Dental Day

Well, the dentists (a two doctor team) came to town, and Meadowbrook was the place to be!  We had several horses haul in, including two that came down from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and I fetched Paco over from Gesa's as well.

The crowd of horse owners, one tag-a-long husband, and two pre-vet students congregate outside the dental rig.

It was a whole day affair, but my only "victim" was Cricket this year.  He is nearing the end of his dental care career, however, as most of his teeth are worn to the point of being minimally useful for munching anymore.  I figured this was the case, but I wanted to be sure that none of those almost-expired teeth were loose or infected or otherwise needing attention.  There is not much to be done when a horse uses up his teeth, other than feed him lots of healthy food that doesn't require much chewing.  So, his summer diet of lots of green grass is perfect, but winter will be tougher this year than last.  He will continue to eat beet pulp, senior feed, and alfalfa pellets, and I will likely add in a fat source for extra calories.  He eats hay, and actually doesn't drop, or "quid," at all that I'm able to tell, but at this point he's probably not masticating the hay effectively enough to extract all the nutrients & calories out of it that he could.  And, he packs hay/grass into the spaces between his old teeth ("diastema"), which so far isn't a problem but can lead to infected gums and/or teeth, so I'll need to watch carefully for any changes in his eating behavior or a putrid odor emanating from his mouth.

I hate to say it on a steamy late July day, but it is already time to start thinking about winter, at least for Cricket.  Now is the time to get some extra weight on him if I can - he is too thin for my taste already with his ribs slightly visible, BCS 3/9.  These few weeks of awful heat and humidity that we've had, plus the record hordes of flies & other nasty biting insects, have really taken a toll and I've seen some weight drop off many of the horses this month.  Every afternoon that the horses spend in the barn to escape the unrelenting sun, heat, and bugs, I put extra food in front of Cricket and so far he's doing a good job of eating most of it.

Unless a problem arises requiring more dental work, such as pulling an infected tooth, this will be Cricket's final dental "maintenance."  I didn't get any pictures of Cricket's session, but here's one of Paco getting "tuned up."

Dr. Bowman works on Paco.

My zoom is broken, but this is Paco, Rhio, & Cricket hanging out like best buddies.  Cricket & Paco had never met, and they sniffed noses for a long time as if saying "Hey, I've heard all about you from Rhio!", "Yeah, me too!", "Let's go graze."  The introduction was a complete non-event. 

Killian supervising the goings-on with an expert eye.

Yellow Goo = Happy Tummy?

Tonight was Cricket's third dose of ulcer medication, and the first time in a couple of weeks that he licked his dinner dish clean!  The definitive "test" for ulcers is endoscopy to actually visualize the stomach lining, which is expensive, not available in the immediate vicinity, and I don't think really warranted in his case (though if I had a super-power, xray vision would be a nice one to have - I'd love to know for sure that I am right!)  So, I am using response to treatment as my diagnostic test for ulcers.  At this point, all the evidence is pointing in the same direction, right at ulcers, so I'm going with that.  He'll be getting this acid-reducing medication twice a day for a while, and I am also planning to start him on an acid-neutralizing supplement in his feed.  He is already eating a small amount of alfalfa, which is good for buffering the stomach acid (lots of calcium in alfalfa - like a natural equine version of Tums), so I'll try to increase that a bit as well.  I think with a little bit of tummy care and seriously reducing his stress by moving pastures, he should come around nicely.  He had ulcers 6 years ago when I bought him, and seemed to recover fully with treatment.  I have seen no sign of them until recently, anyway.  I do feel like a bit of a dolt, though - if someone else had described his set of symptoms in their horse, I would have thought "ulcer" right away, since it was my own horse, however, of course it didn't occur to me until a week after the symptoms started.

