Sunday, March 17, 2024

Marginally better

Long hack today. goosey when grooming... sunburn? 

Good hack but still felt slightly neuro at times.

went to arena and trotted. seemed to be dragging toes less. more forward, especially in the beginning. Didn't have to kick as much. canter was better depart... but still swapped on straight when tracking right... still struggling a hair but maybe not as bad...  kept it short... 

still only 5 days in... no shockwave yet... give it time holly... give it time... pray... dont' panic

 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Hope!!

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!!!

 

He can be snuggly when he wants to be!

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Sunday funday

Today I opted to ride Dan at home because... I needed to do some pillar work again. I am thinking I need to prioritize that more. And I wanted to take Lyric out for a hack. And Dan will get hauled Tuesday and Lyric probably won't even get ridden again til Wednesday, so... I figured that would work well for the who trailers and who stays home game. 

So... I tacked him up and then we walked in pillar 1 (attempted) to the arena. Then we did a few laps and I also tried to do some more pillar 2 than usual. He was pretty good and we got a few releases. I did give him 2 grams of bute this morning too, because I was curious. And it had time to kick in because I cleaned out and organized the trailer after feeding them. 

So then I got on and we did lots of walking with his neck forward, down and out. I did lots of serpentines. And I did some turn on the forehand and haunches, though I kept those pretty minimal. Then we did some trotting. And... he actually felt pretty decent at the trot. I didn't really appreciate any lameness though he felt a bit "sloppy" once or twice. And he got a little fussy at times, wanting to bend and bite his right shoulder again. I then went to ask for the canter and it was like he knew it was coming and he sort of panicked. He all of a sudden got super amped up and almost running. But not necessarily in a good way. Not like an "oh yay, let's go" way.. more of a "I'm gonna panic and run through this to get it done quicker". But... it's so hard to tell if I'm being paranoid and imagining things now. I did the right lead first and he was pretty decent with it. We held it a fair amount of time, considering how little canter we've been doing. So then we went the other way and he was still a bit panicky. He did pick up the left lead and it didn't feel nearly as awkward, and he was able to hold it on the straight line too. But... both ways he still felt like he was working way too hard to maintain it. And he almost seemed to struggle more on the turn tracking right. So... I told him he was a very good boy and had a stretchy trot and then we headed home. 

We took the driveway and the wind had blown a trash bag up against the fence. Dan spooked at it! Which... fair, but... he just seems spookier than usual. I'm not sure that normal Dan would have spooked at that. But maybe?! It was a windy day with a bit of a chill in the air. And then on the walk home, he felt like his hind end sort of collapsed/gave out once and then he shimmied once or twice. So... I have no idea anymore. I can't tell if he's truly neurologic... or I'm imagining things because now that's in my brain... 

 

But he was a good boy and was trying. He got a hair chompy but nothing major and certainly no tongue. 

So... we shall see. He won't get any more drugs (other than omeprazole/cimetidine) until after we see Keelin. I hope he doesn't get too sore. I'm also tempted to NOT bemer him because... I really just want an answer. I don't want to mask anything in the slightest. Sorry bud. 

He was his usual cranky self today for grooming and tacking though maybe a bit better. But I also had treats and was rewarding good behavior. But tonight when I was putting Lyrics blanket on while they were eating hay, I was snuggling with her. And Dan got jealous and walked up, ears pricked. He let me kiss his nose and even snuggle a tiny bit and didn't even snarl or curl a lip. Awwww... I love you too buddy. I promise I am doing EVERYTHING I can think of to get you feeling your best. Hang in there with me please. 

Oh and then before dinner... he was hanging out with Broccoli Rob. :) 

 



Thursday, March 7, 2024

Neuro still??

 Well... today was about as pretty as it could get. The weather was PERFECT. We had the farrier for Fleck and Funny in the morning and then I had to run a few errands. And I had a lesson with Lyric at 4 pm, but... I did everything in my power to have time to hit the trails with Danomite. And while it was pretty enough that we could have stayed out ALL DAY... I had a time limit. But we did manage around an hour. 

