Well, Thanksgiving came and went without a hitch. The boys even got an extra 1/2 bale of hay to celebrate the day. I'm sure they were giving A LOT of thanks for that.
On to new news. Gus is still not gaining any weight, despite the increased grain. So, I made changes yet again. He's now getting 1lb of TC Lite and 2lbs of TC Senior daily, and in another week or two it'll increase to 2.5lbs of TC Senior. If he's still underweight, then we'll up to 3lbs and reevaluate from there. I also purchased some Rice Bran to add into his diet. See: http://www.mannapro.com/max_e_glo.html. He's going to be getting 1/2lb daily to see if that helps at all. It's a nice pelleted product that should help with weight gain, considering it's 20% fat. I'm still considering removing the TC Lite completely and just feeding the TC Senior and Rice Bran... but we'll see.
ETA: I also cut out the alfalfa pellets for now...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Diet Modification, again.
Well, seeing as Gus still isn't putting on pounds, I decided to change around his grain, again. So, he's now getting a 50/50 mix of TC Lite and TC Senior... 1.5lbs of each currently. The plan is to change that again, to 2lbs TC Senior and 1lb TC Lite, or 3lb TC Senior... depending on what Gus needs. He sure as heck doesn't mind... as he's loving every bite as it stands currently.
As far as riding goes, it's a no go. I ended up messing up my back on Friday while flipping the manure pile (the one that's been composting all summer) and while doing so I heard a "snap" in my low back. Yep... something is definitely wrong with it. I've got an appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow. Hopefully she can fix it otherwise it's off to the MD for x-rays. Uggh.
Gus is still doing really well though. Staying sound and fairly fit. I want to see that topline improve, but I don't think there's too much more I can do unless we add cavalletti or ground poles into the mix (which I am planning on doing this spring).
Gringo's doing well also. Pretty darn sound, actually. I'm hoping if he keeps sound for the next year, maybe a year from now we'll work on getting him started under saddle, again. We shall see... if I do go that route, he'll be sent off to a trainer for 60 days or so.
Other then that, no new news. Which is good, right? Except, I did end up changing them to a different type of magnesium. I'm using MagOx 56% from HorseTech now, instead of Magnesium 5000. Both boys are getting about 9000mgs of magnesium daily versus the 5000mgs before. So, time will tell if there is any changes.
Also... I noticed yesterday when I was picking up piles (these piles were deposited between Friday early afternoon to Sunday early afternoon) I noticed two really "solid" piles. We are around day 9 - 10 post PP. So, just wondering if someone's having issues with the PP? Gus is still on SmartGut for possible ulcers (no more cribbing that I'm aware of since that day a few weeks back) so I not sure what to think about the "solid" piles at the moment.
As far as riding goes, it's a no go. I ended up messing up my back on Friday while flipping the manure pile (the one that's been composting all summer) and while doing so I heard a "snap" in my low back. Yep... something is definitely wrong with it. I've got an appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow. Hopefully she can fix it otherwise it's off to the MD for x-rays. Uggh.
Gus is still doing really well though. Staying sound and fairly fit. I want to see that topline improve, but I don't think there's too much more I can do unless we add cavalletti or ground poles into the mix (which I am planning on doing this spring).
Gringo's doing well also. Pretty darn sound, actually. I'm hoping if he keeps sound for the next year, maybe a year from now we'll work on getting him started under saddle, again. We shall see... if I do go that route, he'll be sent off to a trainer for 60 days or so.
Other then that, no new news. Which is good, right? Except, I did end up changing them to a different type of magnesium. I'm using MagOx 56% from HorseTech now, instead of Magnesium 5000. Both boys are getting about 9000mgs of magnesium daily versus the 5000mgs before. So, time will tell if there is any changes.
Also... I noticed yesterday when I was picking up piles (these piles were deposited between Friday early afternoon to Sunday early afternoon) I noticed two really "solid" piles. We are around day 9 - 10 post PP. So, just wondering if someone's having issues with the PP? Gus is still on SmartGut for possible ulcers (no more cribbing that I'm aware of since that day a few weeks back) so I not sure what to think about the "solid" piles at the moment.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Image Overload.
So, I took A LOT of photos on Monday... and lots of video. I'm still working on editing the video and the "real" photos, so that should be coming soon. The photos below are video stills. It's nice to see Gus pushing thru slightly with his hind legs. Hopefully after making some cavalletti and working with those, that hind end will improve even more.
The clips below are a dismounting sequence... just for giggles :-).
Gus seems to be doing really well though. Soundness is staying about the same. I do think I'll need to get his stifles injected before too much longer, but I just don't have the extra money at the moment to get that done. So, we'll see if we can keep him reasonably comfortable for a while longer.
The clips below are a dismounting sequence... just for giggles :-).
Gus seems to be doing really well though. Soundness is staying about the same. I do think I'll need to get his stifles injected before too much longer, but I just don't have the extra money at the moment to get that done. So, we'll see if we can keep him reasonably comfortable for a while longer.
Friday, November 6, 2009
November HEAT WAVE
Wow. On a day like today it's hard to believe we're in November. The projected high is nearly 60 degrees today, tomorrow and Sunday. Crazy, huh? And this is Minnesota we're talking about.
So, in light of the heat wave, I decided to leave Gus's sheet off for the next couple days. Boy, was he NOT happy about that this morning. He kept looking at me like I'd forgotten something. He'll survive... the overnight lows are only going to be in the 40s. That's nothing compared to what we've had lately.