And in other news - Rhio gave me his first buck of 2011 today.  Ok, so it was not REALLY a buck, but more a little hop to signal his displeasure.  I wonder why some horses are "buckers" and some are not?  Last fall I met Rhio's breeder, who also did some of his initial training, and he indicated that he remembers Rhio's propensity for bucking.  Great.  We are doing some schooling in the arena, because the entire world seems to be covered in ice right now and there is no where safe to ride outside at all, and Rhio is less than thrilled with it.  We are working on cantering.  We love to canter, and do it a lot on the trail, easily and effortlessly, and always on the left lead.  In an enclosed space, though, we are a train wreck when it comes to cantering.  We don't have a right lead canter at all, and we can't canter in a nice circle (or any circle, really, though we did do a somewhat rounded ameoba shape today!).  I think it might be 90% rider issue and 10% horse issue, though, as I can't canter Red in an enclosed space, either.  I was hoping to use Cricket to work out my rider issues, as he has a marvelous, lovely, wonderful canter and goes nicely on a circle  -- but he's had a hitch in his left hind giddyup since the fall, so I am not asking him for any serious effort until I can get that figured out once warmer weather arrives.  I presume at 29 he has some arthritis acting up.

He's such a good boy about taking his medicine via syringe! He kindly doesn't smear the yellow goo all over me, either.

Thin Skinned?

Ready to go, Mom! 

It is ridiculously wishful thinking to even contemplate that the current thaw is actually the beginning of spring.  I know better than that.  But I have decided to thoroughly ignore any forecast past Thursday, since between now and then every single day is above freezing!

It will come as no surprise that I spent a lot of time with horses this weekend.  Yesterday Becca & I took Rhio and Kaos out back through the deep snow, and ended up making it into a loop walking gingerly down the edge of the road.  It was definitely doable on the road - yay! The dogs, Kelso & Bowser, accompanied us and got to play with Jack when we met up with Dave doing some firewood gathering in the back woods. We chatted some, then backtracked to the hayfield to allow him to get back down the trail with the tractor & logs.  We did a loop through the deep, deep snow with the ponies huffing and puffing, then came back through the trails only for Becca to notice some blood on the snow.  In Rhio's next step, she realized it was coming from him - his right front to be exact.  When we got to the plowed part of the trail, I hopped off to assess the wound.  It was bleeding freely but wasn't painful, and was a nice clean slice.  I assume he caught the wrong side of an ice chunk.  It was on the inside heel bulb but thankfully above the coronary band.  This boy is so prone to wounds!!!  Especially on his legs.  Grrr!  

The classic mounting block - the tailgate!

Kelso, and Bowser sporting a jacket,  enjoy the hayfield

Becca & Kaos breaking trail and showing just how deep that snow really is

We finished our ride, and the bleeding had stopped by the time we got home.  I decided to close the flap, although it probably didn't really need it.  I numbed it up, then tried to suture it with standard suture material.  Unfortunately, it is Rhio's worst foot for allowing me to hold it up.  Ever since I bought him, he is terrible about holding his right front foot up and will yank it out of my hands repeatedly even when I am just picking his feet.  I have not been able to correct this behavior, so despite the fact that the skin was numb, I just couldn't get a period of stillness enough to place the needle.  As always, I did have a plan B and it was time to utilize it!  My very favorite tool - the surgical stapler.  These things are awesome!  I did have to place 3 staples to get two where I wanted them, as he was still yanking his foot away (at precisely the wrong instant, of course), but it is so quick and easy.

Fresh wound on trail (blood is SO dramatic on a white leg!)

All stapled up!  (I'm holding the hoof and you can see the shaved area & 2 staples in the middle of the photo)

Today it looks great - no swelling and no lameness.  I'm avoiding any more work in the deep snow until it is healed, so I took him and Cricket out for a mile+ hand walk this morning.  Then I went to Jodi's and rode one of her horses this afternoon, and tomorrow will be Red's turn.  We are all desperate for some freedom from this interminable winter.  (actually, I really do love winter...but this one is feeling SO long already!)

It's been MONTHS since we've been able to ride down the road! 

Lounging Around

Warm February sunshine is perfect for lounging - especially on a bed of hay (Rhio's favorite)

Rhio's buddies Cody (in purple blanket) and Winston also lounging around - notice they didn't choose the cushy hay bed that comfort-seeking Rhio did.

A close-up to show how naked his right front foot is - the bell boot did not survive the night!

Although the bell boot was no longer protecting the coronary band wound, the zinc oxide ointment is still there somewhat and he is totally sound.  In fact, we did about 15 minutes of lunging in the arena to get the heart rate up & the blood flowing - and mostly to settle Rhio's mind.  He doesn't like to sit around doing nothing, and 3+ weeks of it now is making him squirrelly.  In fact, I think it's why he's begun tearing his boots off - I think he's doing it with his teeth, just to amuse himself.  

