Really? So why would that be new news? Well, Gus has been fairly sound in the hind end (aka stifles) since he was moved to my MIL's back in 2009. The last time he had his stifles injected was in January of 2009. We haven't experienced any problems since then. Well, on Wednesday things changed.
I brought him in as usual for my lesson and noticed when I asked him to move his butt over, he would literally fall over. Definitely not normal. He was also resting the right hind. When I put him in the groom stall to get him prepped for the lesson, he had a very hard time turning around. He also would not lift the left hind for me to pick out his hooves... because then he'd have to bear full weight on that right hind.
I took him into the arena to lunge him and he was definitely off on that right hind. So off to call the vet. Dr. N will be out on Monday to for sure do a quick lameness eval and then do (mostlikely) joint injections to be the right and left stifles.
I feel bad for Gus but I'm also really mad. It seems like this is how life works. Hopefully the injections do their magic and Gus is miraculously back to normal within the week... but for some reason, I'm not holding my breath for that...
Showing posts with label stifle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stifle. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Gus... his story.
Gus has literally been through hell and back. When I got him back in 2000, he was definitely not eye catching. He had not had a "job" in three years, so he was fat, happy and sassy living in a pasture in the rural Midwest. However, despite that winter coat and those long, overgrown hooves there was something about him that caught my eye.Gus was my first horse. I have always been one of those little girls that loved horses. I was finally getting my own horse; I just jumped at the first one we checked out. He was worth it.
His first "accident" happened that first May, May 2000. My trainer/barn owner "BO" was lunging him. Well, he decided to be stupid, as was his thing on the lunge line, and ended up slipping. That accident resulted in a hyperextended stifle. He recovered just fine with about a month off.
No further issues until the spring of 2003. That was our first spring together in the South. Did not know what was going on. Vet finally diagnosed the problem as arthritis in the left front fetlock. Sorta resolved itself over the summer.
Spring of 2004 brought about another bout of lameness. This time the vet thought it was navicular in the right front. Treatment consisted of really expensive, custom bar shoes. Was sound after that.
Spring of 2005... Guess what? Yep, you guessed it. Another spring of lameness. New vet. Didn't think it was the front end this time, but thought it was the back end. Diagnosis was hocks, specifically the left hock. Ended up doing a round of hock injections, which seemed to help, but still wasn't 100%.
Fast forward a couple months... I moved Gus back home following graduation. BO at our "old" barn (same barn we were at prior to the move south) thought it was stifles. Vet confirmed the diagnosis as probably arthritis. Treatment consisted of injecting the left stifle with a steroid/sodium hylauronate mixture. He was sound, 100% again.
Ended up needing the stifle injected multiple times in the course of a couple years. Legend worked wonders in helping prolong the time between the joint injections. However, this spring, things were very different.
So, this March Gus was lame, again. What's new? My vet and I have been through so much with Gus so we both immediately suspected the stifle, except this time it felt like it was the right one, not the left. Ended up injecting both stifles in March. Moderate improvement, but still lame weeks later.
It wasn't until May that I decided to take him to the specialist, to see if we could get a more concrete diagnosis. Well, I got more then I bargained for. By the time I got Gus to the equine specialist, he was so lame he could barely even walk. Diagnosis was a torn cranial cruciate ligament. Prognosis was poor.
Gus ended up on stall rest for about 4 weeks. Then he was allowed turnout, only after he'd been ridden. Finally, by late June, he could be turned out in the mornings like everyone else. He was making progress, even if it was slow.
But, like everything else, we had our setbacks. First one was in July. He had been previously turned out by himself, but in mid-July, the BO turned another horse out with him. Gus, quite literally, beat the crap out of the other guy. In doing so, he reaggravated his injury.
He was getting better, and then ended up running around on his bad leg again a few weeks later in August. Since then, he's not been getting any better. And, now we're dealing with a swollen cannon bone (noticed on Labor Day).
