I had hoped to ride Rocky Sunday morning, but as I started grooming him, I noticed a 2' long mesquite branch wrapped up in his tail. For those of you that don't know, mesquite might make your burgers taste good, but it is covered with sharp 2" spikes all over. So imagine that... wrapped up in horse tail, with the top poking at the horse's ... well, private areas... So after 30-40 minutes of tail detangling (amazing what can happen overnight!) I finally freed the mesquite branch and Rocky was thankful. I know he probably would have been fine to ride, but I value my life and didn't want to take any chances. Especially not when my safe, dependable 22yo TB mare was there batting her eyes at me. (Okay, not literally, but she definitely was watching me groom Rocky, hoping for some treats and attention).
So I ended up riding Sweetie. It was a short ride, but a very relaxing one. We trotted (more than Sweetie really wanted to) and cantered around the ring once each direction. It just felt so GOOD to be riding her. I know she's not in show shape, so we took it easy.
Afterwards, I gave Arwen a good grooming. She really loved it. Was a little nervous about the fly spray, but still stood well for it. My favorite thing is that she's learned to accept treats from me. She had no idea what they were when she first got here. I need to take some more pictures to show how much she has filled out! I'd say she's just about up to weight!
The vet was out on Tues. and gave everybody their annual vaccines and coggins tests, and looked at Arthur and Penny. Penny has been moving a little strange in her hind end - for a month or so. She looks very deliberate in the way she "places" her hind feet, and it almost looks like she doesn't know where they are going to land. It's not a specific lameness, per say, and she looks normal out in the field. The only time I obviously see it is when she has to lift her feet up to get in/out of the barn and her stall. So, at my request, we are doing a blood test to see if the EPM organism is in her bloodstream. The antibody titer will tell us if she has been exposed to EPM - and if it's on the high end, combined with her symptoms, we can assume that she has it and treat her. On the other hand, if it is negative or low, it might just mean she has been exposed to it and built antibodies.
For Arthur, about 2 weeks ago, he suddenly had a facial paralysis in the right side of his face. His lip is drooping on that side, his blinking response is diminished (although somewhat there) and it goes all the way up to his ear that is now limp and really only moves in response to gravity. He is eating fine, but I noticed that he is drooling a little (saw that today when the farrier was here). The vet's diagnosis was a possible stroke. But after he left, I received a newsletter that described "temporohyooid osteoarthropathy" which has the exact symptoms that Arthur is experiencing. Apparently, there is a surgery that can correct it, but it's not yet clear to me whether it would require general anesthesia or could be done while standing. I don't feel comfortable putting a 25yo pony under anesthesia, not to mention the expense. But, we don't know for sure what it is, although diagnosis is relatively cheap in comparison (use an endoscope to look in the gutteral pouch on that side). So, more investigation is in order. I just thought that article was mighty timely.
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