Sound and happy to trot!

Head flipping right out of the photo!

I also climbed aboard my portly old man Cricket for a little ride.  We are stuck inside due to the treacherous ice conditions - just getting horses in from the pasture is dangerous.  But we had a nice little ride, getting back to the feel of it after so much time off on my trip.  

Showing off Cricket's nice round bum!  He was very underweight this time last year, so this sight makes me unbelievably happy.  In fact, he just got his senior feed reduced by 1/3 he's so tubby!

It's Healing!

I'm back from my trip, and have to send a big shout out to my barn buddies who did daily care on Rhio's wound for me and are the reason it looks so fantastic right now!  Becca, Karen, Teresa, Kathy, & Chris - you guys rock!

How it looks today, 2-23-10.  You can see the coronary band has settled back down into a more normal position and there is really no swelling left.

For comparison, here is a photo from Day 1, back at the end of January.

The new booting situation - a rubber bell boot with a little duct tape for good measure

Apparently while I was gone Rhio got pretty tired of wearing his boot, and shredded several neoprene pastern wraps as well as one neoprene bell boot.  His heels were getting a bit rubbed by the boot, and it trapped so much moisture for so many days that his skin was definitely on the soft/squishy side instead of nicely resilient.  The ladies did a great job of managing this problem (above & beyond, really - blow drying his pastern with a hair dryer! as well as stalling him for periods of time to give him a break without the boot), but I'm really hoping that this new plan for protecting the area will work because it will allow his skin to breathe.  I'm using zinc oxide ointment (Desitin) to moisturize & protect the wound itself beneath the bell boot.  Fingers crossed that it will all be intact when I go out tomorrow!

Rhio is so over the whole fussing-with-his-foot thing

Qi Boosting

Rhio meeting me at the gate

Time for another bandage change - and this time I'm going to try to jump start the healing with a little acupuncture.  We got a significant lake effect snowfall yesterday, and running around in deep, fluffy snow had completely soaked the boot & the bandage, despite the duct tape.  The wet boot then froze, so I had to bang on it a bit to chip the ice off the buckle.  Once past the hurdle of the iced-on boot, the bandage came off easily.  

Rhio has never had acupuncture before, and he's a pretty sensitive guy, so I wasn't sure how he would react to treatment.  My good boy was totally cool with acupuncture :)  I put in just a few needles, mostly around the wound area.  These are called "Ting" points and are especially strong points because they are either the beginning or the end of a meridian.  The front feet have the Lung, Large Intestine, Pericardium, Heart, Small Intestine, and Triple Heater ting points.  I use very small needles for these points, 1/2" long and very, very thin.  And they conveniently have colored handles, so they actually show up in a photo!  

Acupuncture needles in Rhio's foot

I left the needles in about 10 minutes (my timing wasn't exact because Rhio knocked the timer off the stall front and when it hit the ground, the battery fell out!) and during that time I worked on my own Qi.  Qi (pronounced "chi") is energy, and one of the best ways I know to boost my own qi is to spend quiet time grooming my horses.  So I spent 10 minutes replenishing my Qi while divesting Rhio of some of his shedding winter coat - therapy for both of us.

Use Those Lurching Muscles, Ladies!

I rode today with friends & fellow endurance riders Jodi & Rhonda.  Jodi is starting a new horse, a coming 5 year old Arabian mare Rana.  Rhonda rides a cute gaited, spotted something, Snickers.  We met at Jodi's house and loaded the three horses (I rode Cameo, an Arab mare Jodi & I bought together several years ago in hopes of having a foal from her - that didn't work out, but she's a nice extra horse to have around for trail riding) in Jodi's little trailer for the quick jaunt to her in-laws property, about 5 miles away.

Rhonda performing the snowbank mounting feat we needed today.

Heading across the hayfield / runway  with dogs Cooter (cattle dog) & Ripley (hound) in tow

We set off through hock deep (on the Arabs - belly deep on Snickers!) crusty snow, with the horses frequently stopping and looking back to the trailer while clearly exchanging glances indicating how ridiculous us humans were for asking them to struggle though this snow.  

Heading into the woods on slightly firmer footing - a few snowmobiles had run over this area & slightly packed it, although the horses still broke through unexpectedly. Rhonda & Snickers in the lead and Jodi & Rana following.

