As you can read from my last post, we were so excited to get in some fresh hay for the winter! It feels so good to know that my stash is about half full, and know that the other half will be here in a few weeks. But the new hay had some unexpected consequences for Arthur, our 25yo pony. A few days after we started feeding the hay to him (he is up in a dirt paddock because he tends to get owwie feet when the grass comes in after a drought), he started showing signs of laminitis again. I had not made any other changes, and it seemed surprising to me that the hay could cause his feet to be sore. It wasn't grain overload or a ton of green grass - just hay? A very smart lady said it sounded like cushings - and I spent some time researching it. My best source by far was this group: Equine Cushings Group
I quickly learned that the hay could very well be too high in sugar/starch for Arthur, especially since it was grown during a drought time in Texas (although it was well irrigated and fertilized). So the solution was to soak the hay for 30 min (hot water) - 1hr (cold water) before feeding it to him. I was also advised to discontinue any grain, and use soaked/rinsed beet pulp instead, supplemented with vitamin E, flax seed, salt, and magnesium.
Within one week, this change in diet took him from a very ouchy laminitic pony who had started laying down for a few hours in the afternoon to get off his feet, to one who looks completely comfortable again, and has even been trotting around! He also seems much brighter, and the gook in his eyes he has had for the last year has completely cleared up. Amazing what diet can do!
I feel silly for not thinking of Cushings earlier - I knew Arthur had foundered in his past, and that he tended to be laminitic sensitive, but always thought "old foundered pony" - not Cushings. And then I remembered how hairy he had been this winter, and how he continued to shed (blankets!) until almost June before his coat looked nice, short & shiny.
My next steps will be to get a baseline ACTH, insulin, and glucose. And to have my hay analyzed so I can do a more specific diet balancing. Right now, though, we are through the hardest part of getting him stabilized and knowing what to feed him to keep him healthy and happy! I am so glad I found the Equine Cushings group and I am learning as much as I can for Arthur's sake.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
120 bales happier...
Saturday we loaded up 120 bales of beautiful coastal hay into my 24' stock trailer to start filling my winter stash. I've bought hay from the same guy the past two years - clean, fertilized, irrigated - and I am lucky he had as much for me as he did this year. He had 2 other customers to fill before me, but he ended up with more than he expected, thank goodness! The drought in my area of Texas is "exceptional" - it has been 100+ most of the last 2 months, and we have had hardly any rain.
And yes, it was over 100 while we were loading. No way around that. But we got 'er done, and Sunday night we stacked it all in the barn. Arthur will be in heaven as he can reach it through the panels that make up his stall. Best news - I saved $360. Hay is selling for $9/bale at the feed store, and I got this for $6 out of the field. (Isn't that what the feed store was selling it for a few years ago??! ) The price of hay came down briefly to $8.50 for a few weeks in June then went back up to $9. If that's where it is right now - I can't imagine where it will be in winter! I hope to get another 100-150 bales from the same guy mid-September, if the grass recovers well. It has been so dang hot!
Praying for rain...
And yes, it was over 100 while we were loading. No way around that. But we got 'er done, and Sunday night we stacked it all in the barn. Arthur will be in heaven as he can reach it through the panels that make up his stall. Best news - I saved $360. Hay is selling for $9/bale at the feed store, and I got this for $6 out of the field. (Isn't that what the feed store was selling it for a few years ago??! ) The price of hay came down briefly to $8.50 for a few weeks in June then went back up to $9. If that's where it is right now - I can't imagine where it will be in winter! I hope to get another 100-150 bales from the same guy mid-September, if the grass recovers well. It has been so dang hot!
Praying for rain...
Friday, August 7, 2009
Another Colic Episode...