Aghh. I don't think any of this will ever end. Had the vet back out for the swollen cannon bone (it's his left hind). Not sure what he did... it could be a number of things. Like: bee sting, infection (splinter possibly?), or (getting dramatic now) he could have fractured something. We don't know. So, with the help of a DMSO/Nitrofurazone/Dex sweat, the swelling has come down. However, after a week of sweating the leg, the swelling is still present.
It's frustrating because he's still lame... though now on both hind legs, but more so the left hind now then the right. But, he can't be on Bute because it's causing a lot of stomach upsets... he's been cribbing again since I put him back on Bute back at the beginning of the month.
He's got until October to get this issue resolved, then I'll do x-rays. He's comfortable, but it's so sad seeing him not "happy". And, I can't even ride my boy right now, which is frustrating in itself. But, at least he's weight is up and his coat is looking nice again. I'll have to post photos of his stars sometime soon.
ETA: Another blog I follow, Behind The Bit, had a nice article on stifles... so for my information (mostly) here's a link: http://behindthebit.blogspot.com/2008/10/stifle-mother-of-all-joints.html.
His first "accident" happened that first May, May 2000. My trainer/barn owner "BO" was lunging him. Well, he decided to be stupid, as was his thing on the lunge line, and ended up slipping. That accident resulted in a hyperextended stifle. He recovered just fine with about a month off.
No further issues until the spring of 2003. That was our first spring together in the South. Did not know what was going on. Vet finally diagnosed the problem as arthritis in the left front fetlock. Sorta resolved itself over the summer.
Spring of 2004 brought about another bout of lameness. This time the vet thought it was navicular in the right front. Treatment consisted of really expensive, custom bar shoes. Was sound after that.
Spring of 2005... Guess what? Yep, you guessed it. Another spring of lameness. New vet. Didn't think it was the front end this time, but thought it was the back end. Diagnosis was hocks, specifically the left hock. Ended up doing a round of hock injections, which seemed to help, but still wasn't 100%.
Fast forward a couple months... I moved Gus back home following graduation. BO at our "old" barn (same barn we were at prior to the move south) thought it was stifles. Vet confirmed the diagnosis as probably arthritis. Treatment consisted of injecting the left stifle with a steroid/sodium hylauronate mixture. He was sound, 100% again.
Ended up needing the stifle injected multiple times in the course of a couple years. Legend worked wonders in helping prolong the time between the joint injections. However, this spring, things were very different.
So, this March Gus was lame, again. What's new? My vet and I have been through so much with Gus so we both immediately suspected the stifle, except this time it felt like it was the right one, not the left. Ended up injecting both stifles in March. Moderate improvement, but still lame weeks later.
It wasn't until May that I decided to take him to the specialist, to see if we could get a more concrete diagnosis. Well, I got more then I bargained for. By the time I got Gus to the equine specialist, he was so lame he could barely even walk. Diagnosis was a torn cranial cruciate ligament. Prognosis was poor.
Gus ended up on stall rest for about 4 weeks. Then he was allowed turnout, only after he'd been ridden. Finally, by late June, he could be turned out in the mornings like everyone else. He was making progress, even if it was slow.
But, like everything else, we had our setbacks. First one was in July. He had been previously turned out by himself, but in mid-July, the BO turned another horse out with him. Gus, quite literally, beat the crap out of the other guy. In doing so, he reaggravated his injury.
He was getting better, and then ended up running around on his bad leg again a few weeks later in August. Since then, he's not been getting any better. And, now we're dealing with a swollen cannon bone (noticed on Labor Day).
Aghh. I don't think any of this will ever end. Had the vet back out for the swollen cannon bone (it's his left hind). Not sure what he did... it could be a number of things. Like: bee sting, infection (splinter possibly?), or (getting dramatic now) he could have fractured something. We don't know. So, with the help of a DMSO/Nitrofurazone/Dex sweat, the swelling has come down. However, after a week of sweating the leg, the swelling is still present.
It's frustrating because he's still lame... though now on both hind legs, but more so the left hind now then the right. But, he can't be on Bute because it's causing a lot of stomach upsets... he's been cribbing again since I put him back on Bute back at the beginning of the month.