I rode bareback because it was quicker and why not!? Kelli was there riding and she was just finishing up so we headed to the arena and waited for her to finish. I did trot Dan in the arena for one long side and he felt a bit sluggish but sound. Then Kelli was done and we headed out. It was pretty soupy out there footing wise because of all the rain, but we were just walking anyways. Although he did slip a bit, which made it hard to tell if he's still feeling neurologic or just slipping in the mud.So, I managed to get Fleck and Funny trimmed and shod and then I got my errands done and then... I snagged Dan and we headed to Ashland. I had a lesson that afternoon with Lyric so we couldn't spend all day out on the trails, but we did get to spend an hour. Worth it!

 

I rode bareback because it was quicker and why not!? Kelli was there riding and she was just finishing up so we headed to the arena and waited for her to finish. I did trot Dan in the arena for one long side and he felt a bit sluggish but sound. Then Kelli was done and we headed out. It was pretty soupy out there footing wise because of all the rain, but we were just walking anyways. Although he did slip a bit, which made it hard to tell if he's still feeling neurologic or just slipping in the mud.



The skies!!! It was so pretty! After we fnished our hack, I was tempted to try out a trot and canter to see, after Lexi had worked on him. Also, Kelli had made a comment about thinking Marvin wasn't quite right but she wanted to keep riding because... like me, this is going to be her last attempt at a vet visit. If we can't figure them out... then, we're both exhausted in all the ways from trying so hard for so long. So, she said she wanted to keep riding because she wanted to make sure that if there was anything to see, Keelin could see it. Fair... but that got me thinking... crud! Maybe I should be doing a hair more too. 



Unfortunately it was so wet out on the trails that I didn't think it was smart to try to trot and canter. So when we got back to the arena's, I snuck in there real quick. And we picked up the trot and he felt fine. Still a bit labored/sluggish, but.. sound. Then we picked up the canter tracking right, and he got about 8 strides in and then totally lost a hind leg. Like left it in Texas lost it. Sigh.. Of course he fell out of the canter. So we picked it up again and he just about face planted from tripping up front. Seriously horse?! That's pretty bad. Of course Kelli only saw the first one. Sigh.. I picked up the trot, and.. .still sound, but still not quite right. I was contemplating not trying again but Kelli mentioned maybe it's because he's not "put together". So fine...I shortened my reins and collected him and asked again and... while he didn't almost fall down again, he still was unhappy and didn't want to stay in the canter. So I quit. I guess it's not the end of the world that we're only trail walking. Clearly he's still not happy. Sigh...








Tuesday, March 5, 2024

No clue anymore

 Hack with Kelli. had to power wash off first (but also for lexi)

power walking. spooky

but still not quite right in the field for a quick w/t/c 

Lexi worked on. Felt like his whole lower back was locked down. Either guarding and protecting, or just stuck, fascially. got a TON of releases. happy dan. nice and squishy after. also stretched out front end. 












Sunday, March 3, 2024

Getting worse... maybe?

 Sigh... 

I swear the less I ride the worse he gets... Even on bute. 1 gram twice a day, but still. That should be plenty. 

We met Kelli at Ashland today hoping for a hack. She ran out of time, but I did do another little "test ride" in the arena. Dan felt sluggish and draggy walking around. He kept stopping. His trot wasn't terrible just... lazy and he's clearly dragging his hind toes. I did a trot and a canter briefly for Kelli to video. He actually cantered better on the left lead today and didn't struggle as much to hold it, but it was still awful. He's just so out behind and not wanting to lift his back and engage. And now I'm wondering if I'm just letting him be lazy. But I don't think so. 

So... we went for a short hack after. We mostly grazed. Then I made him walk back via the woods so he couldn't snack the whole time. He didn't even want to splash in the lake really today...