Out to get me

I swear Axel thinks this is some big joke. I brought him into the barn for his usual snack of MSM. I'm just about out of senior feed, I might have to pick up some more. He certainly doesn't need any additional sweet feed. I put him in the arena since he seemed a bit peppier than on Tuesday. He was a little less lame so I didn't think he needed any bute. He hasn't rolled in the arena since all this started though he's clearly laid down outside and sometimes had even went down on his knee evident by how dirty it was. Last night he sniffed around right away, looking for a spot to roll. He went down slowly, stopping midway through as his sore knee was half bent, almost trying to decide if it was worth the pain to lay down. He made it all the way down and rolled several times and then he just laid there staring at me. He hadn't tried to get up and he wasn't struggling, he rolled just fine. He laid there for quite a while before I started trying to encourage him to get up. He'd sit up slightly one or two times but never bent his legs under himself to get up. I was getting mildly scared, he wasn't struggling or thrashing but it just seemed weird that he'd lay down and not get up or even try. I started to walk toward the gate, I can't recall what I was going to do, but I turned around and Axel was standing. He must not have struggled nor grunted at all so the best I can tell he was trying to play a funny joke?

Anyway when he got up his knee was pretty sore so I thought maybe I would give him some bute just so he could get around a bit better for the next couple days. I mixed the unflavored bute with applesauce and sweet feed but he turned up his nose. I gave in and grabbed the paste bute which didn't seem frozen. Unfortunately it was colder than normal and I don't think a whole lot got in his mouth. Hopefully he got at least a gram.

I brought Cody in as well just to groom and let him move around the arena a bit. He wasn't ready to run but he wanted to walk around, I thought maybe he was going to roll too but he was just exploring. I grabbed the lunge whip and asked him to move a bit. I had him move around for a while and just stretch his legs. He let me stretch his front legs but he wasn't thrilled with standing still, he was just not into it. He's looking really good these days. I'm excited for him to shed out this spring. Axel is well on his way to shedding as well. It's almost spring!

Still Icy

Okay leave it to Axel to make me a liar. He was pretty sore last night when I went out to the barn. He ate his MSM with gusto but when I tried to give him some bute he turned his nose up at it. I added some slightly frozen applesauce but that did not inspire him. So he went without. Though it did seem like maybe the swelling on his knee was down a bit.

So I grabbed Cody and groomed him up. He must be laying down more often now because he looks a complete mess. He is also spending a lot of time visiting across the fence with his temporary neighbor girls. After I took the huge snowballs out of his feet and got him cleaned up we went into the arena. He seemed a little energetic so I just turned him loose but he wasn't in the mood to kick up his heels on his own so I got out the lunge whip and he free lunged for a while. He's really lifting up his back these days which is nice to see. After he stretched his legs a bit we did a few change of direction on the lead line. It took a few tries to get him to stand still at the mounting block again but I jumped on bareback for a while. We spent some time working on the rail and staying on the rail and going deep in the corners. Cody thinks he knows me and wanted to do corner circles but that was not my plan, silly boy. He picks up on repetitive things very quickly.

We played around with some leg yielding and still didn't get quite it. We had a few tries of turn on the forehand which went just okay. There was some decent rein-back, he's a lot more willing to do that when I'm just riding in the rope halter and no bridle. And overall we worked on seat and leg cues and neck reining. I even attempted some sitting trot for a little bit. We ended the night by standing next to the mounting block, getting a treat, and me getting off. I also did some of Cody's stretches and massaged his hips a bit. He's got these new weird indents on his hips which I assume is just from weight gain but they are odd.

I made the mistake of taking him out the side barn door since S had just come in with her boys and had the door open still. Cody just about pulled a Bambi and did the splits on the ice. He held it together but we won't be using that path again any time soon. I'm glad I didn't go that way with Axel, yikes.

New URL

Well well it seems as if blogger is getting rid of FTP which means this blog is going to have to move. Which in the end is fine since it's just in a sub folder on one of my existing domains. It could use a domain of it's own. I assume blogger will assist in the redirects so hopefully if there's anyone actually reading this blog they will be forwarded. I'm not sure how it'll work for RSS feeds. Sounds like this will start happening the week of Feb. 22 so keep an eye out if I go missing and you wonder where I am.

In other news, I still think Axel's knee is ever so slowly feeling better. The collage is from the past few photos I've taken, most recent on the left. He's not sound by any means but he's peppier and he just about ran me over on his way up to the barn last night. He's still gimpy in the arena but maybe just a little less gimpy? It's hard to tell for sure. He was actually in kind of an obnoxious mood last night. He booked it up to the barn nearly leaving me in the dust and he was trying to bite me in the arena. Not sure what that's about. I'm hoping when this knee thing gets better we can start working off some of his energy and hay belly.

Cody Pushes the Green Ball

Another sunny but cold day at the barn. It seemed a little chillier today than yesterday actually. Cody was nappping when I drove up so I took some photos of him and grabbed Axel first. B was in the arena playing with Diva and the green ball. Axel ate up his MSM as usual. He seemed very slightly less lame today so I brought him into the arena for a bit to move around. He's still much more lame in the arena footing than he is on the cement or even the ice in the drive way. But, we might be getting closer to the light at the end of the tunnel because I swear he seemed a little less lame.

I put him out side and Cody was up from his nap so I brought him in to ride a bit. I saddled him up this time in case he was feeling frisky with Diva in the arena or in case I wanted to trot or canter a bit. Diva was pushing around the green ball with her legs so Cody and I tried several times before we finally pushed the ball. We made a big fuss telling Cody he was a good boy when he pushed it. He's still not going to run in there and play with the ball by himself but at least he finally trusted me enough to do what I said.