Anyhow, I decided to take some photos this morning. Unfortunately they didn't turn out all too great because well, they were taken with my Blackberry Curve again (crappy camera) and the sun was shinning (NOT a bad thing at all... just bad for photo taking).
I had to go pick up more feed on Wednesday, and instead of my Mazda Tribute (a small SUV) I was driving my mom's Volkeswagen Beetle. Well, needless to say, the car wasn't too happy about carrying an additional 150lb in it's trunk. The proof is below.
The boys are done with their powerpak now too. So far so good. No one went off feed and no colic bouts, yet. So, hopefully at day 14 things are still looking good. Only 13 days to go until we're over "the hump".
I think I'm going to dig out the Canon for some better shots this weekend. It's supposed to be nice (like I already mentioned) so it would be nice to get some better shots before winter. I still would like to get some good shots with my fiance for Christmas card photos... but it's Deer Opener (almost as important as "The Opener" aka fishing (walleye) opener in the spring) so it's a no go this weekend.
So, in light of the heat wave, I decided to leave Gus's sheet off for the next couple days. Boy, was he NOT happy about that this morning. He kept looking at me like I'd forgotten something. He'll survive... the overnight lows are only going to be in the 40s. That's nothing compared to what we've had lately.
Anyhow, I decided to take some photos this morning. Unfortunately they didn't turn out all too great because well, they were taken with my Blackberry Curve again (crappy camera) and the sun was shinning (NOT a bad thing at all... just bad for photo taking).
I had to go pick up more feed on Wednesday, and instead of my Mazda Tribute (a small SUV) I was driving my mom's Volkeswagen Beetle. Well, needless to say, the car wasn't too happy about carrying an additional 150lb in it's trunk. The proof is below.
The boys are done with their powerpak now too. So far so good. No one went off feed and no colic bouts, yet. So, hopefully at day 14 things are still looking good. Only 13 days to go until we're over "the hump".
I think I'm going to dig out the Canon for some better shots this weekend. It's supposed to be nice (like I already mentioned) so it would be nice to get some better shots before winter. I still would like to get some good shots with my fiance for Christmas card photos... but it's Deer Opener (almost as important as "The Opener" aka fishing (walleye) opener in the spring) so it's a no go this weekend.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Photos, Photos and MORE Photos!
Okay. So Gus has been on the new diet for nearly a month now. I thought I should finally do an update with how things are going with him. Gus has been on the Triple Crown Senior (at 1lb/daily) for about a month, give or take a few days. He's still getting 2lbs of Triple Crown Lite daily along with 1/2lb of alfalfa pellets. As far as supps go, he's getting MSM (10,000mgs), HA (100mgs), Lysine (10g) and Magnesium (5000mgs).
Gus had an incident last weekend where he overheated (supposedly) and started sweating. He was also lethargic and cribbing again. I naturally freaked out - drove all the way out to see him and he was perfectly fine. Thank GOD. Anyways, I did end up ordering some SmartGut for Gus to try for a month... to see if that makes any difference. I don't see any more evidence (or more damage) that says Gus started up cribbing again. So, hopefully that was just a one time thing.
Anyways, here's some photos taken 10/29. Gus seems to have put on some weight... but he's also putting on a winter coat. The weight tape says he's staying the same, or gaining very slightly. What do you think?
And here's Gringo. I haven't taken any recent body shots... so he was game for a photo op himself. He's still doing the same. Fairly sound most days, but he does have his moments where he's dead lame on that left front.
I had a new farrier out a couple weeks back. Nice guy... he'll go by L here. J recommended him as he actually apprenticed under her mentor too. Anyways, he said that if he didn't know better, he would have thought Gringo's LF was a true club foot, not a club foot due to injury. He agrees with our current treatment plan, which is barefoot unless Gringo tells us otherwise. He's much sounder now then he's been in months. So, hopefully we're on the road to some sort of recovery.
(Pretty goose head, huh?)
Gus had an incident last weekend where he overheated (supposedly) and started sweating. He was also lethargic and cribbing again. I naturally freaked out - drove all the way out to see him and he was perfectly fine. Thank GOD. Anyways, I did end up ordering some SmartGut for Gus to try for a month... to see if that makes any difference. I don't see any more evidence (or more damage) that says Gus started up cribbing again. So, hopefully that was just a one time thing.
Anyways, here's some photos taken 10/29. Gus seems to have put on some weight... but he's also putting on a winter coat. The weight tape says he's staying the same, or gaining very slightly. What do you think?
And here's Gringo. I haven't taken any recent body shots... so he was game for a photo op himself. He's still doing the same. Fairly sound most days, but he does have his moments where he's dead lame on that left front.
I had a new farrier out a couple weeks back. Nice guy... he'll go by L here. J recommended him as he actually apprenticed under her mentor too. Anyways, he said that if he didn't know better, he would have thought Gringo's LF was a true club foot, not a club foot due to injury. He agrees with our current treatment plan, which is barefoot unless Gringo tells us otherwise. He's much sounder now then he's been in months. So, hopefully we're on the road to some sort of recovery.
(Pretty goose head, huh?)
Anyways, both boys are currently doing okay at the moment. Today was the first day of their first "PowerPak". The PP targets all four stages of strongyles and conveniently takes care of bots too. Anyways, the boys are getting 50cc of liquid fenbendazole daily for five days. I'm hoping everything goes fine and if they have any critters... hopefully they'll expell themselves without any issues.
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