Xrays and Teeth and Shots, Oh My!

Friday I buzzed out to the barn after work to meet up with another vet who was scheduled to do Axel's x-rays since the regular vet doesn't have a portable setup. S and a friend were getting Stitch and Cody ready to go riding but other than that it was pretty quiet on the western front. We went through a whole series of x-rays before the vet's computer decided to lock up and not save any of the pictures we had just taken. Luckily for my checkbook we then only retook a few of the different pictures since we knew what we were looking at. Axel stood pretty well but was getting fairly impatient by the end of the whole ordeal. He kept lifting up his back left foot when we'd barely touch it to put the x-ray sensor close to it.

Cody had gotten himself into something and took a big chunk out of his leg. The best we could figure was he maybe clocked it on the automatic waterer.

So the inital reading from the vet doing the x-rays were that his left knee is worse than his right and his right knee swelling/soreness isn't neccessarily from the arthritis but perhaps soft tissue. We'll see if that clears up with a bit of work and the Adequan. The hind left with ringbone is looking pretty nasty these days. One side is nearly bridged while the other side has a ways to go yet. She thought the joint itself was getting pretty narrow indicating that it was starting to fuse. Apparently as the joint fuses he might turn up lame more often/worse than usual. Once the joint fuses then he should feel pretty good.

So then Saturday the regular vet came out to do teeth and sheaths. Cody went first because we thought he'd be the toughest, might as well get that out of the way right? Cody was awesome. He scooted back a little trying to get away from the filing but hardly acted up at all and took the injection well. He got a little extra bump so the vet could clean his sheath. He had a pretty decent sized bean, maybe a bit bigger than a jelly bean, and a ton of plain ole' junk up in there. So much junk in fact he had an abrasion on his bits from it. So now he's all squeaky clean and I can't wait to see if he's a happier guy on Wednesday. Nothing major in the teeth department, only points this time. The vet had me stick my hand up in his mouth to feel some of the sharp points. I'll admit I didn't feel any points but I was a bit distracted that I had my arm up Cody's mouth and how slimy it was in there, ew. ;)

Axel did fine in the teeth department as well. He just had points as well, one in a not usual spot but nothing scary and both horse's ulcers in their cheeks from last time had heeled up fine. Axel didn't get his sheath cleaned since he's so accommodating anyway, but the vet pointed out where to look for a bean and said Axel didn't have one right then.

Both horses chilled out in the arena for a while to sober up. Walking Cody into the arena was pretty entertaining, he was swerving all over like he was drunk. It didn't take long for both of them to "come to" and get to go back outside. I missed the initial turn out of the new Clyde that J picked up at the sale and Cody and Axel didn't seem to even notice that he was on the other side of the fence. Oh well.

On Sunday we got back from the farm around 8 and ran out to give Axel his first shot of Adequan. He was very good about it and didn't even flinch when I put in the needle, though I wasn't surprised. I'm still a little paranoid, like maybe I didn't pull back enough to really see if the syringe was in a vein by accident, or other ridiculous notions. I'm sure by the time this month is over I'll be a lot less paranoid about giving injections. Once a year doesn't quite have the same effect as once every 4 days.

A Few More Steps Forward Than Back

Okay Cody, let's try this again. It was really nice again yesterday so I kept up my plan to get Cody over this "running for home" issue (which isn't really running for home but he'd do it if I let him, it's more like trying to run for home and acting like a complete idiot in the process). I know the last time he had this issue a chiropractic adjustment fixed it. But it would be really nice if some steady work also fixed it. But I won't discount the chiro, I just need to make an appointment and grow some money on a tree.

So I groomed him in the crossties as usual and got everything ready for a ride. Step 1. some circles from the ground in the arena, changes of direction, hey horse pay attention to me I'm the boss. Step 2. head down the road ditch, slowly, weaving, trying to look back at the barn. Step 3. Stop abruptly, back up several steps, weave, take a few steps forward, repeat. Step 4. finally take more than several steps forward, minimal weaving, yay we might be getting it! Step 5. reward time, let's head for home, turn around, snort, blow, crow hop, insist on running back to the barn as fast as possible while at the same time being stopped by, remember this part, the boss! He was not happy. We twalked (trot/walk) the rest of the way back toward the driveway. Step 6. reward revoked, we walked past the driveway in the other directions. He was a little calmer now as this side of the driveway still has some pasture so he could see some of the other horses, but he wasn't totally happy with life and kept drifting up the side of the ditch toward the barn. Step 7. turn around again and walk calmly toward the driveway. Step 8. Cody chooses to turn into the driveway without being asked so we pass the driveway again. Step 9. turn around again and walk almost past the driveway before "the boss" asks Cody to turn in.

That is pretty much what we've been doing the last 3 rides and it's getting very annoying. Granted the backing up and the crow hopping have gone down in intensity a bit since the first time. I don't want to reward him for going back to the barn so we went into the arena and trotted some spirals in and out and then worked on some cantering. We actually made it around 2 laps without stopping. His canter is unbalanced and kind of scrambling so we might have to get back on the lunge line for some work in that department.

For a cool down we were working on some turns on the hindquarters. I'm trying to get him to back up a few steps so he's on his rear and so that his front feet are lined up for stepping over each other before I ask for the turn. And if I can remember to neck rein he "kind of" gets it.

So about the time I was ready to be done everyone else showed up at the barn. J and S were going to go down the road and A thought maybe she would as well. I hemmed and hawed for a while, knowing Cody was being a pain lately but also wanting to give him the chance to get over it. I thought it would go pretty well if Vinnie went and if we stuck to a nice walk and everyone was calm about life. I ensured (so I thought) that we weren't going to go too fast and we'd stick to a walk and all that. S had already seen what a freak Cody had been. I circled Cody some more to further tire him out while waiting for everyone to tack. He was pretty sweaty by the time we left.

So all four of us set out on the road. Cody was okay. A little weaving, a bit of lagging behind, and some tail swishing but more content than prior rides. Halfway down the mile stretch S asked if we wanted to canter! Really? Are you kidding me? After some probably very exhasterbated explination that no we won't be cantering and no you cannot go canter ahead of us without giving the rest of the horses a heart attack, A and I decided we'd go to the end of the mile and turn for home and J and S could go canter to their hearts' delight. The parting of ways went really well. Cody was calm for the first 1/4 of the way back. Vinnie was a little concerned at the parting but nothing major. Cody's walk was pretty speedy but much happier than leaving the barn. He did start twalking which required a lot of correction but he wasn't going to bolt. He even remained calm as some cars passed. So we made it back in one piece and Cody had partially dried off (read: calmed down enough to stop sweating).

One Step Forward, 17 Steps Back

The mud is quickly drying up so Axel's mud fever won't be too much of an issue for too long (I hope). I did shave Axel's back legs on Sunday anyway. Surprisingly enough he let me shave them without yanking each foot away. He did not let me pick the scabs or even try and soften up the scabs with a wet rag. So I did the best I could and scrubbed both legs with the hibiscrub. I'm counting down the days until Axel's been on the Adequan for a few weeks and we can start working in the arena. He's gotta have some energy to work off, he certainly has some hay to work off!

Cody was pretty impatient in the cross ties when I groomed him and chatted with some folks for a while. We trotted around the arena for a few minutes to see how we were feeling and then we set out for the road. Slow down the drive way, slow and weavey for the first block, then moved to the ditch so if we decided to freak out we wouldn't get run over by a car or anything. That's when we started backing up. We made it down to the culvert finally and turned into the drain way. And then backed up. We finally made it a little further down the drain way, then we backed up. And spun around. And backed up. Snorting and huffing and puffing the whole time. Rinse and repeat. We Cody finally took several almost calm steps forward we stopped and turned around.

The trip back was fast and snorty. Trot walk trot walk trot. He finally started walking when we got back to the edge of the pasture. So we walked past the drive way and kept going. He was still a little snorty but calmer than before. We crossed the road and headed back toward the drive way, and went past it again. A car passed us and Cody remained calm so I gave him a lot of pats before we turned around (he's not afraid of cars he just uses them as an excuse to bolt). We walked down the driveway and did a few trot circles near the pasture gate before we went into the arena and did a little more work. He was a little worked up in the arena and had a pretty big trot and a kind of cruddy gallop/canter. We cooled down doing some serpentines at the walk with seat and leg cues followed by some leg and back stretches when I dismounted.