B and I swapped horses for a few minutes and I got to try out Diva. She's got the big big big arab trot, that's for sure. She does have a WP trot but it's still got a lot of action and would be tough to sit for too long. We even cantered a bit but it took me a couple tries to get to it. She's so little, it's like my feet touch each other. B got Cody to trot and canter a bit as well, he was being pretty cooperative. It got cold pretty fast when we stopped working so I untacked Cody and took him back out side. I couldn't stand around too long without freezing so that was the end of hanging out at the barn. Can't wait til it's a bit warmer.

Sunny Saturday

Axel is the same, didn't expect anything more. Groomed him and gave him his MSM and put him back outside. Perhaps tomorrow I'll give him some bute and have him move around a bit. He has been laying down, his right side was dirty again so he doesn't hurt so much that he won't lay down. And if he's going down on that knee that could explain the increased swelling. Poor boy, I hope we can get this under control soon. As he decided to humor me and drop I checked out his boy parts and they are pretty dirty. A lot dirtier than I think he should be after being cleaned by the vet a month ago. A mentioned that Axel wasn't dropped when the vet was cleaned and he was just mopping out the inside of his sheath. So now I'm wondering if there is a bean or something. If it was warmer I could maybe see what I can find.

So I brought Cody into the barn and A brought in Vinnie. We did a little bit of ground work in the arena and he was paying pretty good attention considering Vinnie was also doing some work. He was less than thrilled when Vinnie left and it took us quite some time to stand still at the mounting block. At one point we even did a bit of side passing/leg yielding. When he finally stood still I hopped on bareback. Riding a horse bareback in the winter = heated seats. He had a tough time concentrating but we worked on some circles in the corners of the arena and I worked on more subtler cues. A brought Danny in for a bit and moved him around a little before taking him back outside. When I got off Cody and removed his bridle he jumped around and ran to the gate. He really wanted to go out. I finished cleaning up the arena before I took Cody back outside. Since I'm a wimp and don't trot or canter bareback he was only a bit damp from nerves so I didn't have to cool him out. The sun was really warm and everyone was soaking it up outside and a big hawk was waiting on the fence post.

ETA: Doing a little research on MSM and DMSO, here's a few links with some interesting information -
http://www.vitaflex.com/res_msmdmso2a.php
http://www.dmso.org/articles/information/muir.htm

Axel's Puffy Knee

Poor boy. When I drove up to the barn today I thought for sure Axel was going to be 3 legged lame. It seemed like I could see his swollen knee from the driveway and he looked like he was standing kind of funny. When I haltered him up and walked him toward the gate he didn't seem much different than usual. I think he is a bit more swollen than Tuesday but his knee was also dirty so he must have went down on it at some point maybe to roll or sleep. I gave him his MSM which he greedily ate up. His other swelling seems about the same from what I can tell, no major change there at least.

I put him in the arena to see how he walked in there to determine if I should give him some bute or not. He seems to walk better on the cement than he does in the arena for some reason. Maybe the uneven ground and deeper footing is harder to deal with. He was maybe a tiny bit more lame but not nearly as lame as I expected when I drove up so I decided not to give him bute this time. I'd rather he feel a bit of the pain and not overdo it than to feel nothing and hurt himself worse. I'll probably give him some this weekend so he can move around a bit easier as it's supposed to get warmer.

Ice Skating Horses

So since it melted and rained all weekend and now it's super cold again, the driveway at the barn is an ice rink. Axel and I skated up to the barn and went in through the tack room to avoid more ice. He gobbled up his MSM as usual and I groomed him a bit. His right knee is a bit swollen in the front, you can't really see it in the photos I had taken. It's very mildly puffier than his other knee and he was pretty sore today even. I put him in the arena to see if he wanted to roll or anything. He mostly just stood around until J drove by outside with the skid loader. Then he decided he'd rather be on the other side of the arena as fast as possible. He cantered around sound and then broke to a very lame walk. So I still have my fingers crossed that the MSM will kick in soon but I'm guessing this super cold weather isn't going to help anything.

Cody get his hair dried

So here's a photo of Axel's knees from tonight. Pretty much exactly the same as the previous photos. With a bit of additional winter hair of course.

He was still pretty gimpy today and trying to walk across the ice rink to the barn didn't help of course. He loves his MSM though and I think he's much happier getting his treats now that they don't taste bad. He walked around the arena a bit but he didn't want to roll so we went back outside.

Cody was waiting his turn when I brought Axel out. He was a bit more snowy so I groomed him up pretty good. He had some nice platform snow shoes on his front feet so I bet he was glad to have them picked out. I free lunged him for a while at the trot and canter, not too much so he didn't get sweaty. We worked on some ground work after that. I think I need a refersher course on some of the ground work stuff I feel like we're stuck and not quite getting to where we want to be with moving parts of Cody's body and eventually lateral movements. He still wants to always look at the gate when we're in there.

When we were done playing in the arena I put Cody back in the aisle to see how he'd react to the hair dryer. He was actually still a little wet from the snow so I figured it was a good time to try. He wasn't too sure of the whole deal. He behaved really well but he was pretty concerned with what was going on. I managed to dry a spot on his withers but the hair dryer on low seemed really cool. When I tried it at home the high setting seemed really hot but now low seems too low. Who knows, it did dry him off in that spot pretty well. I'll keep working with him on that so when we really need it he isn't surprised.

Axel just might be arthritic afterall

So here we are thinking Axel's knee is kind of swollen. But it's not soft and it's not hot and it doesn't look a whole lot different to me. J says it's big. So being the OCD type I am I go and look at my Flickr photos and search for "Axel" and "leg" and I find this picture I took in May of 2009. If you'll note his right knee, it's kind of bigger near the bottom than his left. A little more pointy and this is what J is seeing.

