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Kellie Auld, Her Mare Little Girl, and Lameness

May 28, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Kellie Auld, Her Mare, Little Girl, and Lameness

I’ve been asking you to share your stories about making medical decisions with your horses. Kellie Auld from California sent me this email of a story she wanted to share about her mare, Little Girl.

Kellie bought Little Girl as a 2-year-old. Her registered name is Skip to My Leaguer. Together they went all over California competing in little shows and eventing.

The Big Scare

Kellie and Little Girl had a good relationship. When Little Girl was 11, the two took part in an eventing clinic at their boarding stable. Little Girl had worked hard during the clinic and Kellie wanted to get her out for a hand-walk on the trail the next day to stretch her legs. This was a trail they had been on many times. Both of them knew about the free range peacocks living in the area. About 1/2 mile down the trail they ran into a male “paint” peacock. A big blue-and-white peacock. This was a first.

Little Girl is a high-energy horse, and she went into survival mode. Kellie had to hang on to the lead rope while trying to disengage her horse. The ground was hard, rocky, and uneven. They had only walked out about 10 minutes when this happened, but they took nearly 30 minutes to get back. So much for a relaxing walk. They both came back in a sweat. Poor Little Girl was lathered up.

The Diagnosis

Little Girl had a compound fracture in her right hind splint bone and had bruises on all 4 feet despite being shod and wearing protective boots. She was lame all the way around. X-rays and ultrasounds on all four feet showed nothing other than the fracture. The vet prescribed a month of stall rest followed by a month of hand walking. Little Girl finally got turned out for some light trotting. Ice treatments, poultices, DMSO, and water treatments usually followed.

Her splint calcified and resolved and her feet returned to their natural state. Finally, the vets gave the okay for tack-walking and lunge-line work. She was not back to 100%, so Kellie took it slow. Little Girl looked good except for the right front lameness. Six months and two follow-up vet exams passed and still there was no improvement. The vet advised Kellie to stay consistent with her exercise. Don’t increase the workload.

After another month, the lameness worsened. Kellie sought a second opinion. Of course, it was another thorough exam involving x-rays, blocking, and everything that goes with it. This vet said the only way to see what was really going on was with an MRI. Without insurance, it would have to come out of Kellie’s pocket.

About this time, Kellie got another job and moved. The move put her closer to a well-known equine podiatrist and lameness specialist with a standing MRI. The cost of the MRI was $2700, but Kellie had to know what was going on with Little Girl. She put everything on credit cards that were already under the strain of the first rounds of vet exams.

The Decision to Get the MRI

It was a full year after the initial injury that Kellie finally got an answer through the MRI. In all the commotion and chaos with the peacocks, Little Girl had come down so hard on that right front hoof she had internally lacerated her deep digital flexor tendon with her navicular bone. She had slightly chipped her navicular and bruised her bursa. This diagnosis meant stall rest for 6 months (no hand walking) and then light hand walking and stall rest for another 6 months. Telling a fit, high energy 12-year-old they have to stay locked up and can’t go outside was an extreme challenge.

Little Girl Today

Little Girl is now 15 and Kellie faces a tough decision. She has done everything the vets prescribed. Three different farriers and special shoes haven’t made the difference she hoped for. Does she retire Little Girl from riding for good? While Kellie would be okay if Little Girl spent the rest of her life with light trail riding and groundwork, the pain is clear even in those activities.

In Kellie’s words, “I am heartbroken for my own selfish reasons for I put money and time into 4 vets, thousands of dollars (I really don’t have). Now my horse tells me she wants to keep riding and having fun, but she just can’t. I feel for everyone who has to battle with lameness. There is no right answer sometimes. There is just us doing the best we can at the moment. Little Girl is happy, loving, and sound enough to be a pasture pony now. The day may come when she is not. We will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I love on her and let her be, even though when I go out there she still wants to play games. She doesn’t understand why we don’t go for trail rides, because she likes them just as much as me, if not more.”

Join Us on this Journey

I’m not the best community builder. I will need your help for that. I’m not the best at conversation. Let’s change it up together. I hope you will join me.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #144

Support the Whoa Podcast with this Amazon Link.

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The Medicine Bucket

May 24, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

The Medicine Bucket

We have three horses. Occasionally, they have to take medicine by mouth. Sometimes that medicine is bitter. That’s where the medicine bucket come in handy.

One supplement we regularly give our horses is a mineral product designed to fill in the deficiencies of the alfalfa hay grown in our area. Our vet recommends it. Each horse gets 2 cups a day in pellet form mixed with a bit of water to soften it up. The minerals are not overwhelming. The consistency is like straight alfalfa pellets. All three horses enjoy getting it in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, when I am mixing up the medicine buckets, they hear me stirring the mixture and nicker.