Crossing the hayfield / runway (Jodi's father-in-law flies planes) was the most difficult portion because the horses couldn't really count on consistent footing, and traded off breaking trail several times.  The fact that you don't really see deer tracks in this snow at all tells you something - it's really deep & difficult going!  The deer stick to the roads, driveways, and snowmobile trails to get around.  We are all riding bareback (Rhonda & I with bareback pads, Jodi truly bareback) - which gives us nice toasty warm buns, but also requires quite a lot of balance & flexibility to stay with the horses as they lurch & lunge through the deep snow.  It is a workout for both parties for sure.

The trails in the woods are more passable, which allowed us a little trotting and even a spot of cantering.  Whee!

Turn-around spot

Making our way back to the trailer, coming around the far end of the runway, with tired & sweaty horses, though we only rode for about 1/2 hour

The horses sure got their cardio workout for the weekend!  Lots of strength (resistance) training, too.  We're already looking ahead to our endurance season & starting to get everyone in shape.

After returning to Jodi's, we each grabbed another horse to head out for a quick jaunt on the road so I could test Jodi's FreeForm Classic treeless saddle.

Shilo modeling the FreeForm Classic treeless saddle over a Skito Dryback pad.

I rode Shilo, an Arab mare & endurance mount, to try the FreeForm saddle.  I was very comfortable in this saddle!  It felt like a "real" treed saddle in terms of the support I felt for my seat & position, but was also very close contact and I could really feel the horse moving, too.  It was a very brief trial, but I liked this saddle.  I will continue to look into a FreeForm and keep it on my list of potential saddles.

Jodi rode her other young horse, Kiya

Rhonda rode another spotted horse, Gypsy - but this one's a lot taller than little Snickers!

After our two rides, I changed Rhio's bandage and started to think about other options to help him heal.  I plan to start acupuncture treatments tomorrow, and also to discuss shoeing with my farrier at our appointment on Wednesday.  I wonder if unloading the hoof wall below the injury will allow the coronary band to come back down into a more normal position.  The injury is no longer draining and looks quite healthy, but the coronary band is not resuming a more normal location and that is worrying.  I did let him run around the indoor for a little bit today, to blow off some steam, and he is perfectly sound again in all gaits.  Yeah! 

You can see how nice & clean & dry it looks now (Day 8) but that coronary band certainly isn't where it's supposed to be!

For comparison, here's the injury 8 days ago when I started bandaging & treating.

Rhio playing with the "pony pacifier" treat ball while I rebandage his foot.

Owie

I'd planned to ride today - another Barefoot saddle trial ride and maybe play with some exercises in the arena.  However, I noticed some blood oozing down Rhio's right front hoof so instead spent the afternoon doctoring.  Second horse doctoring of 2010 already and January's just barely over!

It's been a very cold week and Rhio was full of pent up energy.  I took him into the arena for some free exercise and to assess whether he was lame from his injury.  He was happy to run & buck & snort with his tail up in the air, but I could see a slight hesitation when that foot landed.  Also, it sure bled a lot when he moved!  Yikes.

Time to make room in the heated tack room once again, and entice Rhio to walk in.  Neither he nor Cricket would step across the threshold while the little rug in front of the door was there, but as soon as I moved the rug he was happy to come in, turn around, and stand looking out the window at the horses he could see.

Rhio's sleepy face

A little happy juice facilitated the first step - soaking his foot in a bucket of warm water + Epsom salts for about 10 minutes.

Rhio's right front foot firmly ensconced in the "foot bath."

After the soak, it was nice & soft as well as clean, so I could poke around at it a little and try to figure out what had happened.  It looks like the coronary band has been elevated off the hoof wall & pushed up, and it is now swollen & oozes blood with movement.  There's no sign of anything stuck in the wound or any infection (yay!) but he doesn't really appreciate my poking & prodding too much.  

I think this photo actually makes it look worse than it is.

The wound is on the outside of his hoof, and I think possibly it occurred when he stepped through crusty/icy snow and the crust pushed his coronary band up?  I am considering the best way for this to heal since it's vitally important for the coronary band & hoof wall to be attached so that new hoof growth is correct.  My next step for now is a bandage, so I assemble my supplies.

Animalintex poultice pad by 3M, brown gauze, vet wrap, duct tape, and an old Old Mac boot.