Follow that up with a photo from May of 2008 (I guess I take leg photos in May oddly enough) where you can clearly see his knees are generally big. The right a bit bigger than the left. I'll have to take another photo of what he looks like right now but I don't think there's any change.

So I cross check the dates with entries in my blog and I find out that he was sore and stiff in his left knee nearly the whole winter '07-'08. May 2008 we start him on the 4-in-1 HA that has a variety of joint supplements. There's no mention of lameness for the whole winter of '08-'09 while he was on the supplement. I took him off the supplement in Nov. 2009 with the thoughts that joint stuff wasn't going to help ringbone at all. Forgetting that maybe I had him on there for his other joints. And now he's sore in his right knee. So even though he's not working out of his pain in the arena i wondering if this is just arthritis acting up.

I'm going to load him with MSM and keep him on that for the rest of the winter and see what happens. I'll get some X-rays this spring (if it doesn't get worse before then) and we'll see where we're at, if it's indeed arthritis. If so we'll probably keep up with the MSM if it's working and maybe add DMSO or Surpass or something for times when it flares up. I can't believe I didn't remember that he has a sore knee a couple years ago. Especially since it was sore all winter just like now. The MSM is supposedly an anti-inflammatory so maybe it'll also help his sheath swelling.

Axel is Pregnant

Okay not really but he sure looks it. Between the hay belly and the edema he looks like he's ready to have a baby any day now. I brought him into the barn to get him cleaned up and work a bit. He was surprisingly dry so it must not have rained much since I was out yesterday. I put him in the arena for a while and got him moving a bit. He cantered quite a bit and looked pretty good. Some stints of trot were a little off but that was expected. He was moving pretty good so I threw a bridle on and went to get on. Took me 4 tries to jump on him and he kept walking away before I could get all the way up. Of course as soon as I get on and walk a bit he starts limping. I thought maybe he'd work through it but the more we walked the more he limped. So my inexperienced diagnosis of arthritis might not be correct. Now I'm thinking something like bursitis from an injury to his knee. Maybe he wacked it rolling or something. If it was arthritis I think he would have worked through it and not gotten worse.

Riley was in getting lunged and Vinnie was in working on some stuff. Axel had gotten a bit sweaty just from walking, maybe from the pain. He looked like he wanted to roll but there was so much going on he never did go down. So we ended up staying in the arena and watching and walking a bit and chatting with everyone. I ended up giving him some MSM and some bute. I'll be able to get out to the barn a bit more the next few weeks so I'll keep giving him the MSM just incase it's arthritis plus he likes it and eats it well. He did actually finish all his bute too so that was nice. I'll probably keep the bute to a minimum and see how he does. If he doesn't start getting a little better it might be time to have the vet out (again) and do some x-rays. I wanted to get some films of his back legs anyway might as well throw in his fronts. If he is predisposed to arthritis it'd be good to have some films of where he's at.

The swelling still hasn't gone down even with the warmer weather and reports of him moving around a lot more in the pasture. I'm still wondering if it's an allergic reaction to the round bales but they haven't been getting their bales from the same place. Who knows. I think I say that a lot lately. Dallas came in today with a big blister looking thing on his back leg. It wasn't there yesterday when L&S had him in riding. I guess gimpy horse syndrom is going around these days.

Back in the Saddle ... again

Axel is still puffy and his knee is still kind of stiff/tender. But I figured he at least needed to come in out of the rain for a little while. He actually rolled in the arena and that dried him off almost completely. I chased him around a bit to get him moving, he was pretty gimpy but willing to move. More willing to canter than trot but I suppose the canter puts less weight on his front legs than a trot does. Between the hay belly and his swelling he looks pregnant, poor boy. I'm not sure why the swelling isn't really going away but it doesn't seem to be bothering him so ... who knows.

I had put Cody in a stall while I putzed around with Axel for a bit but he was not happy even with all the stuff going on. I figured Axel wasn't going to be happy in stall so I put him back outside by himself. Vinnie, Dallas, and Riley were all in the barn to ride so I tacked up Cody. First time he's had a saddle on since November. He wasn't excited but it fits really well now with his new found weight. It's funny to feel how wide he is now. Everyone tried to get their horses to push around the big green ball but Vinnie was really the only one that wanted to push it. We spent most of the time just sitting in the middle of the arena and chatting but I had Cody canter both leads and he went right into it without speed trotting so that was nice.

When we were done riding we decided to let Cody, Dallas, and Riley loose in the arena. We figured there wouldn't be too many fireworks and maybe they'd roll or play with the ball. Dallas rolled, then Riley rolled, then Cody rolled but they all kept their own space and didn't mingle. I finally shooed Cody away from the gate and he went over to meet the other horses. There was some sniffing and Cody did some squealing but Riley didn't back down and was nibbling on Cody a bit. Cody finally established his leadership and chased both horses away but it was all very civil as far as horse hierarchy goes. I figure if Cody meets all the other horses he'll be a little calmer riding with them in the arena or on the trail. He had been a little worked up at first but he did settle in while we rode, it has been nearly two months so I can't really blame him.

Axel's turn today ...

The Big Green Ball Part I

I finally brought the big green ball out to the barn on the request of the other boarders. I've been so busy I'm never around to hang out with everyone and they really want to play with the ball. It was an interesting sight getting the ball in and out of the mini fully inflated. I'll say this, filling up the ball using the exhaust port on the shop vac worked like a charm.

