Man.. I'm so grateful to God for Keelin!
We went with Kelli and Marvin to go see her and see if we could figure out what was wrong with the boys. They hauled great and we decided to do Dan first because we figured he may be more complicated and time consuming. We were talking about things in the aisle and then we took him out to look at him. Keelin's neighbors were doing some construction and there was some commotion and Dan was absolutely feral! Like.. he's not normally so spooky but he was freaking out and being ridiculous. I almost couldn't jog him because he was cantering! So, it was hard to assess, but I did show Keelin the videos.
She said first... that's the best his body has ever looked! So yay for that! Then she said that based on what she was seeing on the videos and what I was describing, she was highly suspicious of SI joints. She said that in her experience, it's worse on the straight lines and better when they almost overbend to compensate. She also finds they are worse in hand than under saddle and they do that awful front end lift to avoid using the hind end. Okay.. I agree.. that was definitely on my radar. But I also explained about the left hind lameness that one day and my concerns for the suspensories. So.. she wasn't really able to flex him but she did palpate him. And he was feral for that even. He let me pick up his left hind but even for me he was fussy and kept wanting to slam it down. She finally palpated him and he was not sore at all in his suspensories. She also felt like based on his body scan, it was clearly SI joints.
So okay.. works for me. Let's inject those puppies and see what happens. I'll happily eat my words if it works. So we had to clip him and scrub him. And then he was so good. Sedated, and twitched, but so good!
So... the plan is stall rest tonight. UGH. ha ha. She laughed when I asked.. and was like "Have I ever said "no... just turn him out"!?". ha ha. Okay, fair. Then 3 days off. Then back to work. She said to start to push him a little but don't expect to really see changes til about 10 days in. She also said not to do bute or previcox, as it doesn't really help the SI areas. Of course I do wonder about his other issues.. neck arthritis, stifle... etc. But anyways... She also suggested a week or two of robaxin and then to shockwave the tar out of him. His SI joints, his neck... all the things. It was kind of nice because she said she really felt like shockwave was her best tool. She is a big believer and would recommend it for so many things, so yay! Good news!
So.. yeah. We hauled home and poor Marvin was hiding in the corner because Dan was making faces at him. Whoops. Sorry. I'm sorry my horse is a bully and yet I still won't tie him or use the stud divider. Kind of... kind of sorry.
I let Dan graze in the extended patio while I got his stall ready and then decided to put him in Fleck's stall and patio overnight because... I was afraid without having bars on his wall.. he might get hung or try to leave by jumping out. So he stayed in Fleck's stall and Fleck stayed in Lyrics and the girls mostly hung out too. He was surprisingly good! I don't know if he was just tired.... or so grateful that we finally gave him some relief... or semi drugged... maybe the levamisole makes him drowsy?? (I did start him on that tonight because... why not? I bought it.. it's here.. might as well just in case).
So... I'm praying. I'm praying that this is the answer. And I'm so cautiously optimistic! And in some ways.. it's sad, because I'm happy again! Granted, the sun has come out, Spring has sprung, and it's my favorite time of the year. But... it's a lot easier to be happy when there's hope for my pony. Which, admittedly, is a little shameful. I should be filled with Joy because I have God.. not because my pony and I might get to jump again. BUT... I'm also going to enjoy it because.. I prayed.. and God gave me hope again. And maybe, just maybe, God will fix him and we can play again. And if not... I've come to peace with doing western dressage or competitive trail or sorting with him. If he can do that. And if not.. he's a really fun trail riding horse and... we do love to do that. So... it'll be okay in the end, but.. I'm still going to be cautiously optimistic!
The next morning when I turned him out, he was meandering around after his ulcer meds while I was fixing breakfast. But then after breakfast, he tore out of the barn like a bat outta hell! He hunkered down and powered off. Then they all ran around like idiots. So... hoping that means he feels good.
And then today... I noticed him bucking. I haven't seen him buck in a bit now that I think about it. Or kick out. So.. maybe, maybe, maybe!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment