Adequan, MSM, DMSO, and some bute was just not cutting it for Axel's sore knee. In fact the vet was surprised the Adequan didn't cut it. But Axel is good that way and feels bad for the vet and wants to help pay for his children's college. So after a week of phone tag I spoke with the vet and made an appointment for Tuesday to have Axel's knee blocked and then injected if the block indicated as much.
Axel actually wasn't terribly lame after not seeing him for a week so that was nice. I tried to get him groomed up before the vet arrived but he was a little early. He had me walk Axel in the arena to see how lame he was and make sure it was that right front (obviously). He had a significant head bob on that right knee. I asked him for a trot and got a big fat "F You!" He flung his head and bounced around and I don't think actually trotted at all. Of course this wasn't really a surprise to anyone. The vet scrubbed up Axel's knee for a nice long time to prep for the Lidocaine injection. Axel stood very quiet for a couple shots. I walked him around the arena once to get the injection spread out and then we stood for a few minutes to wait it out while I finished brushing his mane and looking for woodticks (found 2). When he had 10 minutes or so of waiting I walked him back in the arena up and down the wall a few times. The vet thought he had about an 80% improvement at the walk. The head bob all but went away. He still has his usual stiffness but he never did move all that well and he hasn't worked in 6 months, I would think that would affect it as well. I did ask for a trot and got a bit of a head toss and then a few strides of trot. He was off at the trot but I didn't get the big reaction I did the first time. So the vet thought all this meant the injection would be the way to go.
So another round of scrubbing commenced and then a couple more injections right into the knee. This time it was some steroids and hyaluronic acid. Once again Axel stood really patiently, admittedly it was too danged hot to move in the first place. After that I turned him out and now it's a waiting game. When the block wore off he was back to his normal lameness. I guess it takes about 5 days or so to really kick in and for him to start feeling better. So we'll wait and see and the vet wants a phone call update on how he's doing in a week or so, so keep your fingers crossed that this was the right fix.
So after all that I brought Cody in to groom. It was way too hot to ride or do any work but since it had been a full week I thought the old boy deserved a bit of pampering. Well the longer we stood there the more I kept thinking about clipping a bridle path. I tend to go on the au natural side of things, I like long manes and all that. But I gave in. I clipped Cody's feathers, whiskers, and a bridle path. I'll admit it was a small bridle path but enough so I can tell what is forelock and what is mane. The whiskers I didn't get all the way down to the skin but I cleaned up the long dirty ones now he just has stubble. And for some reason he still had some pretty impressive feathers on his legs from winter so I clipped those off as well. I have to say I love my new clippers. It's so quiet and quick. Cody almost looks like a real horse (J said she's going to have to go out and lead him to the hay in the middle of the night now that he doesn't have whiskers to feel his way around - barn joke). So Cody who everyone is pretty sure was treated very poorly as a yearling, who was very head-shy and not terribly friendly now let's me wipe his nose with a baby wipe, scratch his ears, clip his bridle path and whiskers, AND when scratching his face with the curry gave us another lip curl. Go Cody! It only took 20 years!
So yesterday I made it out to the barn again and thank goodness for cooler weather. It rained off an on all day but it was only 70F and not humid so I planned to do some riding. Axel followed me around the pasture for a while and he was looking pretty good. Still limpy but I think it's getting better. I groomed and tacked up Cody and brought him in the arena. He was pretty pokey and I had a hard time getting him moving. Seems like the only way to get him going is to ask for a canter and then he gets a little spazzy and will move out for a few minutes before going back to his slow turtle speed. I think I'll be riding with a whip from now on at least until he figures out we need to just move out and not stop until I ask. We visited with B and Diva for a while and luckily for Cody I was as lazy as he was so I only ended up being mounted for a half hour.
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