So Axel is feeling a little better. He's still puffy, no better or worse. His knee is still a little swollen but he's walking better. He only had bute on Friday when he was really lame. J said he was running around all weekend with his tail up in the air so I guess he was feeling pretty good. He took it easy in the arena this time. Maybe another week if taking it easy will help and I'll be able to ride or lunge him next week. He actually knickered at me when I came out tonight, I guess he's expecting his medicine + apple sauce + grain mixture. Too bad for him he doesn't have any antibiotics left. Though I stashed a thing of applesauce in case he needs some bute. He wanted around the arena a bit and tried to bite the big green ball but he wasn't getting too riled up about anything.

Cody wasn't as excited to come in the barn. But I haven't groomed or done anything with him in a while so we needed some quality time. For a few minutes I thought he was swollen on his belly just like Axel but I think that's what you call fat, something Cody hasn't had in a year.

Cody wasn't scared of the green ball at all but he wasn't interested in it either. I free lunged him a bit, he was reluctant to trot. I finally went to get on bareback for a while. I guess nearly two months off has made Cody forget how to stand still at the mounting block. We had to do a lot of circles (these he wasn't so reluctant and even cantered when he knew I meant business) before he would stand stil, even then it wasn't perfect. But! Cody is now a decent weight to ride bareback and not feel like you're sitting on a 2x4. Yay! We mostly just walked around and tried to push the green ball but Cody wasn't too sure about that idea and kept going around it. We ended with some acceptable rein back before he got to go back outside (not sweaty this time).

Whoops

I guess I spoke too soon when I said someone was feeling better. Well perhaps he was feeling better but by Friday he wasn't feeling too great again. He must have over done it on Tuesday because Axel was limping again on Friday. We stopped by the barn on the way out of town to check on the boys and let the puppy run off some steam before the long car ride. Axel was really gimpy so I gave him the last of his antibiotics and 2g of bute. He must have just started hurting because J had just noticed it when I was bringing him back outside. I'm hoping if he takes it easy for a week or two he'll be back to feeling good. I'm not quite sure what's up with his knee but I'm guessing either more arthritis or he just tweaked it on the ice/snow and retweaked it while freaking out in the arena on Tuesday. I'm sure he's getting tired of being an invalid.

I plan to bring the big green ball out tonight to the barn. If Axel is feeling okay I might turn him loose with it in the arena to check it out. I should get Cody out and ride him a bit as well. Sadly this is my only day this week to go out and ride. Normally I'd be okay with that since I'm pretty sure the horses are in no hurry to get back to work but with Axel being so swelled up I really wanted to get him moving and working again. Teaching two nights a week is kind of taking its toll already. Next week I can get out there Mon and Tue and the week after Jeff is gone for work so maybe Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue, Fri, early Sat, and Sun I think. Hopefully the weather holds it's been so nice out lately.

Someone is feeling better - Tuesday at least

After giving Axel his next to last dose of antibiotics last night I put him in the arena with the intention to lunge him. I even put his bell boots on so I could make him move without worrying about him kicking himself. So I put him in the arena and unsnap his lead line so I can grab the lunge line and ... he's off. Running and bucking and snorting and blowing. The kind of thing you expect to see a horse do after standing around in a pasture in the snow for weeks. I would click at him and then run away and he'd hop up on his hind legs almost like a rear and then take off running and bucking. He must have been in a playful mood.

I'm not going to say he's back to 100% but he must have felt better enough to blow off some steam. And it was good to see. He's getting so fat. His sheath is still swollen and he's a little stiff/gimpy. But if he's willing to move like this then maybe we can work off some of the swelling. Unfortunately I won't be around this weekend at all. So hopefully the warm weather will inspire some movement in the pasture. J thought his right knee did look a little bigger than the left. It's hard to tell, he's so lumpy and big anyway. There's one spot where I can kind of see it but it's not hot or tender to the touch. But I have plenty of bute if he ever needs it!

I ended up jumping on him bareback for a while. Which had it been any other horse but Axel (or Cody for that matter) I wouldn't have done. He hasn't been ridden in a month and a half. He had just gotten done tearing around the arena. I didn't have my helmet or a bridle. But it's Axel so I got on and we walked around. He's a little gimpy with a rider but I figured a little bit of a workout was the best thing for him. Not that walking in a circle for 2 minutes is much of a work out. But I should ease him back into it. Luckily his leg stretching in the arena did not get him sweaty so he was able to go back outside right away. J had just ridden Amigo for a while and he was confined to his stall with a cooler on and he was not happy about it.

Since I'm gone this weekend I brought Cody in for a once-over and a romp. He wasn't as willing to kick up his heels but with a lunge while and some clicking he took off and even threw in a few bucks. He's fun to get wound up in the arena like that because as soon as you drop the whip he stops and stands and looks at you, always at a respectful distance, wondering what's next.

The ladies at the barn are getting fed up with me. I keep saying we should play with the big green ball but then I go to the farm on the weekend. We were planning on being in town this weekend but something came up so we're going to the farm instead. And it's supposed to be warm out. They think I should leave them the green ball to play with. Maybe I should leave them the ball if they promise to bring Axel in and let him play for a bit. Good way to give him a chance to move around while I'm gone.

Still Not 100%

Axel is still not 100% but we're working on it. I tried to get him to move around a bit more in the arena last night. I clicked at him and he bounced around pinning his ears at me. I find it entertaining that I can simply click at a 1200lb animal and despite him being sore or sick he still tries to do what I'm asking though he's not happy about it. But he's going to have to get moving around. I'll probably try and lunge him a bit and get him to trot and see where he's at. It's hard to tell if he's sore or just stiff and lazy.

He's a little slow to finish his meds these days. I guess the applesauce isn't that great of a treat any more. It took us a while but he did finally finish just about all of it. I think there is only less than 2 doses left so that'll be nice when it's done. The vet agrees on massage and movement and said acupuncture might help as well. We'll just start with the easy ones first.

