well, had the vet out again today.  oh joy.  my horse injured himself and tore a tendon in february.  he was on stall rest for weeks.  a couple months later just when we were ready to start doing some rehab--20 minute walks daily--he got a puncture wound in his knee and it swelled up like a softball.  he was stabled for another 2 weeks.  finally, the bandages came off the puncture wound.  so, we started up our rehab again.

then last week, i finally put the saddle back on for the first time since february and we did a low key ground workout in the roundpen--walking, trotting and slow easy turns.  he seemed to do well and was fine the next day.  the day after that, he was wandering around the pen while i was cleaning.  he seemed to stub his toe and then severely limped a couple paces and stopped with his foot held high in the air.  i was devasted.  i was sure it was the tendon again.  i called the vet made an appt for 5 days later and in the meantime started giving him bute again and cold hosing his leg daily.  2 days after the incident he stopped eating and drinking and was very lethargic.  so, panic is setting in with me more and more.  i got him to drink, he loves drinking straight out of the hose.  and after a day he was eating his pellets, and just a bit of hay.

finally, today was the vet appt.  she believes he has hurt himself (i think playing with his neighbor over the fence, they carry on alot) in the stifle this time.  she is sure it's not the tendon.  she thinks the tendon is healing well.  all we can do is wait another 2 or 3 weeks and see how he is.  as for the not eating and lethargy, she said he may have developed an ulcer from the bute.  so he got a shot of a painkiller to avoid it going through his stomach.  and he also got a bunch of syringes of paste meds to treat an ulcer.  hopefully he will be back to his saucy self in a few days.

i know a few of you have gone through these lengthy healing sessions with your horses.  how do you hold up?

i find it so deflating when i go out and find a  new problem.  i feel alot of stress from wondering if he'll fully recover and also from worrying about his pain level.  you know how stoic animals can be.  

and, the vet bills are getting rather expensive.  he has cost me more this year than all my other horses combined (yes, i have been very lucky with hardy, healthy horses)

anyway, i just needed to vent a bit.  i am so worried about the big goof.

--gail

Gail, I am so sorry.  It seems like there are some horses that there isn't enough bubble wrap to keep them from hurting themselves; I have one like that

First, I agree with the ulcer from the Bute.  An FYI on that, my vet prefers I use aspirin.  It accomplishes the exact same thing as Bute but the horse can handle aspirin much longer than Bute before the digestive tract starts misbehaving.

I buy my aspirin from the vet but I am pretty sure Valley Vet, SmartPak and other similar on-line places sell it.  You might even check your local feed and/or tack stores.  Just have to make sure the aspirin is 100% pure --- without fillers.

 What did your vet give you for the ulcers?

I won't write the book but a different horse from my Bubble-Wrap Guy has Equine Metabolic Syndrome which exploded his hock/ankle arthritis.  He's been living with this since 2007, so has been on herbs for the EMS and daily NSAIDS for the arthritis.

He has colicked four times since March, which I almost lost him on the first colic.  He tested positive for Hind Gut ulcers and the vet also is suspicious of lipomas in the digestive tract because he's colicked so much recently.  He's 25, has been with me 22 years and has always had a "cast iron" stomach until this past March.

This horse is now on Succeed - probably for the rest of his life ----------at $90/month I'm waaaay too old to be "standin' on the street corner" so I have to split hot dogs four ways instead of two.

Anyway, this stuff is unbelievable and very tasty. My horse grabs the tube with his tongue as soon as he sees me coming with it.  It also comes in pellets.

http://www.succeed-equine.com/

Regarding the lameness.  The only answer I have is what I do with my Bubble Wrap guy ---have the chiropractor/accupuncturist number on speed dial  She also does massage.

Once upon a time, Mr. Bubble Wrap thought his fat hind-end (he's insulin resistant) 15.3H and weighs nearly 1,200 lbs) could scale the woven wire, missed and literally flipped/skidded on his back over the fence back into the pasture.

He was on re-hab in the side yard with a hyper-extended tendon from when he somehow got his leg caught in the pipe panel.  He had three days to go before going back out to pasture.

I didn't see him flip over the fence but the skid marks on his head, clear down his back, made it pretty obvious what happened.

Anyway, after yet another set of X-rays and yet another round of aspirin, even my vet said, "you might want to call the chiropractor for him" 

That was four years ago.  His IR self has since foundered pretty good because of the frost/fast warm-ups we had this past March and I didn't get his muzzle on in time. More X-rays, now a vet-recommended equine podiatrist, I have to boot & pad him every day.  I am wore out by the time I get him and three other horses ready for turnout.

He's been acupunctured and seen the chiro more times than my 26 yr old Arab, whom I rescued 19 yrs ago starving and with an injured vertebra.

Wish I could be more help but it seems there are just some horses who can't get a break.