I'm hoping for some attitude change between the dentist, sheath cleaning, and chiropractor. One of those things has got to make him a slightly happier pony.

Vet Visit #1

Today the vet came out for spring shots and to basically check on things. He ended up getting there early so I didn't get the full fledged grooming done that I had hoped but neither horse had rolled since I groomed last so that was good. Cody did great in a stall while I groomed Axel in the aisle. But by the time it was his turn for the vet he was pretty hyper. He had a hard time standing still for his rabies shot and coggins. He could have been much worse of course. The vet decided he has a wide blaze and not an official bald face. Just a little fun fact I guess.

Axel went last since he had the most going on. He was his usual unfazed self for the shot and blood draw. The vet doesn't do his own xrays so we didn't end up having that done. I've gotta call another vet that does that and he'll email the films. But he did have me lunge him so he could watch. Axel hasn't been lunged since the beginning of December at the latest. He was quite feisty considering he's still pretty much lame. He picks the canter over the trot since I think it hurts less. So we trotted in hand for the vet since the lunging was a bit of a bucking fest. He did a flexion test on that right front and we trotted him again, he was very lame after the flexion. So we've decided on arthritis but we'll get the films to see just how bad it is.

So we discussed some options and talked about Adequan. The vet prefers Legend but that requires a vet to administer via IV once a month. So cost + vet appointment cost + trying to schedule an appointment all the time just seems like a lot of work. So I'm going to try Adequan first. It'll be spendy as well since there's a loading time but it's still cheaper than the daily supplements. I'm so excited to get Axel feeling better. We also talked about using some surpass for when his pain is chronic. It's easier to administer (topical) than bute and doesn't risk giving him any stomach issues.

He also checked both their teeth. Cody was less than cooperative which I expected but he was able to check him out as well as Axel and they both seem like they could use a float. I expected as much since it's been probably 4 years and before that a lifetime. The last vet said they were fine but I had my doubts. So we ended up making an appointment for next Saturday for teeth floating. A little sooner than my checkbook had hoped but it'll be nice to get it done as well as a thorough sheath cleaning. And S needs to have the chiro out so I might get in on that as well for Cody.

So all in all a successful visit with a few more to come. Lots of money but it's actually cheaper down here than it was when the horses were in Jordan.

Mud Fever Season

I had heard through the grapevine that both the boys had been enjoying some time laying and rolling in the mud so I planned a longer grooming session than normal. And I was right to. When I got to the barn everyone was standing around napping and there were at least two horse-sized body prints in the mud next to the round bale on a bit of a hill. It's been a while since I've not seen the horses with their faces shoved as far in the round bale as possible but I guess warm weather + sun means more napping and less stuffing their faces.

Axel has been brewing a nice batch of mud fever (scratches) since there was snow on the ground. I'm guessing since he hadn't been moving around much higher up on his feet have remained wet for a longer period of time. So I pulled him out of the pasture first and put him at the hitching post for some outside grooming. I like grooming outside because it means not having to sweep hair from the barn aisle. Though it does mean wearing more horse hair all over my face and down my shirt. Axel is on round two of massive amounts of shedding. I still haven't figured out what makes me start chewing on the lead rope. It might just boil down to time spent standing around.

So when I finished the bulk of the work and got the tornados out of his mane I set to work on the mud fever. It's kind of a hard thing to deal with since I can clean him up to perfection and then I have to turn around and put him back out in the mud. So it seems kind of silly but I suppose it's good to get it cleaned up, aired out, and treated. He's fussy about his back left still, when I go to pick out that hoof or touch him he yanks that foot high up in the air. I can't imagine my barely touching it hurts especially since he's back to putting full weight on it but he's still protective of it. And woe is the person who puts water or betadine on either of his back feet. He raises one up and hops around like I stabbed him with a hot poker. So I scraped with a hoof pick for a while to get some mud off, then I tried to put his foot in water, then I dumped the water over his foot, then I sprayed him with betadine, then I tried to scrub more mud off with water, then I donned the rubber gloves and really tried to rub the mud off with a rag (note: get more rags). When I had it mostly cleaned up and as mud and scab free as it was going to get without reinforcements I got out the hibiscrub and went through some contortions and experiments in application until I finally had scrubbed all of the offending parts. Let's hope this stuff works as good as it's supposed to (it's antibacterial and antimicrobial which is a much better option for the nasty mud fever bugs and it's supposed to work for up to 6 hours after application, betadine actually fails in the presences of bodily fluids so kind of pointless once you pick the scabs, sadly the hibiscrub is spendy).