But boy is that horse getting chubby. It's kind of hard to tell if he's fat or if it's the swelling but I think it's mostly fat. He's round round round and is going to have to do some serious work when he starts feeling better. The next week or so is supposed to be warm so hopefully he'll get moving around on his own in the pasture.

The Medicine Saga Continues

So Friday I experimented with an old de-worming syringe and applesauce and there was no way I could mix all of Axel's meds and have it be less than a million doses. So it was back to the drawing board. I ended up mixing the 3 scoops of antibiotics with two lunch size packages of applesauce and a bit of brown sugar. I mixed it up really well and then put that over some grain. Eureka! We had a winner! Axel ate every last drop of it. Just for kicks I put some bute in with some grain and apples and he actually ate quite a bit of that as well.

Saturday J said that he ate all of his meds again with the same mixture (just the antibiotics). Though J tried to bring him his meds out to the pasture and Vinnie tried to get his share.

So yesterday I went back out and brought him the applesauce mixture. He ate most of it but he might bet getting a little fed up with all these "special treatment." I put some bute in with some brown sugar and apples in some grain and he ate part of that but not much. I should only have a few more days of the antibiotics left so that'll be nice. I've been doing some massage as well and I've started lunging him at the walk for a few minutes each time I go out there. It'd be great if he was at least ridable at the walk this weekend to play with the big green ball but we'll see. He's kind of stiff now instead of completely gimpy. His belly swelling is almost completely gone but his sheath is still puffy and I don't think that inspires a lot of moving around. He has been laying in the hay so he must feel a bit better.

Seriously part II

I tell ya. If Axel decided he only liked needles he could get through a whole haystack and find that needle and touch nothing else in the process. I tried every last thing I had in my arsenal and I still couldn't get Axel to eat all his medicine. He managed to choke down the bute with some brown sugar and grain. But he did not want to eat much of the antibiotic. I tried the sugar, cinnamon, grain, those cookies I made, water, and apples. He can pick out a chunk of sugar and not touch any of the meds.

So it's no more Mrs Nice Girl. I'm going to mix the meds with apple sauce and put it in a de-worming syringe and force feed him it. I just hope I can get it all in one dose. I doubt I could get him to eat it twice or more. Darn horse.

His swelling hasn't gone down yet but he was perkier. He should feel pretty good tomorrow since he got most of his bute this time. His sheath was cooler to the touch than it has been in the past. So perhaps the swelling is going to start decreasing. Of course I'd feel better about it if he'd actually eat those meds.

Seriously?

I do not appreciate driving up to the barn to find my already sick horse laying in the pasture flat out with another horse hovering over him nudging him like he's dead. I just about broke my neck running out there to check on him. He wasn't dead. He didn't look like he had been struggling at all. But he couldn't get up. I went to get J to help, thinking we'd have to roll him over or something. It seemed like the crusty snow was preventing him from getting up. While J was finding clothes the vet drove up.

Axel was sick of Vinnie pestering him and was trying to chase him off without getting up. He was stretching out his legs and neck and squirming around. The vet drove up to me and said "that's not your horse is it?" Um yes it is, not exactly the sight you want to see when you drive up to a place. We were discussing what we thought was the issue when Axel must have finally had the last straw with Vinnie and got up. J had just gotten back to the house and Axel wasn't down then. So we think he went down to roll and couldn't get back up. He was laying on his right side and his right knee has been sore the past 2 days. He probably didn't want to tuck that leg under himself to get up. When he finally got sick enough of Vinnie he bit the bullet and managed to get up.

He had been laying down long enough to melt the snow and was pretty wet. The vet checked out his knee. There was nothing obvious but he was very tender and didn't want to bend it. He probably just tweeked it out on the ice but if it doesn't improve in a week or so he wants to get it x-rayed. So Axel got his IV of Lasix and I got a pile of other meds and a bill. 3 huge scoops of anti-biotics per day until the container is gone and 2g of bute per day for 5 days. We'll check in with the vet in 5 days and see how he's doing, the horse not the vet.

I put Axel in the barn and threw a wool blanket and his cooler on to try and dry him up a bit. Supposedly it's going to get windy sometime soon so I didn't want him soaking and standing outside. So while he dried I thought I better give him his first dose of meds to make sure he would eat them. So 3 scoops of antibiotics is a whole boat load of powder. That combined with a scoop or two of bute and there's more powder in the bucket than grain. I got another thing of bute from the vet, this time unflavored because I thought Axel didn't like the apple flavor. In the end I think he doesn't like any flavor. He ate quite a bit at first, after blowing his nose in the bucket and spreading quite a bit of the meds all over himself and me. But he couldn't bring himself to finish all of it. I tried to get him to eat for quite some time but he just wasn't into it.

By the time I put him out he wasn't completely dry but he was a bit better and he seemed fairly perky. I don't want to have J&J trying to give him these meds and him not eating them so I brought everything home to try and formulate some sort of plan.

So my first thought was mix his meds up with some good stuff and make some treats. But I was reading my homemade horse treats book and it said not to mix the meds in until you were ready to serve. I'm not sure that it would make a huge difference but since he's supposed to eat all of that antibiotic I don't want to waste any.

So I mixed up a few different things and put them in a muffin tin. My idea is that I would put his meds inside these little "cups" and then squish them closed. However, with the amount of meds he has to eat, I'd probably need to give him six of these treats every day. Maybe that's not a big deal. I'm worried that he'll get one in his mouth, think it's great, start chewing and then BAM! gross med taste and then he will refuse the others. I had some extra treat mixtures so I brought them to WCR to try them out on those horses and see if they would eat them in the first place. They approved of my treats. They were really sticky though and the horses made all sorts of contortions to try and eat them.

