Post by Lorraine L on Mar 15, 2009 16:00:54 GMT 1
Mystery.
Ok. This all started in May 2007 and to be honest, and i know you will probably reel at the fact that this is still ongoing, but in reality it has been on and off. If i had a truly unhappy horse for longer than weeks / months at a time, i may have taken other decisions for his future.
Sunny is 14.3, chestnut gelding. Now (2009 ) 16 years old and i have owned him since he was found in the New Forest sales at just 4 months old
He is a chunky lad and crossed New Forest / welsh section C.
( His photo is in my avatar )
So, back to the beginning: Sunny had routinely been out during the day and stabled at night throughout the year. This was because it was easier to manage Luke ( who is Insulin Resistant ) and therefore, both boys were kept in the same manner. Neither of them were ever given mixes / grain etc or allowed to over graze. I fed them with Happy Hoof/ Unmollased beet (in the winter ) and a few pegasus nuts. All hay was soaked and all carrots / polo's / apples banned.
Both boys were exercised very little so i can guess that you are considering the question " WHy were they fed anything " ??
I have no reply which makes any sense other than to get their supplements down them ( Mag Ox / and Lo Cal ) and in the case of Luke: Pergolide or Vitex in the early days of his diagnosis.
This is very therauptic (sp) to write this as i am now questioning more things about my management of them and wondering whether things might have been different had i chosen to spend all that time Mucking out in the saddle instead
Odd thing was i used to say to people " Well, being that Sunny has the same routine and management as Luke, at least i can stop him from becoming IR or laminitic ) ...... Wise words always come back to bite you on the ar*e, don't they ?
Ok. Sunny came in one day looking very uncomfortable. I didn't immediately suspect laminitis because it was just a very strange gait... almost like a pulled shoulder or something similar.
I kept him in that night to see how he was the next day. No improvement the next day other than he looked ''in pain'' so i called the vet. He confirmed Lami and when i was forced to look again at his condition ( Sunny, not the Vet ) he was very fat.
So, we began the usual emergency routine of deep shavings bed / acp for the first 36 hours / bute and use of the frog supports which i keep from the laminitis clinic.
Trouble with this part, is that all you can do is Wait. Days ran into weeks and the situation did not seem to improve. My farrier is a very traditional one and Sunny had not had shoes ( being that he had very good feet and the riding had only ever been a quiet hack along the lane ) We had an arrangement where the farrier came out every 2 /3 weeks just to do a tiny trim / shape, rather than anything too dramatic.
After a period of time, i called the vet back and explained that nothing had changed. We did Xrays and i was horrified to see the degree of rotation of the pedal bones. When i think back, i still believed that it was attritubed in part to an old shoulder injury that he had suffered as a three year old in the field.
So, faced with these dreadful photos, i changed the farrier and we were also introduced to a new vet as well.
Both were fab. They wanted to have regular get togethers and discuss the best way forward. Sunny eventually went on to have natural balance shoes put on the front feet for support and things went well. He was having days out in the sunshine and happy to be pottering around. There were a few set backs but i had lots of problems with him ' thinking' we was well enough to canter / buck / and generally throw himself about in the field
I gave no thought to these episodes other than " Oh, no, he is going to need another few days back in the stable to rest those feet again "
I will continue the next epidode at bit later, but here are the original xrays taken and the shocking state of the pedal bones:
Ok. This all started in May 2007 and to be honest, and i know you will probably reel at the fact that this is still ongoing, but in reality it has been on and off. If i had a truly unhappy horse for longer than weeks / months at a time, i may have taken other decisions for his future.
Sunny is 14.3, chestnut gelding. Now (2009 ) 16 years old and i have owned him since he was found in the New Forest sales at just 4 months old
He is a chunky lad and crossed New Forest / welsh section C.
( His photo is in my avatar )
So, back to the beginning: Sunny had routinely been out during the day and stabled at night throughout the year. This was because it was easier to manage Luke ( who is Insulin Resistant ) and therefore, both boys were kept in the same manner. Neither of them were ever given mixes / grain etc or allowed to over graze. I fed them with Happy Hoof/ Unmollased beet (in the winter ) and a few pegasus nuts. All hay was soaked and all carrots / polo's / apples banned.
Both boys were exercised very little so i can guess that you are considering the question " WHy were they fed anything " ??
I have no reply which makes any sense other than to get their supplements down them ( Mag Ox / and Lo Cal ) and in the case of Luke: Pergolide or Vitex in the early days of his diagnosis.
This is very therauptic (sp) to write this as i am now questioning more things about my management of them and wondering whether things might have been different had i chosen to spend all that time Mucking out in the saddle instead
Odd thing was i used to say to people " Well, being that Sunny has the same routine and management as Luke, at least i can stop him from becoming IR or laminitic ) ...... Wise words always come back to bite you on the ar*e, don't they ?
Ok. Sunny came in one day looking very uncomfortable. I didn't immediately suspect laminitis because it was just a very strange gait... almost like a pulled shoulder or something similar.
I kept him in that night to see how he was the next day. No improvement the next day other than he looked ''in pain'' so i called the vet. He confirmed Lami and when i was forced to look again at his condition ( Sunny, not the Vet ) he was very fat.
So, we began the usual emergency routine of deep shavings bed / acp for the first 36 hours / bute and use of the frog supports which i keep from the laminitis clinic.
Trouble with this part, is that all you can do is Wait. Days ran into weeks and the situation did not seem to improve. My farrier is a very traditional one and Sunny had not had shoes ( being that he had very good feet and the riding had only ever been a quiet hack along the lane ) We had an arrangement where the farrier came out every 2 /3 weeks just to do a tiny trim / shape, rather than anything too dramatic.
After a period of time, i called the vet back and explained that nothing had changed. We did Xrays and i was horrified to see the degree of rotation of the pedal bones. When i think back, i still believed that it was attritubed in part to an old shoulder injury that he had suffered as a three year old in the field.
So, faced with these dreadful photos, i changed the farrier and we were also introduced to a new vet as well.
Both were fab. They wanted to have regular get togethers and discuss the best way forward. Sunny eventually went on to have natural balance shoes put on the front feet for support and things went well. He was having days out in the sunshine and happy to be pottering around. There were a few set backs but i had lots of problems with him ' thinking' we was well enough to canter / buck / and generally throw himself about in the field
I gave no thought to these episodes other than " Oh, no, he is going to need another few days back in the stable to rest those feet again "
I will continue the next epidode at bit later, but here are the original xrays taken and the shocking state of the pedal bones:
