Bringing Up Baby!
So this morning Dan was about the same as yesterday. Still trying to kick me and angry. But he ate well! Snarfed down all his food. And no ataxia or head tilt and able to eat normally. But still dragging his hind toes slightly.
But tonight... he was much more normal for him. I was able to put the bemer on him and even K-taped him. And groom him. And he only tried to kick me once. And he was much more alert and curious. Phew!
Today was terrifying! I'm still reeling from this morning.
I got up and fed ponies. Because it was raining all day starting then, I tossed some hay in their stalls thinking they would maybe want to stay dry. They all had on sheets to stay warm and dry because... you know, that mid 50's in rain can be super cold or hot and muggy but I figured it would be more of the cold and icky variety. I decided that maybe I should toss some hay outside too so there wasn't any fighting so as I was walking by the top of the patios I saw Dan backing out of his stall. But not normal. He was throwing his head straight up in the air and scrambling.... For a split second I thought Fleck was going after him but Fleck was out in the pasture. Then he scrambled backwards, half reared up, fell over his backside to the side, hit the gate, scrambled on his back for a second and then managed to get himself up. I noticed his right hind was pretty useless during the getting up. Then he swayed there for a minute. Unfortunately Funny came by and she's in raging heat so she's wanting to be on top of him and then when he deters her, she's been squealing and kicking and of course she went towards him. Luckily the fence was between the two of them so I could chase her off. Dan recovered pretty quickly and was walking but was super ataxic... listing to the side and had a head tilt. He then was struggling to lower his head down to eat. And obviously he was confused and hurting. I immediately messaged Dr. Kate and Dr. Kate. Over 30 minutes Dan settled and was not glaringly ataxic and more stable but still unable to lower his head completely. I also noticed he took a big piece of hide off his scalp. Holy moly!!! What the heck happened!?! I ended up giving him 10 mLs banamine IV and then after talking to both Dr. Kate's, I called Dr. Barrows and had her come out and check him out. She gave him some IV DMSO and IV Dex. Then we talked and ... bless her! She told me that based on the history she suspected that he just had an inflammatory response to the CT and myelogram and that once the meds kick in and the inflammation goes away he should go back to his normal. And that it shouldn't change his prognosis or anything. Bless her. I'm so grateful she comes for me every time I have a catastrophe! She saw on my discharge instructions that Dr. Kate had mentioned pred, so she suggested we do that. She gave me a bottle to get started too so I didn't have to wait. Luckily he's already been on omeprazole given the amount of NSAIDs and SAIDs he's been on. Poor dude. And now he smells like garlic!
I watched him for most of the day and he seemed okay. He was moving pretty slow, but normal. No more listing or swaying and his head tilt went away. He was still dragging his hind toes a little bit though. He was also able to drop his head to the ground and graze. I did pull out the water trough and flip it over and made him a table, but... they all came to eat! Doh!
That night when I went to mess with him, he tried to kick me repeatedly anytime I got near his hind end. What the heck Dan!? You're not a kicker! And he wasn't trying to get me, but he was making it VERY clear that he was NOT in the mood. He was snarly and clicking his teeth too. Ugh. Poor guy. He didn't eat all his food but he did eat his pred tablets with his grain. I checked on him a couple of times and he seemed to be about the same. I haven't seen him poop yet, but he ate, drank and ate hay. And I did see him pee. So hopefully he's not colicky! Although the kicking seemed to be more related to me. BUT... he did kick at his belly a few times and swish his tail, but it seemed more like an annoyance than specifically belly pain. I'm hoping he didn't aggravate (or worse) his stifle or his lower back.
So yeah...super scary! And traumatizing. I did manage to get a kiss at bed check... and basically sobbed into Fleck's neck. And Funny came up and was sniffing my tears and Lyric was snuggly too. Poor Dan just stood there glaring. But I get it buddy. You had a rough day too.
Grateful he's not still in Kentucky... awaiting surgery
Groomed him. No snarking on the left side.. but grumpy on the right side. Timing? Coincidence? Distracted? or... only right sided?
Sure foot pad trick... one foot at a time then walk off. Dr. Rachel's plan. Seemed to enjoy the hind foot much more than the front feet
pillar walk
straddle the pole.. back up while straddling
quick short lung. Trot right was sluggish and dragging. trot left was better but fatigued quickly
Handsome beast!
Trip to Rood and Riddle... t rex video funny
thunderstorms the last hour
neuro exam and lameness exam in the pouring rain: left hind tail pull weak, but otherwise fairly insignificant, not lame enough to block.. pretty sound. but very unhappy when flexing right stifle. Rads show no real changes . suggested injecting with steroids
fasted overnight. hangry in the am.
CT: Smart boy and woke up well. The slightest compression of the dura around the spinal cord at C6-C7 but *the* neck guy (dr. Reed) did not recommend surgery, at least at this time. Suggested injecting the neck. opted to wait and let dr. kate do it at home. since she was planning to do the nerve roots too. significant arthritic changes, but don't expect rapid deterioration to the point of decompensation quickly.
visited a few times. still angry about his supplements. they also aren't giving him his beet pulp i don't think. another caution sign
heading home tomorrow. plan to manage medically. Dr. kate at R&R said she thought I could expect a happy mid level working horse and we can always tweak a plan to get him there. SUPER awesome vet! Really love her and Dr. Reed. He's very optimistic.
Will start gaba and equiox again on sunday. add back in methocarb too. then inject. then acupuncture, bemer, back on track, maybe shockwave. NO TILDREN or OSPHOS!!!! (Funny video clip on facebook from dr. brambridge at rood and riddle before I even asked).
Meanwhile, tornado's near us at home but mike brought them all in and we fared well. no issues, still have power.
back home... fighting with funny.... flirting? Fighting?
Today was a long day! I got up at 5:30 to be able to go to Cleveland GA to get hay. But I saved $200. And now we've got a full hay closet again. So it was 1 pm by the time I got it all unloaded and got settled. I ate lunch and then grabbed Dan.
I had planned to do his homework and then ride Lyric at home. So I grabbed Dan and decided to try the sure foot pads with him. He kind of hung out on them but was pretty wiggly. I don't think he disliked them, but not sure he was really enjoying them. We'll try again. I also did a tiny bit of fascial work and then groomed him. He seemed less cranky for grooming, but.. it's hard to tell for sure as towards the end he was a bit more grumpy. So then I grabbed him to go do our homework but Kelli called and asked me to join her at Ashland. I debated and then figured I'd try, so I just did a quick session with Dan in the round pen. We did some pillar walks. And then I used my hay bag that Meg made me and we did slow walking. Then we did pillar 2 and 3. And then we did another bit of slow walking and then I turned him back out.
And it turns out... I was not able to get Lyric into the trailer in a timely manner, so I gave up and rode her at home. Of course Dan was a gentleman and headed up to the arena with us. He's her emotional support horse. :) And he gets bonus points today because he was happily grazing while Funny went rip roaring off and even Fleck was bouncy, which spooked Lyric!
Hang in there buddy... I'm doing my best big guy...
Danny was a cutie pie today. I think he was a bit worried/sad because I took Lyric somewhere today. And maybe the gabapentin and equiox is helping. He seemed pretty cheerful today.
I worked Funny first and he followed us out to the arena. Then I grabbed him and gave him a turn. We did our pillar walks and our slow walking. I did notice that while doing Pillar 3, he doesn't want to bend his neck to the right to open the left side. I could get him to do it but I had to be pretty adament about it. So.. interesting. Not sure if that means anything or not. So then I put the cavesson on and we did a tiny bit of trotting on the lunge. He was good! He is still coughing and this one had some nasal spray! Ewww
So... we've got an appt with Rood and Riddle... for next week. We'll go up Thursday and do a neuro exam (and hopefully a quick lameness exam) and then repeat rads. If nothing dicates otherwise, he'll have a CT on Friday the 13th! EEEKSSS. But maybe this will be good luck for Dan. I mean.... heathen. ;) So... I was feeling at peace about it and now I'm panicking again. There's just so much. He still can't canter on the right lead in the hind end.... is that because of spinal cord impingment? Because of some other lameness issue we've missed because we're focusing on the neck? Does he just need more time and rehab from his back injections? Then he's got the cough still... is it just allergies? Is it going to make him higher risk for anesthesia? Does he have pnuemonia or is a lung adhered to his ribcage?! What if it's ECVM? Sigh... And then... I'm panicking about how to pay for surgery... how to handle him for another month of stall rest.. how to handle him having to stay away for the first month of stall rest with no hand walking and no me. How will I handle it? I've basically not been apart from him for more than a week in 11 years! And do I have it in me to ride this roller coaster again? But what if I don't? What if I can't? That's not fair... and if not, what do we do? Will he fall apart quickly? He's not even hit his prime.
But... before I found out about our appointment timing... I grabbed him, fed him the last of his T-rex cookies and took him to the arena. We did our pillar work and he was a good boy. We did fast walks and slow walks. He's getting better at slow walks and they seem to be making him feel good. We did the pole. It took him two tries to get down the whole line but the third time he nailed it and even backed up a few steps and then forward again. We did some pillar 2 and 3. But he wouldn't smile pretty for the photos. ;) He wasn't actually that cranky for our work. He just wouldn't smile for the camera.
So now... now I just pray. I'm praying desperately that I hear Him and His guidance and heed His advice. I just want to make the right choice for Dan. I want to do God's will... and I realize that it may not necessarily be what I want. And I pray that I can actually hear Him and that He gives me guidance.
