Monday, March 07, 2011

I wonder if Tonka has ulcers! Actually, I've always thought it wasn't unlikely, but I never really sat down and thought hard about it. Never considered having him checked or treated. A lot of the symptoms that I see in him that I thought were due to EPSM could be from ulcers. I'm waiting for a call back from my vet to schedule an appointment to start diagnostics. I'm not sure whether my vet can scope him or not. He may not even think it's necessary but I'm trying to think ahead. I do not like to take horses to WSU so I'm hoping Dr. Rustebakke in Clarkston can do it if my vet can't. I'm excited to maybe get some answers.

In other news, Tonka ripped his blanket already. I spent a lot of time yesterday fixing it. He must have gotten a leg caught and he ripped off some of the nylon webbing. My daughter's sewing machine just couldn't fix that so i did bit by hand, and added some fabric glue for good measure. Then I made sure to tighten up those straps. So far so good.

He is being a very energetic pill the last couple days. Spicy, would be one way to put it. But the weather is just right for that sort of behavior and I have been feeding him extra alfalfa mix, so I'm not going to hold it against him. I'm also not going to hop on for a bareback ride. :)

I spent a lot of time with Soxy yesterday, detangling her tail and brushing, brushing, brushing her shedding coat. She's going to get lots of attention and grooming for the next couple weeks. Toward the end of the month she gets to be the center of attention at my son's school. His class is doing an expedition about the Nez Perce war, and I volunteered her to visit the kids while we talk about the importance of the horse, and the appaloosa in particular, during that time. What fun! I bet those kids will never forget the day a horse came to school. That's how learning should be done. They will have already been to the Appaloosa Museum so I'm hoping to take up a lot of time listening to what they already know about the appaloosa horse and its role in the life of the tribe, the conflict, and long retreat of Chief Joseph and his people.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You could just try treating him as a test and see what happens, without scoping. A test with some Maalox is possible, or starting him on some U-Gard. The full-blown treatment with the prescription meds is very expensive, but if the ulcers aren't too bad that may not be necessary.

Keechy said...

My sister just went ahead and treated her OTTB for ulcers and it did him the world of good. She figured that with his past, combined with his symptoms, it was a no-brainer that he had them, and the vet agreed and let her have the treatment without scoping him. :)

Unknown said...

I had a mare here for awhile that was a cribber. Supposedly they crib because of ulcers. We put her on U-Gard and it helped her a lot.

Andrea -Mustang Saga said...

I am hoping that we can try treatment with no scope, but I am willing to do the scope if we need to. I'm thinking my vet will want to try treatment first, if he agrees that it sounds like ulcers.

I've had good luck with U-Gard in the past too. I figure that's what I'll get unless my vet says different.

I couldn't get an appointment that worked for both me and my vet until Thursday. :( I'm impatient. Which is kind of dumb, considering there's nothing to be in a hurry about. He's in the same shape he's been in for months, if not years...

Linda said...

Hope you find an answer--I've never dealt with ulcers.

Nifty Thrifty Me! said...

Did you have success with treatment? I am new to Mustangs having recently acquired a 10 year old Kiger. I am told it is unlikely he has one but am told by another his behavior could be a result of. I have started him on a regime to treat and am seeing markedly improved behavior after four days.