Post Season Slump

 With summer show season over, and Oregon hitting our hottest part of the year in late August-mid September, we had a bit of a summer slump. While at Tbird Cinder lost some weight, but Trainer M was on it and we upped her feed at the show and at home. She did gain some of the weight back, but then we had a week or so of ungodly (for Oregon, I know it was nothing compared to the east coast) hot and humid weather and she dropped weight again. She's always been a horse who doesn't handle the heat very well, so I wasn't too worried about it. 

I rode one of the lesson horses on a hot and humid day to give Cin a break and almost fell off laughing at how different 15hand grade pinto Delta is from Cinder. I did have a lot of fun though.

But Cinder never seemed to put the weight back on, and started looking a bit too thin, even when the weather sorted itself out and fall started to make it's appearance. She did have a minor gas colic three weeks ago when we had a string of a few days with lows in the high 40s/low 50s and daytime highs in the high 80s/low 90s. While Doc was at the barn treating her, we were talking about Cin's weight and general body condition. I told Doc I didn't want to be that person, but I was suspecting she had ulcers. With how wound up she was at Tbird, the weight loss and poor condition, and how she seemed to be struggling a bit after we got back made me suspicious. Doc agreed with me and we scheduled Cin for a scope. 

We did have one fabulous lesson mixed in there where we jumped the triple

And what do you know, we have ulcers! There were grade 3 and 4 gastric ulcers and suspected pyloric ulcers, but we weren't able to get a good look at them because Cinder still had some water in her stomach. We're starting with omeprazole, and might add some sulcralfate in at the end of the omeprazole treatment. 

I dogsat for my parents last month and their new dog Rosie was absolutely enchanted by the horses. Peebs was a Very Good Boy about her yipping and squealing as she tried to get near him

Cinder started her treatment over the weekend and I got a report that she was lovely for her trainer ride yesterday. Finger's crossed we continue on an upward trend and can get these ulcers under control before we hit the depths of winter and cold weather Cinder makes her appearance. 

Cinder vs the Hospital

 Last Thursday I got a text around noon from Trainer M that Cin was a little colicky. She hadn't eaten all of her breakfast and wasn't touching her lunch alfalfa. They gave her banamine and were watching her. I got up there around 3, and took her out for a walk and she finally passed some manure. A pic was sent off to the vet, and because Cinder hadn't had anything to drink since that morning, we made some soupy mash for her per the vet. She drank some, but as the hours went on, not enough, and the vet came out around 7:30. All vitals were good, and gut sounds mostly normal, but she was starting to get a bit dehydrated so she was given electrolyte paste and walked some more. She ended up downing about five gallons of soupy mash and seemed to be getting better. 

Around 9:00pm she got very uncomfortable, very quickly. The vet was still there, and a quick listen indicated no gut sounds. We discussed sedating her and doing a rectal, but then Cinder tried to go down, and we decided to send her to the vet school. Trainer M quickly hooked up a trailer, and off we went. 

At the hospital, they were able to feel a small colon impaction, but felt that we had caught it quickly and they believed she could pass it without surgery. She did have a slight fever upon arrival, but they put her in a regular stall and got her hooked up to IV fluids. I left around 1am on Friday, after giving the ok for surgery, if she needed it. I got about 3hrs of sleep before heading off to work, which is on the same campus and the same street as the vet school. I got a call from vet school around 10:30 saying she hadn't passed any manure, and her fever had gotten slightly higher, and they were worried about a possible salmonella infection. 

I got off work at noon, and was able to have a quick visit with Cin. They had moved her to an isolation stall, but she had passed three piles of manure and was obviously very pissed and hungry. Fecal PCR tests had been sent off, and I was told we'd have results in 24hrs.

I didn't hear anything else till 10ish on Saturday morning. Cinder had pooped a little bit more, and had started getting some soupy mash, much to her delight. She did attempt homicide on the vet students, so I assumed she was feeling much better. I was then told that we wouldn't have the fecal PCR tests till Monday, but as her fever had broken and she seemed much better, they weren't as worried about a salmonella infection as they had previously. They were going to slowly start refeeding her, and if all went well, I could take her home Monday.

 

in her isolation stall 

I got a quick update on Sunday morning, mainly that she was very hungry, eating and pooping well. She did have some swelling at her IV site, so they pulled the IV. The vet said she was a little worried that Cin might have developed a blood clot, so they were going to ultrasound the area to check. But we were still on track for a Monday afternoon discharge. 

