It Didn't Work

So my thought that maybe the teeth floating and sheath cleaning would make Cody a happy camper was so wrong. Maybe it was bad timing. I think he's got a bit of anxiety right now since they've been pulled off their pasture and put into the small paddock with one new-to-them horse and they are right across the fence now from the horses in the big paddock. Right as I brought Cody into the barn to groom J, S, and J came riding up the road. Cody wanted to look out the door behind him as well as out the door in front of him so he was being kind of a spaz in the cross ties. They tied Amigo in the cross ties in front and put Jesse in a stall and by the time I was done grooming Cody had pooped 5 times and was shaking from nerves. He just can't stand not being part of everything that's going on around him.

I hand walked him in the arena for a while to try and calm him down. He was a sweaty mess and I hadn't even done anything yet. He was very calm doing a few circles at the walk and trot and changing directions. I got on and rode at the walk for a while and then a little bit of trot. Stitch was tied in the arena but it didn't seem to faze Cody too much so I decided maybe we'd try going down the road again.

We didn't even make it to the end of the driveway before he started backing up. So we kept backing up all the way back to the barn before I let him walk forward again. We did the usual weave down the road in the ditch desperately trying to see the barn/pasture. Our first lap back toward the barn was fast but not totally spastic. We passed the driveway and kept going, he calmed down a bit but then had a fit on the way back so we went for lap two. More freaking out and backing up and stopping so there was a third lap. And then a fourth lap but this time in the plowed corn field. I thought maybe having to work a little harder to move would make Cody think twice. He actually moved out pretty good at first but got pissy again when we turned around. He had one minor hissy fit when one car passed but was fine for all of the other cars passing, like I said, cars are just an excuse to bolt for home. He wasn't really settling in so I took the smallest try and called it quits and went back to the barn.

We trotted quite a bit in the barn and then worked on some cantering. We were good to the right but we could not get the left lead canter to save our lives. Over and over again I tried. Cody got to the point where I'd barely move my outside leg back and he'd leap into a canter, but on the wrong lead. I didn't want to end not getting that lead but I had to get a move on so I got down and tried to lunge him and get the left lead, couldn't even get a canter at that point. He was pulling out some really nice extended trot but just wouldn't pick up a canter. I had to stop at the point, he was dripping wet. Luckily I think the wet was from the 70F weather. He didn't seem to be breathing hard so I don't think I wore him out too much. We've rode a handful of times lately so hopefully I'm not overdoing it for him. I stretched him out before putting him back in the paddock.

He chased Axel around a bit and then a flock of birds before he flopped down on the ground and proceeded to make himself as muddy as possible, dust + sweat = mud all over his face. Oh and I didn't kill Axel with his first injection, he was just fine and thought I was there to take him out of the paddock and do something like give him treats. Poor Axel, doesn't know what's in store for him once he feels good, hay belly be gone!

Xrays and Teeth and Shots, Oh My!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Few More Steps Forward Than Back

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

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

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

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

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

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

One Step Forward, 17 Steps Back

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

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

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

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

Vet Visit #1

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

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

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

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

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

Mud Fever Season

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh the Mud ...

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

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

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

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

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

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

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

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

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

Adequan for Axel

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

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

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

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

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You Have Got to Be Kidding Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feels like Spring

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

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

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

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

Now They're Both Shedding

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

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

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

Two (too) Hairy Visits

I try to not put two posts in one but I'm approaching a week behind so too bad. I had Friday off work so we were heading to the farm on Thursday evening but Jeff had some stuff to finish at work first so I ran out to the barn. Axel got his MSM and I opted to not groom since he was shedding in full force and I didn't want to be covered in hair. I did however find a very itchy spot on his back and we stood in the arena while I scratched him. I ended up getting covered in hair anyway. I thought maybe he was going to roll but in the end he didn't. He thinks hard about it though.

So last night I went out to the barn while Jeff was rock climbing. I thought he would be busy for a while and I'd get a chance to get on Cody. I grabbed Axel first and got him groomed up. He's shedding like mad. I've noticed this both last night and the week prior, but he's stopped picking up the wrong back foot. For a while there when you'd ask for his hind left he'd pick up his hind right. My guess was that it was a balance thing so he didn't have to put weight on that sore front knee. But the last two times he's picked up the correct foot without an issue. And he's seemed mildly perkier/less sore. His knee is still puffy though. I walked him around the arena a bit and he was slightly less lame. It's all very subtle still at this point. On our way out of the barn I decided we'd take a little walk down the road since it was very melty. He walks really well on the flat harder surface so I thought this was a nice change and a chance to move a little. We only went down to the first mailbox and back. He was a little hyper on the walk back and nearly trotted over me going into the driveway. Needless to say you couldn't tell he was lame at that point. He hasn't been on stall rest but he's pretty much done nothing all winter so I can see where he'd be a little wound up on some footing that seemed safe. We might have to go for some more walks down the road before we start lunging or anything like that.

