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.

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?)

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.

Day 1. First day of new diet.

So, here's some shots I took this past Wednesday. This was the first day of Gus's new diet. I plan on keeping a record via photos on how he progresses. True, he is getting hairy-er... but I should still be able to see improvements.

Here goes nothing:

These first few are during our ride and right afterwards... excuse the sweat patches on Gus. He's still quite a bit outta shape.

And, here's the ones of Gus minus the saddle... Ribs are quite visible, but he is chowing down on hay at the moment in most of these photos. Just standing, sans saddle and not eating, the ribs aren't nearly as visible. I'm just not sure anymore, but I'm hoping I'll start seeing more progress - in a positive way.

So, what do you think? I see some progress, just nothing like I had hoped for. I'm hoping he's looking better now... we'll see how he looks tomorrow when I'm out again. It does help, I think, that he's wearing his turnout sheet 24/7 currently. That helps keep him warm and not have to worry those calories away.

Diet changes, again.

Yep. We're changing Gus's diet yet again. What's new, right? Well, after talking to a Triple Crown rep, I've decided to add some TC Senior to Gus's diet.

So, that being said, we're decreasing his TC Lite back down to 2lbs daily. He's also going to be getting 1lb of TC Senior to start with (well, actually starting with 1/2lb daily and slowly increasing that until he's at a full pound daily) and we'll adjust that as needed. He's still on 1/2lb of alfalfa pellets too.

While talking to the rep, he noted that Gus does not need to be getting a vit/min supp anymore as he's getting the recommended 2lbs of TC Lite daily and that should meet his requirements, that and he's getting the other stuff too (TC Senior and alfalfa pellets).

Hopefully we'll begin to notice a more dramatic change in Gus's weight here in the coming weeks. Otherwise, I'll bump up the TC Senior to 1.5lbs, possibly two pounds and go from there. If needed, I will be decreasing the TC Lite...

He's still getting the beet pulp when I'm out there to feed it. I do need to try to come up with a better situation to feed it though. Not sure what I'm going to do. I also want to check with other local feed stores to see if they carry the molasses free beet pulp, so I don't have to be so anal about rinsing it so well. As it stands, he's getting about 1.5lbs of BP every 2-3 days or thereabouts.

Also, next month (at the beginning of the month) I'm going to do my first ever "powerpak". I've got my Safe Guard ready, and figured both boys would get the 50mg daily dosage. I'm hoping Gringo doesn't decide to go on a hunger strike at the same time, because I'll be having the BO just dump the dose in with his grain. So, for those 5 days or so I may have her feed him a little extra, or throw in some of Gus's TC Senior to make it more appealing.

Anyways nothing else new with either of the boys. Next week the new farrier comes to visit. He'll be known as L. He's supposed to be a nice guy, but we shall see. I made a fool of myself again... I always do that when talking with someone new on the phone. I hate phone conversations. But, he does come recommended from J and her mentor too. He supposedly studied under J's mentor also.

I did get a ride in on Gus this week too... and I was pleased with how well behaved he was. Yes, he was above the bit, hollow and lazy, but he was still pretty darn sound. Did a few canter laps around the south field and he was pretty consistent... very few mis-steps this time around. I am hoping for a few more days of decent weather, so we can keep up the canter work but I'm not holding my breath. It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow, ugghh that's way TOO early in the season. It's MN though, so what can I say?

The bloodwork results are back and...

Gus's levels (at the moment) are well within normal limits. Yeah! Of course there are many factors that play into this - his stress level, what has he eaten recently, injury/pain, etc. But... given all things considered, he's doing well and we've got things in check at the moment.

This means that (a) the diet change was a good thing - going from ADM Patriot's Feed Easy at nearly 20% NSC to Triple Crown Lite at 9.8% (I think) NSC was a good choice (b) the hay must be half way decent, cause he was chowing down on some hay (non-soaked) before the vet came (c) the pasture must not be too shabby either, as he's now out 24/7 on grass.

So, in addition to bumping up his TC Lite to 2.5 lbs daily, he will continue on with at least 1c (give or take a little, haven't actually measured the scoop) of alfalfa pellets daily for now. I may try to find some grass hay (or a timothy/alfalfa blend) pellets to feed, instead of just pure alfalfa, and give more of that.

Also, my fMIL did increase they boys' hay too. They are now getting 1 bale a day, up from 2/3 bale a day. Gringo definitely needs to lose some weight so hopefully that'll happen eventually.

I am interested in running this by my fMIL... making a hay net of sorts from a hockey net. The thought is that it'll slow down the eating of hay by the boys. Gringo scarfs everything down so incredibly fast... it can't be good for him to eat like that, plus Gus in turn isn't getting his fair share then either. So, we'll see what she thinks. Now I just need to find some plans. I'm thinking you could take a hay net and "sew" up the sides by folding it in half and threading a rope up/down each side, to make a "pouch" of sorts. Then, using carabiner clips, just clip the top together. To hang, just clip the corners (top corners and another clip in the center) to the inside of the run-in. I think it'd work... I think. I'm just worried if they'd begin to paw, what would happen.

