Trying Again With Bella

Yesterday I started Bella on a supplement that I've heard good things about, called Tight Joints Plus. I'm going to try a few other things as well, even though my usual plan is not to do too many things at once, so I know which thing worked, if any. But I guess I can eliminate a things later.

On my list of things to try is turmeric paste, vitamin C, and chia seeds or flax. I'd like to know more about Epsom salts for joint problems. And if nothing works, or if it kind of works but not completely, I'll take her to the vet who did her surgery and ask for more ideas. Maybe laser therapy?

Last night when I went to get her out for her evening supplement she and Scout were racing all over the place.  Love the thundering hooves! They sure do feel good in the cool fall weather. We went for a short walk in the semi-darkness, did a little grooming, and she got to have a nice little graze in the long grass.

Life Goes On

Thank you all for the kind thoughts. Things seem pretty normal already. Only a little sad bitterness left over. I knew what was coming for so long that I had mostly detatched myself from my beautiful Luc. It was worst when I looked at him, so apparently whole and growing into the gorgeous horse he was destined to be. And so adventurous. Damn that little navicular bone.

Back to the core group, just the two horses to feed, and the good old donkeys.

I haven't decided what to do for a riding horse. I could save up and buy a broke horse. I could adopt a colt from Bella and Scout's herd management area in a couple weeks if I can get my mustang pen rebuilt in time. Or I could once again try riding Bella. Maybe there is a supplement out there that would actually work. Turmeric? Maybe if I just get out and ride some trails I'll find she only stumbles on the flat (unlikely) or if I get her fit, maybe she'll be ok.

We took them out yesterday for a short ride/hike. John needs to start riding his horse so they''ll know each other well enough to be my babysitters when I start riding another horse. He finally settled on a pair of riding boots (he's hard to fit) so he should be good to go for lots of riding now.

Bella is pretty unflappable in the woods. :)

I like this pic of Scout from a ride last week:

I wasn't sure how he'd like the flapping orange flagging tape, but it was no biggie. And he actually looks kind of dapper in blaze orange, unlike the rest of us.

Bad News

Luc made his final trip to the vet yesterday and I came home alone. Bella is still looking for him. It breaks my heart.

Not really anything I can say to lighten the bad news. It is what it is. A damn shame. He would have been quite a horse.

Pictures of a nice ride

I just came to report that I haven't given up on Luc yet. And to share a few recent photos.

Zoom!

I rode through some bucking on this horse. He didn't mean anything by it. Isn't he adorable?

Luc is still here

Luc is still on corral rest. That's really all I have to say. I have consulted 6 vets (one is a farrier) and most of them say to put him down. Only the two at WSU didn't quite say it. We'll see. I've been sick over it. Then my friend lost her husband to brain cancer, and it put things into perspective. It could be a heck of a lot worse.

Second opinion

My first second opinion from a vet is that I should euthanize him. I'm still waiting for another call back, and keeping him on Bute and rest. No improvement yet. But he's so incredibly cute, staring at me all the time and whinnying. He's bored. He has Bella for company, but she's not super entertaining.

Lily went home.

Due to cell phone issues (hers, not mine) and out of date information on the microchip, it took over a week to finally find Lily's owner. I was so glad to see them reunited. Lily is a super sweet dog, but she was making my dogs sad - hogging the toys, laps, bed, and attention. Happy ending. :)

Good Luc, Bad News

Luc was a good boy for his lameness exam yesterday. He didn't really like being inside, but surprisingly he was more comfortable with lots of people around than when they left us just standing there. He wanted to follow. Herd mentality. :)

They put the sensors on him and trotted him around, then did the flex tests.

Then radiographs, where they found a damaged navicular bone. They called it "moderate" but it looks pretty bad to me. Probably due to trauma, like a puncture or hard concussion, maybe even as long ago as when he was a foal.

Some of these are the healthy right hoof, for comparison.

 To my untrained eye it looks like there's some coffin bone loss as well.

I am supposed to try resting him, but not in a stall, and Bute for 2 weeks. Then start considering other options. Shoes aren't going to help, since his hoof is already the shape they want to see. He's not a normal navicular case, as this isn't due to genetics or lifestyle.

 It isn't very promising for a horse his age who has never been worked. I'm going to get some other opinions as well.

Boat Dog & Lameness Exam

We went boating yesterday and Lily got to go along. She was very unsure about this rock. Silly girl.

She tired herself out trying to watch everything at once.

 But she had a very good time.

Today I take Luc to WSU for his lameness exam. I didn't end up doing much of the training I meant to do to prepare him. I think he'll do okay though. Wish us luck!

