Laminitis

So we think it all started mid-late summer.  Cody is always kind of tender footed that's why we put hoof boots on him when we ride anywhere that isn't the arena.  But it started to get to the point where he couldn't even walk from the pasture to the barn without looking like he was going to fall over in pain.  A few other horses were having some foot issues around the same time so we chalked it up to the weather and the ground hardness.  So we put some shoes on him and he got a little better.  But he was never quite right after that.  We pulled the shoes at the beginning of November and he remained not quite right.  We gave him some time off and evaluated him again.  He was hard to figure out.  He'd go from lame, to sore, to lazy all in a few minutes and we couldn't ever really tell which leg was bothering him.  It was kind of vague and hard to pinpoint.  So he had a little more time off.  I was out there last week and he was worse than before so I called the vet and put some boots on him.

The vet made it out the next afternoon and by then he'd been in the boots for 24 hours and was looking quite a bit better.  He did test sore with the hoof testers on the sole of his foot.  But judging how tender he usually is that alone wasn't really indicative of anything specific.  He was also reactive to concussion on the hoof wall which the vet said could indicate laminitis.  He figured it was a pretty mild case and we couldn't really determine why.  He was off sweet feed already, he's not a fat horse, so it pretty much leaves something like "road founder" from hard ground, maybe from stomping flies.  Might just be one of those things.  He had a similar issue several years ago, a round of bute and shoes fixed it up at the time.

So Cody is on 2g of bute a day for 7 days to reduce any inflammation.  And the vet recommended pink foam insulation duct taped to his feet.  The alternatives being special boots ($190) with special orthotics ($90), or corrective shoeing.  We figured trying the insulation was the cheapest route and he had the best luck with it apparently.

Instead of using just the duct tape I figured we'd put the foam in his boots, I thought that would keep it on a lot better than just tape.  So he's had 5 doses of bute and has been wearing his boots with the foam in it.  And he seems like he's feeling pretty good these days.  They put a different horse in the pen with them this weekend and I guess there was a lot of running around and Cody looked like he was feeling just fine.

So the bute will be done tomorrow and Cody will be happy for that.  He's not a big fan of how the bute tastes.  Surprisingly he's been pretty decent about it though.  He yanks his head up about 4-5 times and then he just stands there and lets me put it into the corner of his mouth.  So in the grand scheme that's not too horrible if you ask me.  He has been "running" away from me now though, really just walking away when he sees me coming.  I think that'll stop when I stop making he eat gross tasting medicine.  I'll have to make sure to give him some treats when I go out there for a while after the meds are done.

After the week of bute we'll have to see how he does.  I'm thinking I give him the rest of the week in the boots with the foam to give the bute a chance to wear off.  Then maybe no boots for the weekend and we'll see how he is.

Another Knee Injection

I ran out to the barn yesterday afternoon to meet up with the vet. We decided to give Axel another injection of steroids and HA to see if that would help him out a bit. They stand around so much in the winter I wanted to get it done so he was a bit more mobile before the ice started. If it works well enough for me to ride him down the road at a walk, all the better. We'll see how he feels in a week. He's such a good boy, stood perfectly still while having several needles stuck into his joint. Can't say I'd be able to do the same thing!

Vet Visit

Well I guess we lucked out on Tuesday. Cody used up all his calm then and left me with a crazy horse when the vet came yesterday. Granted I should know better than to bring him inside before we're ready to go. Had him and Axel in the aisle to groom while I waited and he was there maybe two minutes before he started sweating and peed on the cement! So I put them both in the arena and he ran around like an idiot for a good 15 minutes. The big side door in the arena was open so he'd run up there look out at the neighbor horses and then try and run to the back corner where he thought he'd be closer to the horses but he couldn't see them there so he'd run back to the open door. Over and over. We ended up having to give him his shots outside where he could see his friends and he still wasn't the best but at least the vet got the needles in okay and he didn't really notice since he was so concerned.

I'm starting to wonder if it's not Dolly that has him worked up but instead Logan. Because Tuesday Logan was in and he was calm as could be. And he stands next to Logan at the fence all the time. So either he likes Logan a lot or Logan is competition for Dolly and he wants to know where he is at all times, doesn't want Logan to take Dolly away.

That horse, I tell ya, I think he has multiple personalities!

Axel was calm and patient like he usually is. Both horses scored a 5 on their body condition which surprised me. I figured Axel would be a notch over and Cody a notch under but the vet said they were looking good. Got some suggestions for Axel's scratches and the vet doesn't think it's copper deficiency he said it's hard to test for and doesn't happen very often. He did say supplementing for it wouldn't be a bad thing if I wanted to see if it helped at all. He figured the scratches were bacterial and thought I could maybe try some Animax/Panalog. His only other thought was maybe some sort of chorioptic mite (which is mange) but that again is tough to test for. It responds to an IM injection but I guess it's a bit tricky and it's doubtful that it would be it. He did agree that if Axel had a less than stellar immune system it would explain him getting them so often and so bad.

So everyone is caught up on their Rabies shots and had their coggins pulled. I have their other shots at home that I'll give. I actually ended up with a combo that has nearly everything in it so I just have one spring shot and then a strangles shot in the fall. The vet did recommend a Potomac shot but everyone declined that one. The last I heard it wasn't really around here and people don't usually give that shot. Glad I bought my shots at the Expo though, the combo shot was about 3 times as much from the vet as what I paid. Yikes!