Oh that reminds me - my bubble wrap guy?  He rolled the other day, like all good horses.  He either rolled on ants or a hornets nest because he came in shaking his head that night.

There was a swelling under his mane bigger than a saucer and I could see bite or sting marks all over the place.  He's fine now but that horse just can't get a break, it seems.  He's the sweetest, most loving/compliant/in-your-pocket horse in my pasture but, that proverbial Black Cloud always seems to follow him around

You're stuck with a horse that just can't keep his nose clean.  The best you can do is hold your breath and hope his hooves aren't pointing skyward at any point in the day.

If nothing else, "Misery Loves Company" and hopefully I've made you feel a little better

I went through a 2 1/2 yr debacle with Juno, including coffin bone surgery, which cost me more than $7000. Now she's a bit off, again, but as soon as the vet comes over she goes sound. Welcome to the club. At least I have 2 other sound horses to ride, and I'm learning a LOT about bandaging, meds and rehab.

You might want to consider Equioxx instead of bute.  It's not so hard on the tummy.  Bute is an NSAID it doesn't matter if it goes in the stomach or not, it can cause gastric upset. 

 I'm sorry to hear about this Gail.  Over the 24 yrs I've had Annapolis he's dinged himself around a fair amount - stepping on a nail, bowed tendon, EPM, but he spaces it out, with long periods of doing okay in between.  

We're always here when you need moral support.  Hang in there.

walkinthewalk:

He either rolled on ants or a hornets nest because he came in shaking his head that night.

 

oh that sounds familiar.  2 years ago, my big goof stuck his nose in a wasp nest.  when i came out, he looked like the elephant man.  his nose and mouth were so swollen and lumpy and his jaw.  it was comical, except i knew it must hurt like hell.  but, who would do that but this klutz.  the nest was surrounded by stinging nettle.  why would you stick your nose in there?

 

walkinthewalk:

have the chiropractor/accupuncturist number on speed dia

i've been waiting for him to heal cuz i want the chiro out to do a treatment, but, there's no point with a tendon injury.  yesterday though the vet said in 2 or 3 weeks i might want to have him out because we are not sure how screwed up his back end is and perhaps we can make him feel better with a massage at least.

i think, bhk, that the shot my horse got was equioxx.  it definitely wasn't bute.

what kind of ulcer meds?  i'll have to check when i go to the barn.  i know i got 2 syringes with a med in them that cost $50 each.  she said alot of times the prescription is for one syringe a day for 30 days.  $1500.  yikes!!

but, she said give him one (that was yesterday).  then 1/2 today, 1/2 tomorrow.  then i have 5 syringes that cost $10 each for the next 5 days.  and see if that is enough to help him.  so $150 instead of $1500.  whew!  i sure hope that works. 

and misery does love company.  i appreciate all your stories for sure.

 i want to comment on the aspirin....i asked my vet if you could give a horse aspiring and she said absolutely not.  she said it is very hard on their stomach, as hard or harder than bute.  

 

Yup. My vet said the same thing when I was looking for something easier than having Bute on hand.

Gee, I don't feel badly about my horse's problems, when I see how Murphy's Law likes to come a visit you. I'm sorry for your troubles.

My horse did the hind end splits on ice last December. He had trouble with upward fixation of the patella when he was growing, but I kept him out and moving forward and no problems until now. (he's 14 now) 3 legged lame and stalled for 7 weeks and still 3 legged lame at the end of it. I got Move-Ease from mybesthorse.com....devil's claw and one week later he put the foot down and started walking on it. I started rehab. The stall rest weakened him considerably and worsened things. Your stall rest was necessary because of the tendon and weakened him also. In the face of this weakness, I probably don't need to point out about how slowly you need to start the rehab. Its been 7 months of it so far for me. Everytime I took him out of the stall, he looked 10x worse and when he got back from his walk, he looked 10x better. Forward movement is key.

I haven't ridden him yet. I walk down the driveway, which has a long hill. I started by only getting halfway down the hill and am now getting all the way to the mail box and back (1 mile) I also do short backing on that hill, going up and down and also have taught him to tail me up the hill, cause I'm getting too old for this. I also do exercises in the round pen walking over poles.

He started out favouring the RH constantly and still does 80% of the time. It hurts. He does not want to extend his heel to the ground. The LH is locked all the time he stands. Its also acting up and clicking and I think its stressed from the other one being favoured. He's locking the left hind to be sure of it, while he favours the pain in the right hind, I think...both messed up. I had the vet over last week to take out 15 stitches above his eye and evaluate him and he had no help but to keep moving forward and strengthening the joints. He's out 24/7 now as well.