So I think tonight I will go out and try a little at a time. I think my first try will be one scoop of powder, some brown sugar, and some sweet feed. If that works we'll try it again. If that doesn't work well then I'll put some in one of my treats. I could also try mixing the powder with Karo syrup and putting that on some feed. I think I have enough ammo to at least get him to eat today's meds. I also have some apples which seem to mask the taste of some meds.

I'll probably give him his meds tomorrow and Sunday as well but if we go to the farm I'll have to have J&J try and give it to him. So I'm hoping the brown sugar trick works, it would be the easiest for me to get ready for them and easiest for them to serve. The bute will only be served til Monday. I'm not sure how long the antibiotics will last, maybe 7-10 days. So I should be able to get out there through Tuesday at least without rearranging my life.

Ahh ponies, I hope he appreciates what I do for him!

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.

Back to Work

Brought Axel into the arena to clean out his feet and see if he wanted to move around. No such luck. He's still looking pretty sad. This time when I picked out his front right and put it down he was lame on it. Seemed like it was his knee. I'm wondering if he's just all over achey from the swelling and not moving around and the billion below zero temperatures. Haven't heard from the vet on the bloodwork yet. I hope it comes back soon so we can get started on some sort of treatment. It's sad seeing Axel so down.

Note to self: work horse in arena first, then bring in other horse while first horse is cooling out. Sure would have saved some time.

So I brought Cody in and cleaned out his hooves and let him loose in the arena. He wasn't going to run around on his own so I started to free lunge him a bit. He hopped and skipped and kicked up his heals quite a bit. I put him on the lunge line to get a little more controlled work out of him. His preferred gait of the evening was canter. It was a lot of work to get him down to a trot and a collected trot was not going to happen. It took even more work to get him down to a walk. In all he probably ran around for 10 minutes at the most. And he was sweaty and wet. Not soaked to the bone but wet enough and steaming that I didn't want to turn him out right away. So for about a half hour we walked, wore a wool blanket, groomed, and waited. He finally stopped steaming and was cool to the touch but he was still a bit damp. I rubbed him down the best I could (which he does not appreciate) and brought him back outside. Luckily there wasn't much wind so I think he'll be okay.

So this would be the reason I haven't ridden since the beginning of December. Only a few minutes of work and we have to spend half the night waiting to dry off. Maybe I can find an old hair dryer. Not sure that Cody would enjoy that any more than being rubbed down. Time to throw some more blankets in the car. I wonder if riding with a quarter sheet would help at all, on second thought Cody was sweaty on his neck and chest so a quarter sheet wouldn't really help for that.

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.

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.

Axel is on The List Part 2

So after Saturday's visit and discovery of Axel's new obsession I went out to the barn to make him work. Maybe he's bored since he's had quite a bit of time off due to the ringbone. So I was going to attempt to get his brain working. He actually stood in the cross ties like a statue. Which is a little unusual for him but one of the new boarders' horses was in the ties behind him so perhaps he was just paying attention to that horse.

We did some circling. This time no was not an option when I asked for a change of direction. He "hopped to" pretty well. I did a little bit of groundwork with turns but nothing mind blowing. I setup a row of cones to work on weaving as well. Axel was a little bit tender it seemed so I didn't really do much trotting. We weaved between the cones quite a bit at the walk which I think Axel enjoys but I don't think it was enough to get his brain going, so back to the drawing board on that one. Nothing was majorly off with Axel, I think most of it was me.

I am increasingly frustrated and embarrassed with him destroying his pasture. Between Friday and Saturday he ate complete through two of the posts. I didn't even go to the barn yesterday so who knows how much more he's ruined. I'm willing to pay for new fence posts but it's still a pain and they'll have to be put in and all that. Ug. It doesn't help that I'm kind of an obsessive to begin with.

Axel is on The List Part 1

I have Fridays off for the rest of the year to use up some vacation time so I don't loose it. So of course I'm going to spend it at the barn. Is that really any surprise? It was really nice out so I spent a little time wandering around the pasture taking some photos of the ponies. Vinnie and Axel were standing pretty near each other and there were no fireworks. So that's always nice to see. Since I had ridden Axel last it was Cody's turn. And he needed to be groomed pretty badly. Somehow my horse that doesn't like walking through mud has decided rolling in it is just fine.

So Cody and I worked on weaving some cones in the arena and we did some circles and serpentines. He speeds up on the wall opposite the gate going away from the gate. And then he slows down going toward the gate. Seems a little opposite of what you'd expect but I think he's nervous facing away from the gate and calm when he can see it. When I get some long lines I think we'll be doing a lot of ground driving and long lining this winter. I'd like to convince Jeff to ride while I lunge Cody but we'll see if that happens.

So as I'm turning Cody out I noticed the fence posts that J said Axel was chewing. I thought maybe he was chewing the tops. Oh no, he's doing a pretty mean beaver imitation. And now I am horribly frustrated, stressed out, and embarrassed by all this.

Axel Prefers Guns

So apparently the key to Axel's success is shooting guns. J was target shooting or sighting in or something when I got to the barn last night. Axel and Cody and Vinnie were hanging out in the corner. Three of the horses in the other pasture were hiding in their far corner. Axel was a little more alert than he normally is walking up to the barn. He didn't want to stand in the cross ties to be groomed so instead of fighting I put him in the arena. Where he trotted, and trotted, and trotted. He would barely stand still for me to put his boots on even after he had trotted around for 15 minutes. I ran around with him for a little while and even set up a tiny little jump for him which he followed me over at a trot. When he started to come up to me and stand for a while I finished grooming and tacked him up. I didn't expect to have any explosive episodes but one never knows.