He's got until October to get this issue resolved, then I'll do x-rays. He's comfortable, but it's so sad seeing him not "happy". And, I can't even ride my boy right now, which is frustrating in itself. But, at least he's weight is up and his coat is looking nice again. I'll have to post photos of his stars sometime soon.
ETA: Another blog I follow, Behind The Bit, had a nice article on stifles... so for my information (mostly) here's a link: http://behindthebit.blogspot.com/2008/10/stifle-mother-of-all-joints.html.
Who exactly is G2?
Well, I suppose I should introduce who G2 is. G2 (pronounced as G squared) is the name given to my two equine boys by a good friend of mine. Gus and Gringo. I have had Gus since the spring of 2000, Gringo I recently acquired back in October 2006.
Gus is a registered Appaloosa gelding who was born back in January of 1990. He is one of the greatest loves of my life. He's brought me a lot of happiness, however, in recent times it's been more sorrow and heartache. Gus was recently diagnosed at Anoka Equine in May of 2008 with a torn cranial cruciate ligament in his right stifle. Fancy saying that he torn a ligament in his knee. Prognosis is not good. No guarantee he'll ever be sound again. Depressing. More to come on Gus's issues in later posts.
(This is Gus... he's my favorite, but don't tell Gringo!)
(Gus definitely enjoys rolling after a good bath. I only included this one because I'm also monitoring his weight. He's hyperthyroid and has issues maintaining his weight because of a hyper-active thyroid gland. He gained about 50-60 lbs since this photo was taken back this spring.)
Gringo, on the other hand, is a triple registered Andalusian/Appaloosa gelding who was born in February 2003. When I got him in October 2006, he was given to me by his previous owner (read between the lines - FREE). Little did I know why. Well, about $2000 and a couple years later (after months of lameness issues) I know why. Gringo suffers from a broken coffin bone. To be more specific, he fractured the extensor process of his left front coffin bone. Basically, he broke his "foot". He has a crappy diagnosis also. No guarantee he'll ever be sound 100% again either. Although with corrective shoeing and careful weight management, he's doing much better now.
(This is Gringo, doing what he does best... EAT!)
(In this picture, you can definitely see the Appy characteristics.)
Therefore, this blog is really going to be more of a diary of their difficulties in life. I need a place to vent at times and yet keep track of how things are progressing. I hope to accomplish that with this blog.
Gus is a registered Appaloosa gelding who was born back in January of 1990. He is one of the greatest loves of my life. He's brought me a lot of happiness, however, in recent times it's been more sorrow and heartache. Gus was recently diagnosed at Anoka Equine in May of 2008 with a torn cranial cruciate ligament in his right stifle. Fancy saying that he torn a ligament in his knee. Prognosis is not good. No guarantee he'll ever be sound again. Depressing. More to come on Gus's issues in later posts.
(This is Gus... he's my favorite, but don't tell Gringo!)
(Gus definitely enjoys rolling after a good bath. I only included this one because I'm also monitoring his weight. He's hyperthyroid and has issues maintaining his weight because of a hyper-active thyroid gland. He gained about 50-60 lbs since this photo was taken back this spring.)
Gringo, on the other hand, is a triple registered Andalusian/Appaloosa gelding who was born in February 2003. When I got him in October 2006, he was given to me by his previous owner (read between the lines - FREE). Little did I know why. Well, about $2000 and a couple years later (after months of lameness issues) I know why. Gringo suffers from a broken coffin bone. To be more specific, he fractured the extensor process of his left front coffin bone. Basically, he broke his "foot". He has a crappy diagnosis also. No guarantee he'll ever be sound 100% again either. Although with corrective shoeing and careful weight management, he's doing much better now.
(This is Gringo, doing what he does best... EAT!)
(In this picture, you can definitely see the Appy characteristics.)
Therefore, this blog is really going to be more of a diary of their difficulties in life. I need a place to vent at times and yet keep track of how things are progressing. I hope to accomplish that with this blog.
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