So after all that we went for a walk down the road, just a few more minutes of not having to go back into the mud to give his legs a chance to dry off a bit. Maybe I need to get Axel an antibac rag from Norwex ;) He was calm on the walk, looking around and back at the pasture. We didn't go far but at least in that distance he hadn't done his oh-so-fun head tossing. So yay Axel, I can't wait to get him back to work and in shape again.

Then there's Cody. Old man Cody is back on his "OMG I can't leave my pasturemates" kick. The barn seems to be an okay place but the hitching post was a little bit scarier. There were things to look at, other horses, and whatnot and apparently that leads to realizing you aren't actually in the pasture with your friends. The extent of his display of dissatisfaction was just pawing and a bit of pacing but still, get over it already! I scraped a metric ton of hair and mud off of him and inspected him for any signs of mud fever - none thank goodness. And then I decided he needed to walk down the road too. Since our first ride down the road was a less than fun one, let's try walking in hand.

First we rushed a bit and tried to get ahead of me and turn around. I fixed that by asking for "easy" and putting my hand with the bite of the lead rope in front of his nose as I said it and redirecting him back to walking a straight line. Then a car came. Oh but not any old car, a truck pulling a horse trailer. Cars don't actually faze Cody, cars are just a good excuse to spaz out and bolt for home. Or in his case, try and bolt for home and then get really mad that he can't bolt for home because I'm at the other end of the lead rope. I'm hoping whoever was in the truck with the trailer saw how nice and calm I was as I let Cody freak out while I pushed him forward into a circle as the truck got out of our way. "Fine, horse, have your hissy fit and then we will circle and circle and circle and when you are calm again maybe we'll move along." We made it back to the barn and we did some more circles in the drive way, you can't just get off scott free without work! And then Cody got to go back to the pasture.

So I think it's time to get back to work in the arena and out of the arena. It sounds like it won't be very nice tomorrow so we might be in the arena but arena work is better than no work.

Oh the Mud ...

I just stopped out at the barn on Friday so I could groom some of the mud off the boys before we went to the farm for the weekend. And boy did they find the mud. Both Cody and Axel were caked in it.

Axel was feeling mostly okay. Belly swelling has reduced quite a bit again. His sheath is still not back to normal but looking a little better. His ringbone flare up seems a lot better, he's careful but he puts full weight on it. And finally his knee is still a bit puffy but he's getting around pretty well. He's got some pretty decent scabs going on his back right foot from mud fever. Friday when the vet's out and I have a lot of time it will be scab picking and disinfecting time. I might have to borrow a clippers as well and get his legs cleaned up.

So after I scraped all the mud off of him I set to work on Cody. I think Cody was worse, since his new found love of laying around all day. I promise he's going back to work soon. I noticed just how nasty Cody's sheath is and tried to gently pick some "stuff" off. Cody protested by trying to kick me. Guess who's getting their sheath cleaned next time he's sedated? Until then I guess I just have to work on desensitizing him "there."

I hope to get out and do something at the barn on Wednesday and then the vet is due on Friday so I took the day off so I hope it's nice out. It would be great to groom outside and not have to clean up all the hair ;)

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

I had a meeting on Monday so I couldn't get out to the barn to check on Axel so I was a little scared going out there on Tuesday. I had left a note in the barn that if Axel looked worse on Sunday night he could have more bute. There was a note in response that said he looked good so they didn't give him anything. I went out to fetch him and he seemed a little careful of that back leg but by the time we got to the driveway he was walking really well, almost sound. In fact the lame back left seems to balance out the lame front right. Heh go figure!

I was very relieved. It's been raining lately so I'm glad he's moving around well enough to get in the shelter if he wants. So I groomed him and gave him his MSM. He's a little resistant when I go to pick out that back left. I don't imagine holding his foot hurts him but he yanks it away for some reason.