The gun shots had actually stopped by this time but Axel was still walking around on his toes. He had already trotted for quite some time and he seemed a little gimpy so I just had him walk. He was moving out so I did my best to not nag him and just let him go. I don't think I rode for very long. I asked for a whoa and a back up and Axel was "on." He stopped on a dime and backed up with barely a cue and tucked his butt under and put his head down in the process. So we tried that one more time and got the same result. So that's when I got off. He was just too good to not reward. This is why people prefer forward horses to sticky ones.

New Saddle Racks

I made it back from my scrapbooking retreat in time to get out to the barn for a while in the nice weather. Really I'm not sure why it matters if the weather is nice or not when I end up just riding in the arena anyway. Oh well. When I arrived I noticed the tack boxes were outside in the driveway. I thought maybe they were new ones to be added or spring cleaning or something. But it turns out J&J picked up a couple racks from the sale they went to over the weekend so they cleaned out everyone's boxes and reorganized the tack room.

It's quite swank thought it means I had to cut down on the crap I had shoved in my box. Something I planned to do eventually anyway. Right now I'm down to my saddle and pads on the rack, my cooler got hung up with the other coolers in the aisle, bridles and halters and lunge line on the hooks, grooming tote on the shelf, and my orange bucket with bute, treats, boots, and my dressage whip. I was thinking of getting a bin or something instead but the bucket might work just fine. We'll see.

So I cleaned up Axel while Steele was in the aisle getting ready as well. His rain rot doesn't seem to be getting any worse and I was able to scrape off almost all of the remaining scabs with the metal curry. I'm not sure if it's from the rain rot or just dirt in general but that metal curry really brings some crap to the top. Guess I should use that more often. The mud has finally disappeared more or less so cleaning legs and hooves wasn't a chore either. We didn't spend a lot of time in the arena riding. We usually end up chatting more. When J and Steele were done we did a bit of trotting. Axel was pretty sound actually. I asked for a canter but just got the usual hop, skip, jump, and stop. I have a hard time deciding just how hard to push him or not. Will he be sore the next day? Will the exercise be better for him than just standing around? Does it matter if we ease into it or not? Ug.

I cleaned up Cody when I was done with Axel. His scabs weren't coming off as easily so I thought I'd wait til after we rode and maybe he'd be warmer and they'd be easier to remove. I gave him a bit of his extra food but saved the rest for after our ride. He's got a little cut on the left side of his lower lip. He wouldn't really let me look at it but it didn't seem to be bothering him and it wasn't in a spot to interfere with a bit. So we rode around the arena for a while. He wasn't as excitable as he has been in the arena but he wasn't a complete bump on a log either. We trotted and I asked for the canter. Still having issues with that left lead. I'm starting to feel okay enough to keep asking him to keep the canter going even if he speeds off. I think I want to work on maintaining the gait and when we have that down we'll work on relaxing more and not zooming around. We did make it around maybe one and a half times without stopping. We followed it up with some roll backs on the rail. He's not quite rocking back on his hind quarters but he picks up the canter and stops on a dime. It's really nice knowing he'll go really fast but stop when you ask. So when we were done he got the rest of his food and I ended up getting most of his scabs off while he grazed in the yard.

The real news of the day was that Vinnie and Axel have come to some sort of truce. When I was haltering Axel, Vinnie walked right up to us, not afraid or hesitant at all. Axel didn't even put an ear back and normally something like me haltering him would not have stopped him from chasing another horse, he's not very respectful in that way. So apparently Axel is warming up to little Vinnie. When I brought Cody back out from the arena Axel and Vinnie were standing next to each other. I wish I would have gotten a photo. J says to keep an eye out to make sure Vinnie's not eating their tails but I don't think they are that good of friends yet. I'll be surprised if they ever get to that point.

Dirty Ponies

It's been so nice out lately I was able to groom the horses outside in the fresh air. And luckily I made it to the barn before it got dark making that task possible. I gave Cody some extra food while I took care of Axel. Cody even let Vinnie share some of his feed. Axel's rain rot doesn't seem to be getting any worse. It's hard to tell if it's going away or not but I think a full week of no rain and sun and the chlorhexidine should be working. After I groomed him I scrubbed some of his "spots" again just to make sure.

Cody's rain rot wasn't as bad to begin with so I didn't do anything more to him. Most of his scabs are gone and he hasn't lost any patches of hair. I figured he was going to be a big crusty mess after all the sweating on Sunday but he wasn't that bad. It'd be great if we had some heated water to do baths but they are just going to have to wait until next summer. Dirty ponies.

Thank You "Beery" Much!

I was going to scrub some horses last night but the yard is stacked with leaves so they trumped the mud and rain rot. Wednesday, I promise! But I did run out and drop off a case of beer as a "thank you for the heroic rescue of 3 stranded trail riders, their horses, and the trailer." J said she was just glad to help but I figure who can't use an extra case of beer, right? I grabbed my grooming bag with the intent to sterilize all the brushes, when I'm going to get a chance to do that before tomorrow, I'm not sure.

I checked on the muddy horses' backs and the rain rot isn't gone gone but it doesn't seem to be getting any worse and Axel hasn't gained any new bald spots. It's not a trip to the barn with out passing around some snacks so I brought out 3 apples. Vinnie got his first as he was waiting by the gate. He eats very daintily so I shooed away Axel while he finished his apple. Cody got his next and Axel sulked in the corner until he got his. He's still chasing Vinnie around but Vinnie is starting to fight back a little. They have a sheet on him to help protect him from loosing chunks of hair and skin. Axel has done a pretty decent job ripping the blanket to shreds and it's a heavy duty New Zealand canvas sheet. But it might be giving Vinnie enough courage to throw some kicks in Axel's direction. If he'd make contact one of these times maybe Axel would settle down a bit.