Since I had been getting updates around 10am everyday, I eagerly awaited my update Monday morning. At noon, when I hadn't heard anything, I called and was told there were numerous emergencies and I would get a call back within the hour. At 2pm, when I still hadn't heard anything, I called again. I was told I'd get a call back in 10-15mins. At 2:45 as I was dialing the phone, I finally got my call back. They had just finished the ultrasound on her neck, 28hrs after they said they were going to do it. Thankfully, there was no sign of a clot, but there was a lot of inflammation. The vet was more worried now about an abscess forming. They had sedated her, so I needed to wait a few hours for her to wake up before taking her home. The vet also suggested that it might be good for her to stay so they could monitor the IV site, and since it would be late by the time she'd be awake enough for me to take home, I agreed to leave her for one more night. At least the preliminary fecal sample had come back negative for salmonella.

So of course, in my morning update phone call, Cinder has spiked a 102 temp and has the beginnings of an abscess in her neck. They started her on antibiotics, and FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, she can come home tomorrow. She's totally over the colic at this point, and I'd rather treat her at home for the abscess than leave her there any longer. I'm really upset about the lack of communication, and the lackluster care Cinder has received. Why did it take them 28hrs to ultrasound my horse to check for a blood clot in her vein? Why, when the horse was supposed to be discharged at 3pm, was no one calling to tell me that that wouldn't be possible until 2:45pm?  I'm 100% sure that we can manage the abscess at home, and she's going to be so much happier. 

December Photo Dump

 Since I’m behind in blogging, I figured I’ll just speak through photos instead of trying to get everything down. And hopefully the formatting works; I’m stuck in an airport typing this on my tablet. 

While we had some good rides at the beginning of the month, the cold weather plus a full and busy barn (IL had been at shows for 7wks and everyone is finally home again so the barn is BUSY), Cinder got a little amped and we’ve had some tense rides. A is also pushing us in the flat work and man is real dressage work hard. 

Cinder was a very good girl for A and went in the water jump with zero hesitation after not seeing it for months. She also isn’t phased by the vineyard getting installed on the big hill.

I audited an Anne Kursinski clinic and it was awesome. She’s a very old school type clinician and I was glad I wasn’t riding in it. I did get a few great takeaways (count out loud to your jump from farther away than you think and proper flat work is key). 

Cinder had a gas colic and while she seemed to come out of it well, I wanted to hang around the barn till we had poop. Trainer A offered me the ride on Sal while I was waiting. He’s a 21yr old, ex-1.45m jumper who was a stud till he was 19. He’s been teaching beginners how to jump for the past few years. He is so much fun! It felt weird riding a horse that isn’t mine, but he’s so well schooled it was great to just focus on myself for once. His owner has offered A a breeding to him so we’ll have a Sal baby to play with next year!

Two days after her colic, the temps dropped into the single digits and Cin’s barn saw snow and ice. Horses stayed in for three days, getting some arena turnout time. By Christmas (the fourth day) it was almost 60 and the ponies were psycho. I lunged Cin on Christmas and rode the next day where she proceeded to spook at the tree that’s been in the viewing room for weeks. We did lots of circles and transitions but she was still convinced the grinch was out to get her. 

We started 2023 by having a fantastic ride where she was soft, listening, and just over all really fun. We had the barn to ourselves and I think the quiet atmosphere really helped. We had a lesson the next day and while the barn was relatively quiet, both of us were more tense. It didn’t help that A really asked a lot of us in the lesson and I let my frustration at not being able to get what she wanted show. I know progress isn’t linear and that Cin is only 5 and has had an easy few weeks, but sometimes when you’re in the middle of that slough it’s hard to remember. Here’s hoping for more consistent good rides as we head into Cinder’s six year old year!

Oy vey

I don't know how else to say it, but fuck 2020. The last month has been one thing after another, if not on top of each other. 

 

So three weeks ago, after getting home from work one night, I noticed my 14yr old cat Eddie was weak and wobbly, losing control of his hind end. He was very painful when you tried to pick him up, or touch his hips/tail.  He was also reluctant to eat, which for Ed was a big red flag. He was always up for some wet food. I took him into the emergency vet and his xrays showed no acute injury. He had some arthritis, but nothing out of the ordinary for an older, active cat. His blood work was normal. I was supposed to leave the next day to help my parents drive up from San Diego, and because Ed was so painful, I decided to keep him at the clinic while I was gone. 

I got good reports while I was gone, and picked him up on a Sunday afternoon. He came home with some strong pain meds and was doing ok till the last dose of meds wore off. Then he was worse than he originally was. He was crouched on his front legs, with his hind legs collapsed under him. He could barley move. I called the clinic for his final appointment. KP, Cinder's breeder, is a vet at this clinic and did the euthanasia for me. We sat and talked for a while about Eddie and Cinder and it was nice having a friendly face there. 