The belly swelling has gone back down again. The sheath swelling is the same. The next warm day that I have a lot of time I think I'll bring a thermos of hot water out and try cleaning him out again. Maybe on vet day since I have the day off. Gotta find a thermos first ;) I put Axel in the arena to walk around and roll if he felt like it. He was kind of wet so I thought maybe he'd roll but he just explored a bit.

So it was finally a good visit to the barn. When it stops raining I'll have to shave Axel's back legs to help fend off the scratches he's so prone to getting. I'm going to try using some MTG as well, he has a few spots I had put it on the other day which were already growing hair the next day. Even if the MTG doesn't stop scratches it might help his dry skin a bit and maybe soften up some of the scabs on his legs.

Adequan for Axel

Been doing a little research to prepare for next week's vet appointment. I plan have Axel's knees xrayed as well as his back legs where the ringbone is. Assuming his knees are just arthritic then I'm thinking we might try Adequan. From what I read it has some pretty good results. If we do the month of loading and then inject once every three months or so (since he's not ridden more than twice a week) the daily cost of the Adequan is cheaper than the 4-in-1 feed through supplement he was getting. The second year would be pennies per day. The IM injection would be easy for me to give and then we'd know that he got it all. The feed through is a bit more of a hassle of course, who knows what horse ends up eating it.

I'm actually very excited about this idea as Axel has been notoriously stiff in his movements from the moment I bought him. He's improved quite a bit with exercise but I wonder if arthritis is holding him back. I'll have to make some before/during/after videos of him to see if there are any overall changes. If this stuff works as well as some of the testimonials I've heard I could have a whole new horse on my hands, which could also mean a harder to handle horse ;) I'd guess that it's easier to rein in a horse that feels good than it is trying to get a cranky horse to cooperate.

His ringbone shouldn't be affected by the Adequan so I think I might talk to the vet about getting some Surpass for that. It's a topical NSAID that's supposed to work pretty well. It would be way easier to apply than trying to get him to eat Bute and it's not as bad on the stomach since it's topical. I could use that either when we ride or when he ends up kicking himself lame. And if I get around to making the ankle boots for him I can hopefully minimize the impact of him kicking himself.

Keep your fingers crossed. Axel is way too young to have all these issues and way too loveable to be in such a bad mood all the time.

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You Have Got to Be Kidding Me

Friday I walked Axel down the road again, he was a little more feisty than normal, started the head tossing right away. I groomed him for quite a while and tried to clean his sheath a bit and put some MTG on his bald spots and his ankles. I did some massage and put him in the arena and he walked around in there for a while. After all that his sheath actually seemed like the swelling had started going down.

Saturday I met up with S and B and we tacked up and went down the road. Cody was evil. Plain and simple. He danced around, wanted to turn around or face the barn, and snorted and huffed and puffed the whole ride. When S wanted to canter he freaked out and danced around and never got into a real canter, it was mostly crow hopping and snorting. He wouldn't walk and even with a completely loose rein he curled his neck and stuck out his tongue. S kept telling me to give him more rein at the canter but I had all but thrown him away at that point, there was no more rein to give, he was just pissed. 1. we need a chiro visit 2. it's spring 3. we have ridden only a handful of times this winter and 4. this was the first time out in 4 months. Sooooo... I hope it goes better next time (understatement).

So he was a ball of sweat when we got back so I put some blankets on him and walked him around the arena while everyone else was cooling their horses out. He rolled a few times but wasn't really drying off. The arena cleared out so I went and got Axel as well. He and Cody rolled a few more times and wandered around the arena. I finally went to bring Cody out and the instant I left Axel started in on the gate. I'm not sure what happened then either someone in the aisle chased him off or Vinnie chased him off but when I got back from putting Cody away (2 minutes max) he was dead lame. He was hopping around putting no weight at all on his back left. Seriously? I assume he kicked himself and chipped another piece of ringbone off. I had 2g of paste bute left which went in his mouth and then on the floor. 2 more grams of powdered bute in his feed which he picked at for a while and maybe got half in his mouth. J came out and mixed up some bute in a syringe for me and gave him 2 more grams. So between our three attempts he at least got 3-4g in his system. It wasn't kicking in very quick though. Stalling him would have just meant more trouble so we limped back out to the pasture where he stood in the hay.