Found a Lily

On Monday John and I and Blue were headed for the mountains to go hiking. I wasn't paying attention and suddenly John hit the brakes really hard. Good thing his car's brakes don't lock up. There was a dog in the highway running straight toward us. We pulled over and I got out and called her, and she ran to me and rolled over on her back. Then she jumped right in the car and rode in my lap to a couple nearby houses. They weren't missing a dog. There aren't many houses out there, so we turned around and went home, then drove into town to check for a microchip.

I thought she might have a dislocated hip, but on closer inspection her knee was enlarged and the entire leg was very atrophied, so it wasn't something that needed emergency treatment on a holiday.

She did have a microchip, not registered to her owner, but to a shelter in Alaska. They were closed for the holiday. I didn't reach them until Wednesday. They told me her name is Lily and they left messages for the owner, but neither of us received a call back. So I think she's been dumped.

She looks bad.

When I started feeding her she got really sick. I switched to boiled chicken and rice but she still had diarrhea for 3 days. She's better now.

 I took her to the vet and it looks like her femur was broken just above the knee, but the knee works, and she does use the leg at a walk. The break is healed. So my plan is to walk her and keep her using that leg, and do some stretches. I think I already see improvement. I'll also start her on a joint supplement.

She gets along well with the other dogs. We may keep her. But 4 dogs in a tiny house...

Huck seems fine now

Thank goodness! I got a little panicky last night, but all is well now. I'll take extra special care of him for a while, just in case. It looks like it was a sore back, knee, and maybe some gas to make it all that much worse.

Huckleberry is Hurting

I don't know for sure, but I think he hurt his back. Could be digestive though. Wish us luck and health and no pain today. We didn't get much sleep last night. He was crying and shifting around a lot & I was worrying. At first I thought it was a torsion, but the vet said the symptoms weren't right. Thank goodness. I'll take him to work with me and make sure he's well taken care of.

Lameness Training

Luc's lameness is just getting worse, and I have finally saved enough pennies to get started with a lameness exam, so I called to schedule it yesterday. I'm going to take him to the WSU vet hospital even though I hate the place, because they have the best diagnostic equipment and some darn good lameness vets. The price quote was $300 to $600. That's a pretty big range. I get it - they don't know if we'll be doing radiographs, ultrasound, nerve blocks, etc., so I guess they can't narrow it down. But still, I can't spend as much as they might want me to. WSU is notorious for wanting to do EVERYTHING, and not realizing people have limits.

I have a couple weeks to prepare, so we will be working on mastering the things we need to know to actually do the lameness exam. Trotting off from a standstill, trailer loading, very limited round pen work. How the heck do you train them to keep their foot down once you've trained them really well to pick it up? I think I need two very separate, very distinct cues. That will probably be our hardest task. And I will poke him like they will when doing nerve blocks, although not with a needle of course. I suppose I should introduce him to clippers too, and ask him to stand still with his hoof on a block.

Can you think of anything else he needs to know?

I think I'll spend today going through my unwanted tack and other junk. Maybe I can raise some more funds for him. :)

Oh, and Bob still loves his Chaffhaye!

The Moon of Making Fat

In one of my all-time favorite books, Where Rivers Change Direction, the author tells about how the Native Americans in his area call this time of year "the moon of making fat." It's time to harvest and put up food for winter, and of course eat a lot and put on some personal reserves. :)

The smoke has been so bad that it's hard to do anything outside, so I've been playing in the kitchen.

I got some raw milk from one of my co-workers. Look at all that cream! You can see the line if you look closely.

After the cream was skimmed off:

 You can do so many things with raw milk! I'm starting with an experiment, trying to make cream cheese with kefir as the starter. I wasn't sure if store bought buttermilk had any live cultures, and of course I didn't have mesophilic starter on hand. So we'll see. It ought to make something edible.

I've also been making dill pickles, pickled garlic, zucchini bread and frozen zucchini for bread later, lots and lots of elderberry syrup, with lots more elderberries to separate from their stems and freeze for later. Hmm. What else? Going to make sauerkraut soon, and planning on getting some beets to pickle, and maybe starting some kombucha. Yummm.

As for the equines, they're already fat. Except for Bob. I am trying out a product called Chaffhaye, which is baleage in small bales, as far as I can tell. It's fermented alfalfa, so it smells wonderful. Even the dogs want to eat it. Bob loves it, and so far will not let Pedro steal it. I hope he keeps it up so I don't have to separate them.

We finally had rain yesterday! The air is clear of smoke and it smells wonderful. We're going to go hiking today, even if it is supposed to rain again. Bring it on! I thought about taking Scout and riding, but it looks like he just popped a hoof abscess, so I'll leave him be.