Everything was normal when I let the horses in this morning, and thankfully I puttered around a bit in the barn before running back inside to get out of the heat. Within a few moments, I heard Sweetie pawing and knew immediately she was beginning to colic. I put a halter on her and walked her into the yard - she was not interested in grass, and laid down and rolled up on her side. I watched her for a few minutes, and things did not seem to subside, so went in for some banamine. When I got back out to her (laying down), I heard the strangest noise - it sounded like she was trying to burp - a very fluidy burp - from her chest up in to her neck. I watched a few minutes more as she got uncomfortable, and stood up - the burp sound continued rhythmically, and she looked more stressed and stretched her neck out. Some green slobber dripped from her mouth and a tiny bit from her nose - which seemed like a choke, but she wasn't coughing or attempting to. I called the vet and let them know I would be on my way - and asked if it was okay to give her the banamine, which they said so long as it was IV it would be okay. I gave her the shot and then ran to get the trailer hooked up. I pulled the trailer around to the barn, and by then Sweetie was standing calmly by the fenceline - I went over to check her out, and if she looked completely normal, I would not have taken her to the vet. But I heard that weird burp/fluidy sound again and was not taking any chances - I have had Sweetie 19 years, we've been through a handful of colics that have all been very similar, and I had never heard this noise. I prayed it wasn't reflux.
Sweetie did not want to get on the trailer - I couldn't really blame her. I pulled out the lead with the chain which always did the trick when she was younger and more energetic - and that did it first try. Just knowing it was across her nose was enough to coerce her to get in.
By the time we got to the vet's (15 min later) she seemed pretty normal to me and was no longer making any weird throat noises. They drew blood which had a normal PCV (37 I think?), and did a protein test that was slightly high at 6.8, but not horrible. She tubed her, there was not any obstruction at that point (if there had been), everything seemed normal. She got a gallon of mineral oil and some water. The rectal palpation was also normal, everything was soft, no large amounts of gas or fluid anywhere, all seemed pretty dang normal.
What I was worried most about was some kind of obstruction, either in her neck, or something that would cause a reflux (fluid to come up from her stomach into her mouth, that would only happen in the most serious of colics where there was an obstruction). So my worries were calmed, and I decided to go ahead and take her home and watch her. My instructions were to not let her eat until tomorrow morning, and then start her on a half ration of her grain. Well, that, and I could hand walk her once this evening and let her graze on grass.
Everything started about 9am, and we were already home by 11am. But by 3pm, Sweetie had not drank a single sip of water while in her stall. She normally doesn't, the water was fresh... she prefers other water sources. So we grazed for 15 minutes at 3pm and then I took her to the trough where she sipped 3-4 gallons of water. But still not as much as I'd hoped for. I put her back in her stall, hoping to see at least one bowel movement. By 4:30, she still had not drank any water from her bucket, and still no poop. But the water issue was more concerning than the poop at that point - the vet had pulled out a fair amount during the palpation. If she wasn't going to drink water in her stall, we'd have a lot more serious issues to deal with soon - talk about impaction! So, I made the decision to let her out in the field with everyone - and pray that there was not anything seriously wrong with her. Sweetie went straight down to the pond and drank for 2-3 minutes before moving on. I also have a trough that I keep fresh water in, but I guess the pond water was cooler. (It is 104 here today). She looked completely normal as she grazed on the grass, and wandered off with our little herd.
I just went out to check on her - about 9:30pm - in the beautiful moonlight! And she was just fine, munching on some grass with her pals, not a worry at all. I am so thankful that she is doing well, and I know that I made the right decision for my horse. Every time in the past when she has had a mild colic that she has worked through, I have always let her back out in the pasture with grass, skipped a meal and then started back with 1/2 or less the next meal. She has always done fine that way, and I hope that she always will!
But if she does start colicing more frequently - weekly/monthly, then we may need to scope her to look for ulcers. But they want to keep them without food/water for a while before that - and that just doesn't make any sense in this heat (or at all for that matter- horses are supposed to eat all the time, I don't want to interfere with nature). So, it would have to wait until a cooler season at least, if I ever were to go that way. If I do get concerned about ulcers, I'll buy some Stomach Soother (half the cost of scoping) and go from there. I've already seen that work great on a rescue horse.