Fall Trail Ride in November

I finally made it out for a fall trail ride now that November is acting like October. I missed the few nice weekends in October when the barn went riding so I was very happy to make it out to what could be the last nice ride of the year. We actually rushed out of church on Sunday after spending Saturday farming and high tailed it back to the cities. Jeff wanted to bring the brown pickup back so he could get the trailer back to the farm on the next trip so I twisted his arm into letting me use the truck and pull the trailer for the trail ride. Otherwise we were one slot short. So against Jeff's better judgement he hooked up the trailer for me and sent me on my way.

Cody loaded well, just a few little stops, and we still have to kind of poke and push him into moving in the stall enough to shut the gate. Stitch and Diva got in no problems and we were on our way. The haul there went well and everyone unloaded. Cody wasn't even sweaty when we got there. I had put his boots on before we left which worked out well so all I had to do was saddle him up. I put some chlorhexidine on his spine and rubbed that in before saddling. Since the rain rot bacteria is anaerobic I figured it would be very happy to grow under a saddle. Hopefully it didn't with the anti-bacterial on there. I forgot the breast collar of course so I was riding Cody's tail by the end of the ride as usual.

Cody was slow as usual at first, having to trot to catch up. It didn't take long before he was a sweaty mess with the warm temps, full winter coat, and trotting. He did seem less concerned about his feet so that was good. He didn't really want to walk next to Vinnie, he seemed to want to be up with either Danny or Stitch if he wasn't lagging behind. We passed a ton of other horses and Cody behaved pretty well when they passed. Mostly I think he wanted to turn around and follow them back to the trailer. A couple times I thought we'd canter but he'd just speed trot. We did get one tiny canter/gallop in a clear spot when Stitch and Diva were cantering. I'd love to get a nicer calm canter on Cody like Diva's someday.

On the way back Cody was a lot more concerned with staying up with the group. The others had slowed down so it wasn't quite as much work to keep up but we had to trot a bit still. Cody was very happy when we got back to the trailer and everyone stopped. He was pleased to stand there and watch what was going on.

Everyone loaded back in the trailer well. A few less pokes that time to get Cody in his stall. And then we were off down the road. About a block from the intersection in Rosemont we found ourselves on the side of the road with a major blown out truck tire. I had noticed it looked low at the trail but didn't think much of it and there wasn't much we could have done about it at that point. We hadn't even passed a gas station when we had to pull over. We heard a loud crunching noise and I assumed it was the brakes. Then it dawned on me that it was the wheel. So stuck on the side of Hwy 3 with a trailer full of horses and no truck spare (we hadn't gotten that far in our repair/set up of the horse hauling rig). We made some calls and couldn't find anyone with a spare so J&J drove out with their truck to get the horses and trailer. Jeff came out from work to assess the situation and pull the truck off to an empty parking lot.

We zipped back to the barn and unloaded everyone and everything. Cody did his new usual slooooooow unload and was happy to be back in his pasture with Axel who was chasing Vinnie around.

Rain Rot Ick

I just stopped out at the barn to clean up the horses before we ran out to the farm for the weekend. Axel wasn't too dirty but I wanted to get some scabs off and put some chlorhexidine on the rain rot and hopefully kill it. I tried putting MTG in a spray bottle but I think it's just too thick so now I'll have to transfer it back to it's original bottle (glad I kept it). It didn't smell nearly as bad as everyone says it does but it isn't pleasant. Since I had the anti-bacterial stuff I was just going to use the MTG to help loosen the scabs which I tried to brush off with a metal curry. I got quite a few off but it was taking quite some time so I just finished with the scrub and turned him out.

Cody was covered in mud so I had to de-mud him the best I could. I'm happy that he enjoys having his face scrubbed with the rubber curry, that says a lot coming from a horse that was previous super head-shy. He didn't have quite as many scabs and they were mostly right on his spine or his rear so I just scrubbed him with the chlorhexidine in the hopes that it would get better before Sunday.

This day light saving time thing is a real bummer. I couldn't even see Axel in the pasture it was so dark. I could barely make out Cody's white face. I guess I need a flashlight for this time of year. When I went to get Cody I stopped just short of some serious wet mud without knowing it. Cody sunk in it when he came up to me. Ick.

Axel's Bumps Part II

I didn't have a lot of time yesterday so I just ran out to do some grooming and make sure everyone still had all their limbs since it had been a week. It was a pretty good day for just grooming as the wind had picked up and it was a bit chilly. Though I'm still trying to figure out if Axel's bumps are bug bites or rain rot. Axel was covered in mud which took me a good half hour to get scrubbed off and he still looks dirty. He's been wearing his hay on his face so he has a wonderful green dusty tint to him. If it's as warm as they say it will be this weekend I might have to break down and do baths (especially if it is rain rot).

Nothing terribly goofy about the boys, Axel has 3 scrapes which I assume are from rubbing on something. The winter hair seems to come out in bigger clumps than summer hair and it's that much more obvious when it does come out. Axel got his treat and some MSM which he was happy about, he knickered the whole time I was in the tack room getting it ready. Cody got his extra food while I groomed Axel. Cody's bumps are mostly along his spine while Axel's are in more places and on his rump. Cody didn't have any scrapes though but he had equal amounts of mud. He seems to have gained enough weight to cover his ribs but his back is still pretty hollow. I suppose he'll need to do some work on his topline to ever get that back in shape.

I should be staying in town this weekend and it's supposed to be nice so I'll probably be spending a fair amount of time at the barn. Supposedly a trail ride on Sunday. Maybe I'll do some baths on Saturday and try and scrub some of the scabs off. I'll have time to stand around waiting for the horses to dry with their coolers on at least. Though I can imagine if I do give baths they aren't going to be too great with cold water. (note to self, install heated wash stall in own barn when it's built)