Drive-by

Got a call from the vet with the blood test results. No major issues showed up. All organ functions were fine. The only blip was slightly elevated muscle enzymes at 640 but it doesn't sound like that's of too much concern. It certain explains why Axel is pretty achy looking. Plus the minor elevation could just be his lack of work both this whole year and more recently the last month and a half. So the vet is coming out tomorrow at 1 to give me his meds and administer a dose of lasix. I think he's going to try anti biotics for now and see if his issue is just a localized infection.

So I stopped by the store on the way home and picked up a big pill organizer. J&J said to just let them know what they need to give Axel went the vet gets the diagnosis and I was trying to figure out the easiest way for them give him his meds without a whole lot of hassle. My assumption is that it'll be some powders and opening baggies with gloves on is a hassle. Even opening some tupperware things would be tough. That's when I thought of the big pill boxes. So assuming Axel's meds fit in the box I have them all labeled with dates. That way no matter who feeds they can see if he's gotten his meds that day yet or not. Hopefully that will work out and be easy for everyone.

So Cody survived being turned out last night with slightly damp hair. And I did find my old hair dryer so I'll leave that at the barn as well. Axel was actually the only one standing at the round bale when I got there. He looked up at me very bright eyed and not as mopey as he has been. His belly "lump" has changed. It's still there but it's kind of spread out, it's harder to see from afar now. Maybe it is starting to go away? Who knows. His sheath is still swollen. Hopefully the vet will get him fixed up and feeling good in no time.

Another Vet

So the other vet I contacted came out this morning in the nearly unbearable -11F weather. He did a basic exam on Axel and took some blood for a test. He even listened to his heart and felt for some various pulses (something the other vet didn't do). From the sounds of it this vet does not think it's chronic heart failure (so yay to that). He explained a few things that it could be and said we'd hold off on any treatments til the bloodwork came back. He thought it might just turn out to be an infection in his sheath. Then he'd just put him on some oral antibiotics and some lasix to reduce the edema. So now we wait. I definitely like this vet better. He seems to be a bit of a nerd so he's just my style in that respect. His call charge seemed pretty inexpensive as well, so that's always a good thing. So now we wait.

Axel was a little down in the dumps even but it is super cold. I'd be down in the dumps if I was standing outside as well. But he grabbed for the hay bale by the door and drank water when I turned him out. So he's not off his feed yet or anything. His slightly swollen back leg seems to have un-swelled itself as well. So that seems like it was just a coincidence.

Still Puffy part 2

Another day, another visit. Axel is still swollen. No better, no worse. I went out yesterday before all the New Year's festivities. I walked Axel around the arena again for 15 minutes or so. The bute from the day before must have been working because he didn't seem lame. That back pastern is still swollen though. He was in the same mood as the day before. Pretty normal, a little cranky but willing to follow me around the arena.

I ended up emailing another vet today, one that another boarder uses and recommends. The vet emailed back within the hour (on a holiday) and is coming out tomorrow to check out Axel. He said "Ventral edema of the sort affecting your horse can be due to a number of causes. Among them, congestive heart failure, liver or kidney disease, low blood protein levels (hypoproteinemia) or vasculitis, as well as infection. I agree that a thorough physical exam with bloodwork, including serum biochemical profile and complete blood count would be appropriate." So yay, a vet that emails promptly and is willing to do a few tests. At least so far, I like him better than the previous. Though the barn owner's don't really like him, not sure why. To each their own of course. We'll see what he says about Axel tomorrow.

The Vet Visits

I'm still contemplating how I feel about the new vet but here's the events of yesterday. I got there about an hour early, figured I'd groom and get the horses ready. Groomed Axel first since I planned to have Cody's work done first, I could turn Axel out alone and didn't think he'd work himself into a tizzy at all. They're both still shedding - when will it end? When I was done grooming Cody we hung out with Steele and his owner, eating grass in the yard. The barn owner came out and brought some beers so we stood around and chatted. The vet pulled up and turned out to be a pretty quietly demeanored man and a little scatter brained perhaps. He took care of Steele first since his owner had to leave right away. Cody was next. I explained he hadn't had his teeth done in 2 years and that was the first time in his life. I told him how he had wavemouth and caudal hooks and sores in his cheeks etc. Concern #1, vet said he didn't know what those things were (wavemouth and caudal hooks). So he said he'd feel around and see what he thought. Cody fought this a lot which I was mildly happy about because I figured that meant there wouldn't be any question that he'd get sedated for the floating. When the vet could finally get his hands in his mouth he said he didn't feel any sharp spots and his teeth were as dull as they could be. Concern #2, he also said when he floats teeth he just sticks the float in and files away, he doesn't do much feeling around. He mentioned he prefers to float in the fall and he would take a peek again at that time and maybe run the float around his mouth at that time. On the sheath cleaning front, he seemed to be of the opinion that if nothing is swollen then there's no reason to clean out their sheaths and that even if there's a bean up there it's not hurting anyone (?). He said he'd sedate and do it if I wanted but at that point I figured there's no reason to put Cody through sedation just for this sheath, I just thought since he'd be sedated for teeth why not get it all done. So in the end both horses just got their Rabies shots.

This leaves me with enough money to get the chiropractor to come out. I think if Cody doesn't put on some weight, and the chiropractor doesn't make him feel better, then I might see if I can get Brad out for a second opinion on the teeth later this year. I think this new vet is not an equine dentist and while I'm not willing to put my horses through a floating if they don't need it, I'm not certain he could really tell what was going on by just a quick feel that didn't involve getting all the way to the back. Perhaps next spring or this fall if one of the other boarders has a different vet out I'll meet them and see what I think. The guy was nice and gentle but he didn't seem overly thorough and maybe a little too laid back. Hey he could be right but can't hurt to have a second opinion.