Anyways, that's it for now. Hoping to get a good ride in this weekend once I'm home from my cousin's wedding in Iowa. Still not sure how cooperative the weather's going to be, but we can hope for the best, right?

Updates!

Sheesh! It's been another bad month of blogging for me again. Sorry about that. Nothing horribly new to report, other then that Gus got the green light. Vet says he's pretty darn sound to keep doing what we're doing, as far as work goes. He said he's still slightly off in the right hind and there's a bit more fluid in the right stifle then what's in the left, but even after flexions he's still fairly sound. That report makes me so very, very happy.

On to other news though, he did have his teeth checked earlier this week and he had an ulcer in his right lower cheek. I guess he had some very sharp points in his teeth and that lead to the ulcer development. It's sad to say, but he just had his teeth done in April.

Gringo, well, he's doing fine as always. Vet said his teeth were just fine and that he's an "easy keeper" and that I'll probably only need to do his teeth every two years. Makes me happy if that's the case... but he'll still be checked twice a year, as always.

Neither boy needed to have their flu/rhino vaccine boostered, since they are now boarding at a closed stable. So, that saved me some money, which was nice. Gus also had his bloodwork rechecked - that would be the blood glucose/insulin stuff. Vet said it would be a one week turn around, so hopefully that's truly the case and the results will say that everything looks good (and the levels are back within normal ranges). We shall see though.

Here's some new photos of the boys, again crappy quality as they were taken with my Blackberry Curve phone.

[Note: Gus was under heavy sedation for these photos... he had just had his teeth floated. I think he's lost even more muscle tone since the last photos were taken, but that's just me.]

Vet said he's not at all shocked by the lack of muscle in Gus's hindquarters. He said because of the stifle injuries, he'll likely never use his hind end like he used to. So, who knows if I'll be able to get that bum built back up. I'm going to try work with cavalettii this spring, but we'll see.

Any suggestions, as always, are appreciated.

Oh, and we changed their diets again. Gringo's grain was decreased down to 1/2 lb daily and Gus's was bumped up to 2 1/2 lbs daily. We're also adding about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of alfalfa pellets daily too... I'm wanting to add more of something (maybe try TC Senior???) but I'm waiting to see what the bloodwork results show. I did up his beet pulp to 1 1/2 lbs dry weight, but again, he's only getting that when I'm able to feed it. Right now that's maybe 2 times a week... hoping to change that soon though.

It's September!

I can't believe that summer is nearly over, but I can certainly feel it. Woke up to a brisk 42 degrees out... I think it's supposed to warm up to the mid 70s again today, but still! That's just a tad chilly for the end of August/beginning of September.

The boys have been doing really well lately. Gus's latest lameness issues seem to have resolved themselves again. We shall see today though when I'm out to ride. I've not ridden him in over a week, so it should be an interesting ride to say the least. Gringo seems to be doing well again too. He has good days and bad, but with the way the weather has been lately, it seems the good out number the bad.

Both boys were hit hard with a double dose of Equimax two weeks ago. The point of double dosing this dewormer is to kill neckthread worms (NTW). Lots of info out there about this, but many people don't know about them. Needless to say, the protocol is double ivermectin/praziquantel by weight and followed two weeks later by another double dose of ivermectin/praziquantel or just plain ivermectin. Since both boys are under 1200lbs, I just give them two syringes a piece and call it good, since some is inevitably not swallowed. Anyways, with the first double dose of Equimax, I did notice some evidence of NTW. Both boys had this scurffy stuff on their chests. They've had it before but there was no signs of this prior to doing the double dose. Could just be a coincidence... Anyways, the second double dosing is today. I'm using just plain ivermectin this time around.

Tomorrow is farrier day, bright and early. I did actually talk to J shortly after Gus's latest trim, when he came up lame. She said she listened to what vets are wanting them to do and just knew that she shouldn't have. I can't remember what it all was, but something about taking down their heels/soles/toes/something. Needless to say, she was going to revert back to what she was doing previously... as it wasn't causing any unwanted issues with the boys.

Still trying to figure out what to do with Gus. I don't like the weight he's at now. He's too skinny heading into winter. Especially since he'll be wintering out for the first time since I've owned him (so first time in 9 years). These last few winters have been especially tough on everyone - very cold and very long. So, I would like to get some more weight back up on him before October/November approaches, but just not entirely sure how to do so.

I've got the vet coming out this month (in like two weeks) to do routine stuff on the boys... dentals (if needed), flu/rhino booster (if he recommends it) and then bloodwork and a lameness reeval on Gus. Gus needs to have his blood glucose/insulin rechecked, since the last blood drawl was totally useless. And I also want a second opinion on Gus's soundness... I think I'm also going to ask for some recommendations on weight and whatnot. Who knows what answers I'll get from the vet. I've got Anoka coming out again... I much prefer them to the other guy.

I do want to get some new photos again with both horses, like I had done last fall. So, we'll see if I can rope someone into helping me one weekend.