Different Horses, Different Reactions

Scratch, the mustang, had to learn about the medicine bucket. Being out in the wild, he had no knowledge a bucket of goodies existed. He learned quickly. If there is a flake of alfalfa in his stall and the bucket on the fence, Scratch will start with the alfalfa. If I add medicine to the bucket, I better add some sugar or salt to improve the flavor, or he will ignore it.

Dusty is the most skeptical. If there is a hint of anything else in his bucket, he’ll hold out for his alfalfa. Bute, an anti-inflammatory, must taste bitter. For dusty, I have to start off with a low dose and gradually work my way up to the prescribed dose. He is the toughest of the three.

Jessie is the easiest. She lives for food. Jessie doesn’t think of treats as treats, she believes them to be essential. And necessary to her survival. And she better get them every day or she has a tantrum. Yeah, I spoil her. But, giving her medicine is a snap. If a medication is extremely bitter, adding a tablespoon of sugar is all that is necessary.

I made a short video of my bucket procedure with jessie. You can watch it below.

Colic Surgery Decision with Listener Alyssa Severeid

May 14, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Decision to Have Colic Surgery

Hearing the words colic, navicular, founder, or strangles strike fear into every horse owner. Colic happens when a horse’s intestinal tract gets blocked. In most cases a vet can open/dissolve/remove the blockage with a variety of different techniques. When those fail however, one of the few remaining solutions is colic surgery. Alyssa Severeid had to make the tough decision about whether to have the vet perform colic surgery on her horse. The surgery is expensive. Little did Alyssa know the decision wasn’t just about the surgery. The after care was not only hard on her physically, but emotionally. What would you have done in her shoes? After you hear her story, would you still do the same thing?

About Alyssa

Alyssa`s horse during surgery.

While we have never met in person, Alyssa and I have known each other through our podcasts. She produced and hosted the Earn Your Spurs podcast and She Rides to Win podcast. From Montana, Alyssa grew up around horses. Her father is a respected trainer. She knows horses and gives us insights about her horse and his situation you won’t find elsewhere. Our interview gets emotional. It’s easy to see how much this horse meant to Alyssa and why it was important to move forward with the surgery.

YouTube videos of Colic Surgery

This video is short and concise.

This one is a little longer, slower in parts, but more recent.

Join Us on this Journey

I’m not the best community builder. I will need your help for that. I’m not the best at conversation. Let’s change it up together. I hope you will join me.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #142

Support the Whoa Podcast with this Amazon Link.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Lameness and My Mare Jessie

May 7, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Lameness and My Mare Jessie

The topic is: How do YOU decide medical issues involving your horse. How much weight do you place on quality of life issues? How much do you place on usability of your horse? And, finally, how much weight do you place on the cost of evaluation and treatment?

I want you to tell me about your stories and situations, so here is my story. My Foundation Quarter Horse mare Jessie means everything. I got her in 2007, when I was 53. She was 7 years old, had 90 days of professional training put on her, and had had 2 foals. She was and is a perfect fit.

My Learning Curve

We spent our first 3 years working through the Downunder Horsemanship Beginner and Intermediate Series (Riding with Confidence and Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground back then). With Clinton’s help, I learned most of what I know about horsemanship on Jessie. We competed in trail classes and team sorting. We rode everywhere, and she was a rock star. She is strong-willed, but I always felt safe on her. One key moment with Jessie I remember happened in the saddle. We were loping over some uneven ground and I lost my balance and was way off to one side. I felt her kind of dip down and move underneath me to keep the situation from getting worse. She picked me up, and it’s a moment in horsemanship I will not forget.

Medical Issues

My logbook entry.

On one of our rides she stepped into a gopher hole and bumped her shoulder. She limped for about a month, but finally improved and we were riding again. I keep a diary or logbook of sorts for the horses and there is an entry in March 2014 of a “sign of limp @ trot in right front. Not severe.” In April I noted a right rear lameness, and by May there were no more notations.

My next entry (for lameness) was in February 2016. On one of our regular rides on the Kern River we stopped at a local bar for a beer and burger. It was about a 3-mile ride out. After standing tied while we ate, we got mounted for the ride home and Jessie was noticeably limping. The limp got worse, and I gave her Bute as an anti-inflammatory. After talking with the farrier, we thought she might have a sole bruise. I applied a sole toughener product to her hooves.

While things improved, she continued with occasional lameness. In April 2016, a vet evaluated her situation. Ultrasound, nerve blocking, and x-rays offered no definitive diagnosis. The next level of testing was an MRI at a cost of about $2,000. There was no guarantee it would determine exactly what was going on either. I declined the additional testing. The vet recommended modified shoes, Prevocox, and stall rest. Jessie has never worn shoes and I didn’t take the shoeing recommendation either. The cost of this exam was around $500.

