Yesterday I got him out and we went for a very brief walk, then "worked" in the round pen. It wasn't really work. I asked him to do a little moving around in a circle on-line, then worked with handling his feet. He did great! He picked up his front feet like any horse would. Hind feet we're still working on, but we made progress there as well.
On another note, Pedro had a pretty painful lamimitis episode after I confined him for the leg injury. All I did was restrict his movement and give him more grass hay. Recipe for disaster, it turns out. He wasn't in the classic laminitic stance, and he didn't spend all his time lying down, but he was really hurting.
Now I'm soaking his hay (which is super fun in the winter), he has lots of soft bedding, and a higher dose of Bute. Oh, and a fair amount of magnesium. He seems fine now, when the ground isn't frozen.
I really do think he probably has cushings. I should start researching that again. It's been years since I knew anything much about it. I know the standard treatment is expensive and sometimes impossible to get, but there are other options... Hmmm...
Oh! And Friday morning, Bella had a spectacular lapse of good judgement. I would really like to know why. She went throught the fence and actually broke a t-post below the ground. I can't fathom why she would do that. She doesn't have any visible injuries although I'm sure she probably has some bruises I can't see. Luckily the boys didn't get out and I was still able to get to work before the clinic opened, if not as early as I like to get there.
Equines do keep life interesting. What would I do without them?
5 comments:
I think the price of compounded pergolide has come down considerably from what it used to be. It might be worth looking into for Pedro, it often helps a great deal.
That's good to know! Last time I looked into it for a client you couldn't even get it compounded, but that was some time ago.
That's good to know! Last time I looked into it for a client you couldn't even get it compounded, but that was some time ago.
Poor Pedro. I don't know anything about Laminitis. I've never dealt with it. Could something have gotten into your pasture and chased Bella?
I almost think it had to have been something like that. Cougar or wolves? Both live in this area, and a wolf pack was seen passing through not far from here last week. She wouldn't be that terrified of coyotes or moose. Or she slipped and fell right on the post? There were a lot of short, deep hoof prints in the mud, like a horse bucking or just dancing around, not running and sliding. I couldn't find any other animal tracks, but the horses had it so churned up that it was hard to tell. Scout has been extremely wound up lately, but neither of the boys has the authority to chase Bella around. I'm at a loss, but all seems to be well since then.
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