I also got a call tonight that my hay guy will be baling tomorrow, so we will be loading up 100-150 bales tomorrow in 100 degree heat. And drinking LOTS of water! But I will save 1.50-3.00/bale by doing it this way - that works out to $300-450 in savings! Gotta do it while the price is right - and this may be my last chance to get any hay this year out of the field. The drought down here has been horrible on crops of all kinds. Here's hoping for rain soon!
Sweetie did not want to get on the trailer - I couldn't really blame her. I pulled out the lead with the chain which always did the trick when she was younger and more energetic - and that did it first try. Just knowing it was across her nose was enough to coerce her to get in.
By the time we got to the vet's (15 min later) she seemed pretty normal to me and was no longer making any weird throat noises. They drew blood which had a normal PCV (37 I think?), and did a protein test that was slightly high at 6.8, but not horrible. She tubed her, there was not any obstruction at that point (if there had been), everything seemed normal. She got a gallon of mineral oil and some water. The rectal palpation was also normal, everything was soft, no large amounts of gas or fluid anywhere, all seemed pretty dang normal.
What I was worried most about was some kind of obstruction, either in her neck, or something that would cause a reflux (fluid to come up from her stomach into her mouth, that would only happen in the most serious of colics where there was an obstruction). So my worries were calmed, and I decided to go ahead and take her home and watch her. My instructions were to not let her eat until tomorrow morning, and then start her on a half ration of her grain. Well, that, and I could hand walk her once this evening and let her graze on grass.
Everything started about 9am, and we were already home by 11am. But by 3pm, Sweetie had not drank a single sip of water while in her stall. She normally doesn't, the water was fresh... she prefers other water sources. So we grazed for 15 minutes at 3pm and then I took her to the trough where she sipped 3-4 gallons of water. But still not as much as I'd hoped for. I put her back in her stall, hoping to see at least one bowel movement. By 4:30, she still had not drank any water from her bucket, and still no poop. But the water issue was more concerning than the poop at that point - the vet had pulled out a fair amount during the palpation. If she wasn't going to drink water in her stall, we'd have a lot more serious issues to deal with soon - talk about impaction! So, I made the decision to let her out in the field with everyone - and pray that there was not anything seriously wrong with her. Sweetie went straight down to the pond and drank for 2-3 minutes before moving on. I also have a trough that I keep fresh water in, but I guess the pond water was cooler. (It is 104 here today). She looked completely normal as she grazed on the grass, and wandered off with our little herd.
I just went out to check on her - about 9:30pm - in the beautiful moonlight! And she was just fine, munching on some grass with her pals, not a worry at all. I am so thankful that she is doing well, and I know that I made the right decision for my horse. Every time in the past when she has had a mild colic that she has worked through, I have always let her back out in the pasture with grass, skipped a meal and then started back with 1/2 or less the next meal. She has always done fine that way, and I hope that she always will!
But if she does start colicing more frequently - weekly/monthly, then we may need to scope her to look for ulcers. But they want to keep them without food/water for a while before that - and that just doesn't make any sense in this heat (or at all for that matter- horses are supposed to eat all the time, I don't want to interfere with nature). So, it would have to wait until a cooler season at least, if I ever were to go that way. If I do get concerned about ulcers, I'll buy some Stomach Soother (half the cost of scoping) and go from there. I've already seen that work great on a rescue horse.
I also got a call tonight that my hay guy will be baling tomorrow, so we will be loading up 100-150 bales tomorrow in 100 degree heat. And drinking LOTS of water! But I will save 1.50-3.00/bale by doing it this way - that works out to $300-450 in savings! Gotta do it while the price is right - and this may be my last chance to get any hay this year out of the field. The drought down here has been horrible on crops of all kinds. Here's hoping for rain soon!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Spontaneous Healing
Wow - it has been far too long since I last wrote on here! Vacations, busy schedules, have kept me away.