By this point, Rhio's happy juice has worn off and he is seeking out the feed which is sitting on the cart ready for the evening meal.  To pacify him and keep him still enough that I can bandage his foot, I let him eat Cricket's soaked beet pulp.  Oh, is he a happy horse!  He loves beet pulp!

It's not too pretty, but it's functional!

The first layer of bandage is the 3M Animalintex poultice pad (http://3m.com/Product/information/Animalintex-Poultice.html), which is one of my favorite products.  I cut a strip and place it directly on the wound - it won't stick and it will draw out any potentially nasty goo which may be in there (technical terms here, of course!). I hold this in place with several wraps of brown gauze and then vet wrap.  I mostly cover the vet wrap in duct tape for durability & protection.  Then, I place one of my old Old Mac hoof boots (http://www.easycareinc.com/Our_Boots/old_macs_g2/Old_Macs_G2.aspx) over the whole thing for additional protection & traction.

The Old Macs are plenty big to fit over the bandage.

Unfortunately for Rhio, he's going to have to spend the night in a stall so I can assess the wound again tomorrow after about 16 hours in the bandage.  I have had horses lose the boot & entire bandage while turned out, so I want to make sure it all stays in place until tomorrow.  

He's happiest outside 24/7, but he isn't too upset about being stalled either.  His buddy Tomas comes in to keep him company, and he gets a nice big pile of hay to munch on.  

He did show off his "it's-feeding-time" antics in anticipation of his grain (despite having just consumed a vat of beet pulp!) - even though he only gets meager handful of "lite" pellets.

2010 Bites You in the Nose!

My horses' caretaker very calmly texted me on this first day of 2010 with words that every horse owner dreads: "Cricket may need stitches." Well, there goes the 2nd cup of tea I was planning to linger over with my favorite book, still in my p.j.s! I bundle up (the thermometer hovers around zero) and head out to the barn.

Upon arrival, I see Cricket happily munching hay with his buddies. But wait! What's that? Yep, bloody icicles (fondly referred to as "blood-cicles") dangling from his whiskers on the left side of his muzzle. And blood smeared on his left front leg from rubbing his nose on his leg.

These things usually look worse than they are, and Cricket's injury was no exception. I could tell there were several components to the overall injury and it was starting to swell. Also, there was one deeper gash that would probably need a few sutures.

Luckily, our tack room is heated and large enough to have a calm horse stand in. Cricket wasn't too sure about coming through the doorway (scary door mat), but once inside could look outside through the door and seemed pretty calm about his new surroundings. Having spent many hours working on horses outdoors in frigid temperatures, this setup was truly luxurious: clear sunlight streaming through the door lighting up the area, warm water at hand, a trusty helper, and the ability to feel my fingers while suturing. Heaven!

A little sleepy juice and some numbing juice, and Cricket was perfectly happy to have me poking & cleaning the wounds. It quickly became apparent that the wounds were a bite - and the most likely culprit was my big dog Killian. Killie lives at the barn currently while I am busy housesitting, and is food aggressive. Cricket and his buddy, the pony Mo, eat a senior feed & beet pulp mash and are allowed to eat while loose in the driveway, to prevent the younger (read: fatter) horses from stealing the goodies. Killian must have gotten to the dish first (horse food is probably 3rd on his list of favorite foods) and bit Cricket on the nose when Cricket came up to eat. Yikes!

The biggest problem with fresh wounds like this in January in Minnesota is the weather. The injured tissue will freeze very easily, and we are in the midst of a cold snap with overnight lows tonight around -20 with "dangerous" windchills of -30 to -40. It's difficult to use any type of ointments or creams because they will freeze to the skin. And, I can't protect the area with a bandage. So, I decided to put a couple quick sutures in to hold the edges of the largest gash together to speed the healing. Now, we wait and see - hoping he doesn't rub the sutures out by itching, hoping the tissue doesn't freeze & slough off, and hoping an infection doesn't set in. On the other hand, there are no flies to bother the wound!

Of course, I forgot to take "before" pictures, but "after" it looks good! You can see 2 dark purple suture knots between his nostril & his upper lip. There are also a couple of small punctures & the obvious scrape in the nostril.

When the drugs wore off, he went back out to pasture with his buddies, cuddled up to "his" mare, snorted a few times, and picked up where he'd left off munching hay.