Swim Therapy

There is a place here in Bakersfield, Equine Spa & Wellness Center, that uses swim therapy. I had tried to do a podcast with Mia the owner, but I botched the audio and we never got back together. Then, she sent me a promotional email about a summer special – a month of swimming for $700. We had two trips planned for late June and early July. This would be the perfect time to send Jessie to therapy.

They started her off with one minute walking on the first day. By the end of the month she was trotting underwater for 15 minutes. She also was on the hot-walker and another device, the Equi-vibe (I think).

Anyway, by the time we got back, she was in great shape. There was no noticeable limp or any sign of lameness. I took her on a trail ride in the nearby mountains and she went up and down the grades like a billy goat.

Lameness Returns

After a wet winter, a friend invited us to ride the foothills near her home. It was January 2019, and a group of us set off and rode for about 2 hours. It was the first ride Jessie had had in at least a month. Problems showed up after the first hour and got worse on our way back to the ranch. She was quite sore the next day.

Over the next few months she would get better, then relapse. We walked on most of our rides and never far at that. The limp continued. Sometimes I saw it on the right. Sometimes I saw it on the left. Finally, realizing it wasn’t getting better, I tried another vet.

Another Evaluation

It was a carbon copy of the what the first vet had done 3 years earlier. First, try to identify the lameness. Then, block the spot he thinks was lame. Here, it was the left front. Once numb, Jessie showed lameness in her right front. Then there were x-rays that showed healthy navicular bones. After two hours of examination, The vet said the same as the first. It looked like navicular, but wasn’t. However, he would treat it like it was. We would use the egg-butt shoes, and Bute. Only instead of stall rest, his suggestion was to work her.

This made sense. When I looked back over my notes, I noticed all of her lameness episodes showed up early in the year after a layoff. The work Jessie did at Equine Spa was low-impact but intense. She got conditioned and improved.

Results

So far it is too early to tell. The special shoes with the gel insoles were $165. I purchased 200 grams of Bute for about $100. The second vet exam was $1,000, but included vaccinations for all of our horses.

The Bute has made her visibly more comfortable and I am happy about that. We get to ride at least 4 times a week. Jessie was clumsy on the new shoes at first. They really change the angle of her feet. She’s getting better. More importantly, I am doing something instead of nothing, and I am getting to ride her again. And I get comfort in both of those things.

Join Us on this Journey

I’m not the best community builder. I will need your help for that. I’m not the best at conversation. Let’s change it up together. I hope you will join me.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #141

Support the Whoa Podcast with this Amazon Link.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Horse-keeping in the Wet Weather

February 26, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Horse-keeping in the Wet Weather

I like to think I am better at horse-keeping than this, but gosh, I feel terrible. The horses’ pens are a soupy mess! And, they’ve been that way for some time now. The poor guys (and gal) have to slide around in sloppy muck and mud. What do you do this time of year when the rain overwhelms your facility?

We have three horses on our half-acre parcel. Our home takes up a quarter, the horses’ pens take up a third, and the remainder is lawn, hay storage, and garden. We’ve been out here for nearly 40 years and our horses have been on the property most of that time. Their hooves have packed down the ground so it’s not only lower than the surrounding area, it is as hard as concrete. When it rains, it acts like a bowl and fills with water. If the rain comes hard and fast, I can pump it out with my submersible pump. But, when it rains over an extended period like it has the last month, it’s too soupy to pump.

Several years ago, I brought in some decomposed granite to raise some of the areas. It was a difficult maneuver as the delivery person had to negotiate our septic tank and leach line. That helped. Dusty has a space in his pen that is a bit more elevated than the others and he has a dry spot. The other two do not. Then, I learned that decomposed granite isn’t the best. The stone pieces have sharp edges that can put micro-cuts into the horse skin when they lay down. But sand isn’t good either for obvious reasons. So, what do you use?

How to Make a Mare Cranky

I’ve come to learn that there is nothing more that can make my mare cranky than standing in a muddy pen. While we are in this predicament, I am much more generous with the food. We’ve taken to feeding the horses smaller flakes four times a day. That seems to help some…but, with the weather being, well, wet…we haven’t been able to ride much. They are taking in all this energy and not getting to use it. Somehow this seems to me to be a recipe for disaster.

I’d like to let them out on our grassy area, but it is too wet. If history is any indication, they will run around and tear this part of our yard up making it useless for the spring ahead. For now, it’s a situation for sitting tight and hope the rain stops.

Summer will be here soon enough.