I only used the Bute when the look in his eyes showed no hope, otherwise I know ulcers can crop up within a week. The Move-Ease is a project of a fellow student of Dr. Kellon's and with her help, put the forumula together. Using it with Bute is contraindicated. I also added chondroitin sulfate and Ha as well. I avoided Glucosamine as well, because he's and easy keeper. The Move-Ease has shown good effects, even with my 24 year olds arthritic knees. Since I do my own trimming, I've been able to keep his feet perfectly balanced in the face of all this, which is also very important.

I think getting out of that stall and moving is the most important thing. To lose the weakness and build strength and endurance. When the horse is moving all kinds of good things happen, including pumping blood for more nutrients, housekeeping and healing, not to mention tendons being worked properly and muscles kept from cramping. I have been treating topically with Sore No More and and Absorbine Liniment. Sometimes I give him a warm absorbine bath all over and throw a blanket on for a few minutes to let him cook a bit. Doing stretches etc. I am also looking for a chiro at this point and have hope that it will help.

I helped a person to get her horse's hind feet properly balanced recently. This horse had stifle problems and was dead lame and pathology on the hind feet from standing under so much. This horse had had his stifles blistered 6 weeks before. We got the feet balanced, then she called in a chiro, which didn't help. But then she called in a better chiro, who did something braver to the hind end and the horse was born again immediately....bucking and kicking across the field....all lameness gone immediately. Find a good chiro and I think you and I both may have some hope. There's always a "path" to pathology. I feel its going to go hand in hand with the movement of rehab. Best wishes. 

Missyclare:

Gee, I don't feel badly about my horse's problems, when I see how Murphy's Law likes to come a visit you. I'm sorry for your troubles.

 

hmm, i don't know, you seem to have some big problems too   

it's been about 3 weeks now.  the poor animal is still very lame with the stifle (i assume it's the stifle).  i am going to wait another week and then i think i will get the chiropractor out and see if that gives him relief.

he is eating again though, so, that's awesome.  he didn't eat at all for a week though and he lost alot of weight.  man, he was skinny enough already.  he started to look like a rescue horse again.  fortunately, i see the weight coming back...whew!

 Let me know what the chiro said and did. I've never had to call one in as of yet. I'm still looking for one at this point. I want to find a good one. Are they expensive? 

The only thing that I can account for this set back is either running out of HA (which my vet says is a biggie) for 3 weeks, and when he had the stitiches in, all happy, wobbly and weighting all 4 feet canted out to keep balance. I mentioned to the vet...."you'd never know he has a stifle problem now, would you?" I think this strain which lasted for 3 hours till the drugs wore off and again, when the stictches came out, sent him back to square one and 3-legged lame again, 2 days after the stitches came out. 

It's hard. The look in his eye haunts me continuously. The vet has been little help. I avoided the Bute, except for the times when even the hope was lost in his eyes, but only occasionally and have managed to avoid ulcers, hopefully. The pain if anything, has managed to keep him careful. He is losing weight as well...darn pain, can't live with it, can't live without it. Pain will also cause ulcers. Not eating and an empty stomach and full time stomach acid being produced,(because he's a grazing animal), will see it splashing up into sensitive areas when he moves. I may be having to engage omiprazole myself. Now that's expensive! The other product mentioned, does avoid the stomach, but it is also a NSAID and will cause the same kind of havoc if given long term, unfortuneately. I've found that peppermints help to boost the appetite as well. You might try that.  I also wish that I had taught him to lie down on cue. I have nightmares about that supporting leg. Best wishes to us both on the endurance needed for it all......

 

 

Missyclare:

Let me know what the chiro said and did. I've never had to call one in as of yet. I'm still looking for one at this point. I want to find a good one. Are they expensive? 

 

i just finally sent the chiro an email today, so, we'll see what he says.

Missyclare:

I may be having to engage omiprazole myself. Now that's expensive!

what i got was 2 doses of gastroguard which was $55 a dose. and then a generic brand of omeprazole that was $10 a dose.  the vet said she usually gives them the first couple doses with the expensive stuff and then 30 days of the generic brand, though we only did a week of it.  it seems to have worked.  he is eating again.

it has been a month and my horse is still very lame in the back end.  i am really hoping the chiro can help, because i really do not know what else to do.

 

 the chiropractor got back to me and says he is busy and not taking any new horse patients.....  gave me the number of another vet.  but, i have called and they say she doesn't do horses.  

i'm so dissapointed.  i have tried to get this guy out several times.  and, it was, wait to see what the vet says.  wait until the tendon heals.  and now, when the vet says it might be a good idea, he is too busy!!

i wish he had come out in the spring.  even though it may have been a waste of money, then we would be established clients and he would come out now.

Oh I can understand how disappointing that must be for you.  Perhaps your vet can recommend someone else, who does work with horses?  It seems like they would network together.

BoyleHeightsKid:

You might want to consider Equioxx instead of bute.  It's not so hard on the tummy.  Bute is an NSAID it doesn't matter if it goes in the stomach or not, it can cause gastric upset.