean working the bit - down right chewing on it. Probably another sign that we should get a second opinion on his teeth. So we weaved some cones, walked over a tarp, went over some ground poles, and squeezed between some barrels and the wall. If it weren't for 1. Axel beating up on other horses even under saddle and 2. his ringbone, Axel would have made an excellent mounted posse horse.

A showed me a method of working on sidepassing so we made some attempts there. Axel is still quite confused on what I want but he'll get it if I keep working on it. We go forward toward a wall and then the idea is that the wall will stop us but we still have forward so our only option is to go sideways. Well Axel goes forward into the wall, and keeps going into the wall. So yeah, we'll keep working on that one.

A had both Vinnie and Danny in the barn so with me taking Axel, Cody was left all by himself. I only heard him call out once though. When I brought Axel into the arena Vinnie was already there and knickered at him. If the horses were people I'd say Vinnie is the younger brother looking up to the trouble maker older brother, Axel. Even though Axel picks on Vinnie, he stands next to him at the fence and knickers to him when he comes into the room. It's kind of cute.

Axel's Addiction

So I got a call yesterday morning to discuss Axel's fun little habit. They moved him into the small paddock by himself so he didn't completely destroy the lean-to and also to distinguish between what he's chewing and what Vinnie might be chewing. He was put in the small paddock sometime before Friday and had already gone half way through two more posts.

I ordered some Bitter Licks but in the mean time needed to come up with something to try and tackle the issue. J had replaced the first several poles and A had already mixed up some sort of concoction with bitter apple and hot sauce and put that on all the posts and the lean-to. Her concoction seemed to be working at least for the one day that it had been there. Jeff and I picked up some Quitt as well as something called Halt Cribbing from Fleet Farm on the way home. Quitt is a supplement that's supposed to reduce wood chewing within 7 days on the assumption that the chewing is caused by a deficiency in the horse's diet. The Halt Cribbing is just another concoction that you paint/spray on the wood and is supposed to deter the horse from chewing because of its taste.

A couple points to note:
A. Axel hadn't chewed on any of the square posts that had been painted earlier this year
B. Axel was for sure chewing on the round fence posts that had either not been painted at all or had only been painted in a hurry.
C. Axel had chewed on the lean-to before it was painted. I saw Vinnie chew on the lean-to after it had been painted quickly.
D. As of Monday night no one had chewed on anything that had been re-painted by A, there might have been one or two test spots but there wasn't any major chewing.

So Jeff and I sprayed all of the posts in the small paddock paying close attention to Axel's favorites. We also sprayed the rafters in the lean-to and used up the rest of the spray on some of the posts in the big paddock. Since the lean-to had already been painted dark we should be able to see if Vinnie continues to chew. And we know there were only two posts Axel had done work on in the small paddock so we should be able to see if he chews again.

The plan is to keep Axel separate for about 2 weeks. Partly to give the supplement time to start working and partly to just be able to tell who's kicked the habit. I just hope he figures out that wood tastes horrible now and doesn't chew again. Though I'd be willing to pay the 25 bucks every once in a while to reapply any of that spray. If what we've done so far doesn't work we'll try the Bitter Licks when that arrives. If that doesn't work, then I don't know what we'll do. Axel will have to move out if he keeps chewing. I'd rather not think about that right now.

Post Thanksgiving Ride

More on Axel's little addiction in the next post. The day after Thanksgiving the whole family, well Jeff and his sister and niece and nephew and I, went to the barn to visit the horses. We cleaned off the mud, saddled them up, and rode around the arena for a while. Jeff, his sister, and nephew left Amanda and I in the arena to ride while they went home to play video games. Amanda cruised around on Cody and practiced doing turns while trotting. Something she said is hard to do on her horse, Silver, because he's got a much bumpier trot than Cody. Axel and I plodded along at the walk and the occasional trot and even a bit of a canter. I set up the cones to do some weaving. Cody and Amanda made it through the course at the trot.

When we were done we passed out some carrots and broccoli. The horses weren't quite sure what to think of the broccoli but in the end they ate it. They much prefer the baby carrots though. We practiced bowing with the carrots which leave my fingers a little more intact than with the small treats.