Six days later I got a text from the barn that Peebs was colicky. Again. A month after his first colic of 2020. I left work, called my mom, called the vet, and immediately dosed Peebs with banamine once I got to the barn. By the time the vet got there, Peebs was much more normal and was eating the small amount of hay I gave him. Dr. W checked him out and declared this was a gas colic, as opposed to the impaction he had last month. We pulled blood as precaution, and talked a lot about some feeding changes for Peebs. 

The hay TCF feeds is a local grass mix, mostly orchard and fescue. Vet thought the orchard grass might be irritating Peebs since it's a physically rough hay.  I went out and bought Peebs half a ton of timothy hay. Peebs also started getting Purina Outlast. He's not normally what I would think of as an ulcer prone horse, but it couldn't hurt. Finally, he started Assure Guard Gold on my vet's recommendation. I had to order it, so he started on it yesterday. 

We did have the conversation that Pebs could potentially have a lipoma causing issues, but nothing serious enough yet to warrant surgery.  But it's something we need to think about. I was convinced for about a week that Peebs would be on the operating table by the end of 2020, but that's lessened somewhat. 

She's 16.3 at the withers and is currently butt high and dropped weight

And to top it all off, Peebs has been NQR under saddle. We've had some good work to the right, but tracking left he's very stiff and unwilling to bend. I had my trainer out for a lesson/to get eyes on him and she agreed it's nothing I'm doing, or not doing, but he's very stiff. I had the chiropractic vet out last night and she said he feels great and is in good muscle condition following our rehab from the wildfire smoke. I think his issue is that he needs his stifles injected again, as his left stifle is worse and that's the leg he's unwilling to bring under himself. So I'll have our regular vet out again for a lameness exam/injections. 

And in case I haven't had enough vet bills in the last 6wks, my other cat Luna goes in next week to have two teeth extracted. Cinder is my only animal to not have any vet bills and I told her she needs to keep it that way. Despite continuing to grow when I told her not too, she's the current favorite animal in my household.

Not Even Surprised Anymore

 What would 2020 be without a colic scare? Because at this point I've accepted that anything can and will happen.

 

From my vet's office on bringing back horses from wildfire smoke

 So last Thursday we got thunderstorms. We desperately needed the rain, and it helped clear out the wildfire smoke so we can start rehabbing, but we also got a shit ton of thunder and lightning. Like almost nonstop for close to an hour around 1am on Friday morning. It also rained off and on for most of Friday. At TCF the ponies were still turned out and we brought them in Friday night around 5. Peebs was tucked into his stall with freshly cleaned and filled water buckets, hay, and his hay pellet grain.

A's mom called me around 9:30 Saturday morning saying she had turned Peebs back out at 8 with his hay and grain in his paddock but he hadn't eaten anything and was down. Peebs is a vacuum and him not eating is a big sign. I ran out to the barn, gave him banamine, called my vet, and brought him back inside so we could monitor him a little better.  When I brought him in, I noticed his water buckets were still full. He hadn't had anything to drink from 5pm Friday night to 8am Saturday morning when he drank from the paddock trough. We were obviously dealing with some dehydration and impaction. 

Vet gave me the ok to hand walk/graze him and offer small amounts of soaked hay. Peebs did eat and around 2:30 passed some normal looking poop. But around 6:30 he went down again. At first I wasn't too worried since it looked like he took a 20min power nap, but then he sat up, started biting at his stomach and rolled twice. Called vet again and was told to take him into the hospital. As I was hooking up the trailer, he did pass a little more manure but I had already called and told the hospital we were coming, so off we went. 

Once again, I had to hand him off to a tech and sit in my truck waiting to hear from the vet. About an hour and a half later the vet walked out to talk to me. Back in May the vet called me from inside the hospital to talk about Peebs, so this time I was sure he had died and she didn't want to deliver the news over the phone. But it turns out this vet has much better bedside truckside manners than the one we saw in May. Peebs wasn't showing any symptoms, his vitals and blood work were all normal, and she couldn't feel anything other than some soft manure on the rectal exam. Most likely, the poop he passed right before heading off to the hospital was the impaction. They did tube him with some water and Epsom salts and they did want to keep him overnight to observe him. I was more than fine with that, since I probably would have been sleeping in the tack room if I took him back to barn.

Getting sprung from the joint

They called me at 10 on Sunday  morning to report that Peebs had passed a bunch of manure during the night, and was happily eating hay. Their protocol is to keep them for 24hrs for observation so I could pick him up between 6-7 that night. Peebs was very happy when they walked him out of the hospital and jumped right into the trailer to go home. I turned him back out in his paddock since I didn't want to chance him not drinking if he was inside. He ate dinner Sunday night and both meals yesterday completely normally so *knock wood* he's in the clear. We do have an appointment Friday for his fall shots and I'm going to ask my vet to do a quick basic exam on him just for my sanity.