I rode Sweetie briefly last weekend - she was very good - we just walked around in the field a bit. And I rode Rocky this morning - lots of trot circles/figure 8's. He was also very good. Sammie has ridden Arthur a handful of times - our new favorite thing is to walk him down to the pond/"tank" and back up to the barn.
The good news is that Penny has been on her treatment, "Marquis", for EPM for about 2 weeks and I can already see the difference in her demeanor! She is much perkier and happier in general. Her hind end seems to be moving more naturally - not such a hesitation when we go in/out of her stall. I played with her a bit this morning. Only about 10 minutes of "work" if you can call it that - I played some Parelli games with her, and then asked her to go both ways on a circle, first at the walk and then at the trot. To the left seemed a bit harder on her. (Her "lame" leg is her LH). You could also tell when moving her hindquarters around that she would not cross over her back legs to move that way like she would to the right - a clear sign of lameness. But she finally did cross just barely one time and we quit there.
I also need to get Penny ready for Sammie to ride, and so I practiced mounting/dismounting a few times with Penny. She was so good, let me lean over her on my belly and scratch her everywhere before swinging my leg over.
And then the good news about Arthur's facial paralysis - over the last two weeks, I have started to see some improvement! His ear is now moving with the other ear at about 85% capacity it seems, and his nostrils are now about even instead of the right one drooping down lower, and his lower lip on the right is only drooping the smallest amount now in comparison. I'm so glad I didn't attempt to put him through an expensive treatment/surgery to correct this and that things are improving so well! It really is amazing to see. I was so worried about him for a while.
The other thing that has happened is that about a week ago, we finally got some rain here in TX. So the drought grass full of sugar has started to come up, and I have had to keep Arthur & Penny up in a dirt paddock so that their laminitis issues don't flare up. Thank goodness they keep each other company so well! They are enjoying all the hay and their feet are not aching, so I know I'm doing the right thing. In a week or two, I will start letting them out for a few hours in the morning, and work up to being out at night again. All for now!
I rode Sweetie briefly last weekend - she was very good - we just walked around in the field a bit. And I rode Rocky this morning - lots of trot circles/figure 8's. He was also very good. Sammie has ridden Arthur a handful of times - our new favorite thing is to walk him down to the pond/"tank" and back up to the barn.
The good news is that Penny has been on her treatment, "Marquis", for EPM for about 2 weeks and I can already see the difference in her demeanor! She is much perkier and happier in general. Her hind end seems to be moving more naturally - not such a hesitation when we go in/out of her stall. I played with her a bit this morning. Only about 10 minutes of "work" if you can call it that - I played some Parelli games with her, and then asked her to go both ways on a circle, first at the walk and then at the trot. To the left seemed a bit harder on her. (Her "lame" leg is her LH). You could also tell when moving her hindquarters around that she would not cross over her back legs to move that way like she would to the right - a clear sign of lameness. But she finally did cross just barely one time and we quit there.
I also need to get Penny ready for Sammie to ride, and so I practiced mounting/dismounting a few times with Penny. She was so good, let me lean over her on my belly and scratch her everywhere before swinging my leg over.
And then the good news about Arthur's facial paralysis - over the last two weeks, I have started to see some improvement! His ear is now moving with the other ear at about 85% capacity it seems, and his nostrils are now about even instead of the right one drooping down lower, and his lower lip on the right is only drooping the smallest amount now in comparison. I'm so glad I didn't attempt to put him through an expensive treatment/surgery to correct this and that things are improving so well! It really is amazing to see. I was so worried about him for a while.
The other thing that has happened is that about a week ago, we finally got some rain here in TX. So the drought grass full of sugar has started to come up, and I have had to keep Arthur & Penny up in a dirt paddock so that their laminitis issues don't flare up. Thank goodness they keep each other company so well! They are enjoying all the hay and their feet are not aching, so I know I'm doing the right thing. In a week or two, I will start letting them out for a few hours in the morning, and work up to being out at night again. All for now!
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