Glad you liked it. :)

My horse is at the vet as we speak. She has been there all day and he was going to get to her some time this afternoon. I have not heard anything yet but I'll let you know what transpires, if anything.

So here's the deal on my horse: They took a bunch more x-rays, blocked the hoof, ultrasound, etc. I don't even want to see this bill. Anyway, they finally decided to do a venogram (sp?), which is where they inject a dye into the veins so they can see how the blood is flowing. What they discovered was in the area where the abscess blew out, along the coronary band, he said there was a lot of hemorrhaging that had occured and damage to the blood flow. So he said the blood flow in that area is abnormal right now and because she has had so much trauma to that hoof lately, it is taking a while to heal and correct itself. The good news is he did say that he foot is level and trimmed just fine. (Whew). So it boils down to time. He said to give her the winter off and try her in the first of the year. I kind of figured that would be what he would say. Since I don't typically get to ride a whole bunch in the winter anyway, I'm not hurt over it. I just want her to heal. My biggest fear is that I will give her all of this time off and come next year, it still won't be fixed. But I can't focus on the unknown. I am also going to ask him about more Eastern treatments, like acupuncture and/or massage or magnetic therapy, and see if he thinks that could be beneficial to her blood flow and veins. Are there any foods that people can eat to help their veins that would also be safe for horses? I wonder....

Juno injured her left shoulder somehow and it's been 6 months and she's still slightly lame. I finally called a massage therapist who has seen Juno twice so far, and just after the first visit Juno had gotten better. My vet is a bit old-school and never advised massage--just rest--but the massage is helping. And Juno loves it now. The first visit was a bit ouchy b/c the therapist had to break down some scar tissue, but yesterday Juno was yawning and yawning, a sign that she felt good about what was going on. I'm a believer in massage therapy. No so with chiro, but massage gets a nod from me. It definitely increases blood flow.

We have a chiro here who also does acupuncture.. Someone like that might be able to help! Don't expect your vet to be major advocate of these "alternate techniques" though.

 Poor Juno. I'm sending good thoughts her way. I don't expect my vet to be a huge fan of alternative medicine, but I'm going to talk to him more about some of the foods and oils that I have read about that are supposed to help with vein health and blood flow. I just want to be sure that some of this stuff is safe for horses. I am definitely considering an acupuncturist and a massage therapist. I know no matter what she'll need the same amount of time off, but if I can help he heal and become more comfortable quicker, I would like to do that.

 So I thought some of you might be interested to see the venogram that was done on my horse. I thought it was fascinating.

 

The first one is obviously a side shot, the second one is taken as if you were standing directly in front of her foot looking at it. You can see the areas that I have highlighted on the second one indicates where the problems are. If you compare the area in the red square to the exact same spot on the left side of the image, you'll notice the empty space. This is where the joints were so compressed from that farrier trimming her so crooked, that it caused an abnormality in the blood flow to that area. You'll also see where the red arrow is, that blurriness is where the hemorrhage occured around the time of the abscess. The vet said this is completely reversible but it just takes time and it will correct itself. Crazy huh?

 Ugh, why are they so large?

Just my .02 - You might find someone that has horses and could use a hand with keeping their horses chops up during the winter months.  A lot of riders around here don't put in much winter saddle time due to weather, shorter days etc.  Someone might be willing to let you ride their horses during the winter to keep from having to send their horse off in the spring for a "tune up" to work out the bugs.  I'd certainly entertain the thought of having someone come out and keep my horse in a working frame of mind for the next few months.  She can be a real pain after not being ridden for a few months.

BTW - thanks for posting the x-rays.  Very interesting!!

 Docs,once the time change hits, I can only ride on the weekends as well. I spoke to my trainer a bit and she has been getting a few more school horses to use lately so I have a lesson on Saturday mornings with the biggest doll of a horse you could ever find. I like your idea so onI will ut word out at the barn that if anyone needs me to ride their horse on Sundays, I can do that. If I don't get a lot of hits from that I might ask around other local barns too. Thanks for the tip.

Glad you enjoyed the venogram/x-rays. I thought they were pretty neat too.