Heartsick to Actually Sick

When we left off Peebs had been slightly off his grain after moving barns. Otherwise he was his normal Peebers self. Last Wednesday I got a text around 3pm saying he hadn't eaten any of his breakfast, hay or grain, hadn't drunk anything, had one tiny pile of poop and no pee in his stall. Well shit.

I blasted out of work and made the 10 minute drive to the barn in 7 minutes.  When I got there Peebs was just hanging out in the corner, not looking sick at all, just a little depressed. I did call the vet and talked to him and he suggested a dose of banamine, hand walking/grazing, and seeing what he was like in an hour.  Thank god I had brought my bute and banamine with me from TCF to GS when I moved Peebs! I medicated him and off we went for a walk around the hay field.

Peebs did graze a bit, then pooped and peed. I let him dictate where we wandered and he went into one of the empty paddocks and drank a bunch from the trough. At the end of the hour he was not quite his normal self, but looked much better. He still had no interest in the grass hay in his stall, but GS also feeds orchard grass so I gave him a little of that. He ate that right up so I asked the BO to switch him to that. Peebs is the easiest of easy keepers so he doesn't need the orchard, but he needs to eat, so for now he can eat what he wants. I also tossed a bunch of salt on the hay to encourage him to drink.

Feeling much better

I checked on him before work on Thursday morning and he had a couple of cow patty poops in his stall. But I knew part of that was the abrupt switch from plain grass to the orchard. He was happily munching his new breakfast and while he hadn't had as much to drink as I would have liked, he did drink overnight.  I tossed more salt onto his hay and went to work.

I was supposed to haul out to TCF on Thursday afternoon for a lesson, but I cancelled it. I wanted to give Peebs a couple days to recover and not stress him out. I know horses don't think this way, but it seemed cruel to haul him over to his old home and then back to GS when he doesn't want to be there. Like, hey you're going back to the place you love, just kidding! Thankfully Peebs has seemed much more normal this weekend and we might try hauling out for lessons soon.

Friday Night Fun

Mother Nature decided to start summer early this weekend in Oregon. It went from mid60s last week to 99 over the weekend. Friday was forecast for close to 90, and I had a half day at work so I got to the barn just before noon to ride.

So hot, much tired

I had switched Peebs back to a plain snaffle like the awful clinician suggested to see how he was, and while I like the bit for flat work I need more brakes jumping. I wouldn't say he was bad, just forward and he tended to pick distances instead of listening to my half halts. We didn't ride super long since it was already getting hot and I hosed him down and put him away. 

I went home and passed out took a 3hr nap, rolled out of bed, and headed out to feed dinner. When I got there I chatted with one of the other boarders for a few mins and thought it odd that Peebs didn't whinny for me. Normally if I don't say hi to him and give him a cookie when I get to the barn he'll call for me. 

I got his hay and grain made and ambled down the aisle. He didn't poke his head over his door and was hanging out at the back of his stall. I fed and watched him thinking something wasn't right. He nosed the hay and took the tiniest bite of grain ever. He usually attacks his grain with great gusto so big alarm bells went off. He lifted his lip and I saw that his gums were pale. 

I called the vet and got the answering service since it was 5:30 and after hours. Luckily my regular vet was on call that night, instead of one of his associates, and still at the clinic which is a mile from the barn. Those five minutes waiting for him felt like forever and I was having flashbacks to Phoenix. Peebs was in no way as bad as Phoenix was, in fact I wouldn't even say he was colicking except that he wasn't eating. He had lots of normal poop, wasn't trying to go down, looked bright eyed and normal. But I was convinced it was serious. 

Really mom, I'm fine!

After a quick exam vet pronounced a mild colic, probably due to heat stress. His gut sounds were a tad sluggish, his respiratory rate was slightly high, but he had a normal temp and wasn't dehydrated. His gums were a touch pale but vet said still in the acceptable range. A dose of banamine and a recommendation for electrolytes and mushy grain later the vet was on his way. I stayed for a bit and watched him start eating before going to grab my own dinner.  I came back around 8 and he had eaten everything, pooped some more, and drank.

Peebs got Saturday off but was treated to twice a day grain (mushy and with electrolytes!) and a bath.  Even with 99* temps, he seemed fine and drank quite a bit.  Sunday I rode early in the am, worried that he'd colic again after riding but he was his normal self when I went out to feed last night when it was 93*.  He'll stay on the electrolytes all summer, just in case.  And hopefully this will be our only brush with colic and emergency after hours vet call!