So I ran out there yesterday armed with some bute mixed with water in a syringe and tried to bute him again. Most of that went on the ground. Guess we try karo next time instead of water. He was putting his sore foot flat on the ground at least. Not putting full weight on it but an improvement from Saturday. Looks like last time this happened he was out of commission for about a month in September-October. Sadly I won't make it out there tonight to check on him so hopefully he's feeling a bit better or J&J give him a bit of bute.

I plan to talk to the vet about some sort of IM injection to help the arthritis. I don't think there's anything out there that will help the ringbone but perhaps if I get some Surpass I can use that whenever I ride or work him. Assuming the Xrays don't show anything unusual my thought is that he can still work even when he's a bit sore and the Surpass would maybe take away the "bit sore" part.

So if you're keeping score on Axel's ailments that's: arthritis in right front knee, ringbone back left pastern, swollen belly, and swollen sheath.

Feels like Spring

I wasn't feeling quite as ambitious last night as I thought so I didn't end up riding. Who really needs to ride more than 10 minutes a week anyway, right? I chatted with J for a bit, he was getting ready for the big tack sale this weekend that his saddle club puts on. We discussed the impending mud and the fact that Cody's girlfriends left today and everyone was running around and bucking.

J's mom wants him to save horse hair for the hummingbirds to use for their nests so I filled a bucket with Axel's hair when I was done grooming. Axel has been very mouthy lately, even before this swelling issue. At least back to the wood chewing and a bit before. He grabs onto the cross ties and bites down or tries to get the lead rope in his mouth. He doesn't appear to be wind sucking at all, just biting the ropes. He'll stand quiet for either a period of time or until I start grooming with the brush instead of the shedding blade, I haven't figured out if either of these is a trigger or what. The last 3 out of 4 times he's picked up his hind left foot when I asked instead of the other hind foot. The knee swelling seems to have gone down a bit. His sheath is still swollen and his belly is still swollen. There was a weird squishy tendon (or something) on his hind right but he wasn't standing square so it might have just been nothing (figured I should document it since it tends to come in handy).

I walked him down the road again. He made it almost all the way down past the neighbors before he started with the head tossing. And it definitely coincides with Cody calling for him. So I think he's just being naughty. He was a little more gimpy last night then the time before but he walks out pretty well on the road, it doesn't slow him down too much. When we went back in the barn I thought he'd maybe want to roll or something. I was cleaning up some manure when he came bolting across the arena, bucking and cantering. And the belly swelling and round bale induced fatness seems to go away when he gets all riled up like that. It's nice to see him looking a bit more fit once in a while. I'm looking forward to starting to work him after the vet confirms the arthritis and we discuss Adequan or something of the sort.

Cody is sad that his girl friends over the fence are gone. I think Dolly (or maybe Jesse, I can't tell the difference) is still in that pen but who knows for how long. If I make it out to the barn this weekend I want to clean out my grooming bag, try some DMSO on Axel's knee (it freezes at 65F so I haven't tried it yet, it won't be that warm but it should be worth a try), and maybe ride Cody down the road.

Now They're Both Shedding

Stop by on Friday on the way out of town to the farm. Axel's belly seemed a bit more swollen than normal.

Tonight my car said it was 45F so a trip to the barn was in order. After brushing off at least another horse's worth I took Axel for another walk down the road. He was being a little bit of a pill. I think he was hearing Cody calling or something but he'd toss his head, ended up hitting me once. Of course I'm paranoid so I'm thinking it's some sort of neurological issue. But I think he was just being Axel. Spring + no work all winter + horses calling = slightly misbehaving Axel. As soon as we get the x-rays or he starts feeling better then he's going to have to do a lot of ground work to get some manners back before riding. I'm hoping he just has some steam he hasn't had a chance to blow off yet.

Cody started shedding now too so when I removed a miniature horse's worth of hair from him I saddled him up to ride in the arena. We did some figure 8s, some corner circles, trotted a circle in the middle, and he offered some canter. I ended up only riding for about 10-15 minutes after lunging for 5-10 minutes but he was just starting to sweat so it was a good time to stop if I didn't want to stand around all night cooling him off. I thought maybe he'd roll but he wasn't interested. I did some leg stretches, neck stretches, and tail pulls with him before bringing him back outside.