Cody isn't shedding nearly as much as Axel but he's getting there. His neck and his face have started pretty decently. I brought him in the arena to move around as well. I had originally thought maybe we'd go for a ride down the road but it gets pretty chilly quick and with no ditch traffic could be an issue so I figured he'd be just fine stretching his legs inside. Jeff was already on his way home so I scrapped the plan to ride and just free lunged Cody for a while. I need to bring out the Flip and get a real video of how good Cody looks these days. The cell phone videos leave a bit to be desired. We did a little more work in hand than we've been doing lately which took him a while to settle into. I really have to work more on the turns on the forehand and haunches he tends to ignore me on those which could be why we don't do them under saddle. I'll have to brush up on some techniques online or something.

Hair Everywhere

They are shedding. A lot. And it's still too cold/dark/covered in snow to groom outside. So I'm covered in hair and the barn aisle is covered in hair and the broom and all my brushes. Ug. Anyway Axel is about the same. Same swelling. Same knee. Thought he might roll in the arena due to the extreme itchiness of shedding hair but he decided against it.

Cody ran around the arena a bit with some encouraging. I need to take some video of him, he's looking good these days. I did end up getting on Cody bareback for a few minutes. We even trotted around for a while. I'm finding it hard to keep my body straight and still ask him for a bend AND not bounce off. One of those pat your head and rub your belly type issues. Cody spooked a super tiny almost nothing spook but I stayed on, yay me. Really it was nothing more than surging forward a stride but I'm a wimp and don't have a good seat so I was happy I was still on his back.

So that was about it for my quick visit. It's hard to find time and to get motivated again after pretty much doing nothing all winter due to Axel's winter long practical joke.

In sad news, Jeff's niece's Buckeye passed away yesterday (the dun in the photo above). From what they can tell he just laid down and that was the end. He was a pretty old guy but he had a really nice retirement and was a great first horse for her.

Ponies in the Snow

So a quick run out to the barn to check on the boys before heading to the farm for the weekend. Kind of sad there wasn't more time, it was a gorgeous Friday. It felt warm and the snow was really pretty. But there was only time for some MSM and a few minutes of taking photos. There's really not much to update, Axel is still swollen and his knee still hurts. Kind of the status quo around here. Cody is still looking mighty fine and visiting regularly with the girls on the other side of the fence.

Manicure Time

Last night was farrier night. I was a bit early as usual so I fed Axel his MSM while we waited. He was already in the crossties so he had his feet done first. He's been doing a new thing lately where you ask for his hind left and he picks up his hind right instead. I'm not sure if he's just trying to avoid putting more weight on his front right or what. He was not terribly pleased to have that front right knee bent and the farrier only bent it the bare minimum. He seemed pretty sore when he was done so I tied him in the arena while I tried to thaw out some paste bute. I'm ready to give up on the powder. I think I'll just get a dosing syringe from Fleet Farm and mix the powdered bute with water and dose him that way. He actually doses really easily, at least the last two times I've buted him.

So I got Cody and groomed both of them while we waited for Cody's turn to have his feet done. His front left has a bit of notch/chip in the toe. Not sure how he got a chip walking through 2 feet of snow but he managed. It's not too serious, hopefully it'll grow out. And other than hanging out while everyone else got their feet done that was about it for the trip to the barn. They've got a lot of snow out there and I guess Cody was running around playing in it a bit. But for the most part they all confine themselves to the round bale.

The plans for spring are to move Vinnie into the big pasture and Cody and Axel will go in the paddock until their pasture has a chance to revive itself. Assuming they stop the round bales near that time, it might be a good diet for fat Axel. We're working on getting an appointment in March for shots and coggins and I'll get Axel's knees xrayed and then figure out what the next step is. It might be easier/cheaper to go with something like Adequan instead of the daily supplements (which haven't started working yet as far as I can tell).

Cody's Girls

Sunday was another quick trip to the barn. It had started snowing and a movie and a nap was calling my name so I just ran out quick to feed Axel his MSM. He was walking about the same, maybe a bit better but any changes lately have been minuscule. Mainly he hasn't gotten worse. I'm still really hoping the MSM kicks in, I don't want to have to bute him all the time. I was hoping to not have to add that joint supplement back in but that might be the case. I'll give him a little more time before I decide. He's getting around, seems happy as usual, and even rolls. From what I remember he was lame through March the last time his knees were bothering him.

I just checked on Cody in the pasture. He was standing guard for his new neighbor girls. I guess Stitch loves the girls as well and they knicker for him when S brings him into the barn. Silly boys.

Quick Trip

I only stopped out at the barn on Saturday morning for a few quick minutes to give Axel his MSM and check on him since his oh so fun practical joke. He was walking pretty decently. He wasn't horribly worse at all but wasn't a whole lot better, he must not have gotten much bute in after all. I didn't even bring him in the arena for fear he'd lay down again and I'd have to convince him to get up and get home in time for house guests. He's still swollen of course no better, no worse.

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.