Hoof Boots = Some Success

At the suggestion of my BO, I tried Gus's Boa Boots on today. Mind you he had a double dose of Previcox in his system, but he moved a lot better. I should've tried lunging him sans boots to see if he was still looking good or if he was back to his normal (off) self.

So, Gus is not getting any more Previcox now until this weekend... if needed. I figure when J, the farrier, is out she'd prefer to see him unaided. Also, if he's not doing any better I do need to see about getting the vet out (and I really don't want to do that yet).

Othewise, Gus is doing well. He's basically shedded out on his face and neck. Still very, very hairy on his barrel and belly. Rump is fairly shedded out too, surprisingly. Hopefully he'll turn around...

Gringo is doing better too. I haven't seen him nearly as often as I should. But he's still the same ol' horse, if not a bit more mellower. He actually seems a bit depressed at times, which is not him but I think he misses Gus.

Gringo has fortunately shedded out almost entirely on his own, without any help from me. This makes me happy as having two light-colored horses shedding out at the same time is a double pain in the hinny.

Anyways, both boys look good despite their issues. I need to get new *real* pictures up... maybe I'll try to do that this weekend if the weather cooperates.

Really? Still off!

I went out to the barn on Tuesday to see how Gus was doing. Did the usual 20 minutes (or so it seemed) of grooming and then proceeded to tack him up. We went to the indoor and walked around a couple laps before I tried asking for a trot. While Gus is very willing to move out, he was still definitely lame. Decided to hop off and lunge him both directions, to get a feel to see if he behaves any differently on the lunge versus under saddle. He willingly moved down and out at both the walk and trot (and didn't try to kick my head off either). Still noticeably lame at the trot though, in both directions. I mentioned it to the BO and asked her opinion. She really had no good ideas... stumped like me.

Today I headed back out to the barn and did another makeover session on Gus. Actually, I did that on Tuesday. I repulled his mane. He actually looks like a nice western pleasure horse. Haha... he actually used to be one.

Anyways after his typical 20 minute grooming session, I took him into the arena and just lunged him both directions. Still off. This time though, instead of being comfortable stretching down and out, he was trotting around like a giraffe saying "ouch, ouch, ouch" after his left fore hit the ground.

I sent a couple emails out to both the farrier, J, and the vet, Dr. N (the original Dr. N). J recommends (possibly) putting on shoes... just until she can get Gus better balanced and over these abscesses (I should just say get over this abscess...). So, that's definitely a possibility. She'll be back out next Thursday (a week from today) to trim Gus, and possibly put some shoes back on. We'll see.

I just sent that email off to Dr. N so hopefully I'll hear back from her within the next day or two. She's usually good about responding back quickly.

Any suggestions? I'm just tired of having a lame horse. It's just lame. [pun intended]

Still Off!

Sheesh. I went out today to see and ride Gus. His abscess is looking a lot better. No drainage, no tenderness... just a nice, clean hole. We went through our "normal" routine... meaning grooming with the shedding blade, then the face curry, then the Grooma curry, then the Furminator, then the hard brush, followed by the soft brush. Uggh. He's STILL shedding like crazy.

I had previously decided to hop up on Gus today to see how he was feeling under saddle. Well, he's good at the walk, but still very head-bobbing lame at the trot. I got back off and lunged him. He looked pretty darn sound to the left, but when the left leg was on the outside (so travelling right) he was definitely off. However, he was moving really down and out. I couldn't believe how comfortable he looking lunging.

So, I think I'll be giving him until Tuesday off. Then we'll try working under saddle again. Maybe allowing that hoof to dry-up and heal a bit more will make him sounder. Who knows?

Abscess Update

So, Gus seems to be doing better. I put him on the lunge Friday and the BO/Trainer watched him go. He seemed stiff (which is normal for him) but not lame. He was still slightly off on the LF, but it wasn't super apparent.

The last few days (since Thursday), I've been soaking Gus's foot with Epsom salts and then applying a Magic Cushion wrap. Besides the fact that the MC is so sticky (it only comes off with alcohol, thanks CoTHers for that tip), it works really, really well.

Here's some photos. The black hole just to the right of the tip of the frog is where the abscess was dug out from. This photo is post-soaking.

I forgot to take some photos of the wrap before I turned Gus back out. So here's my handiwork. It's definitely not the prettiest, but it's practical. And... it lasts 24 hours outside to boot. Whohoo!

And, as usual... I took some more body pictures. Not the greatest... I'm hoping to take out the real camera one of these days and get some better photos. But here goes for now.

This is Gus... shaking his head.

Here's Gus's teeth. Aren't they lovely?

It's an abscess...

Well, heard from the BM (a different person then the BO/Trainer) that Gus, for sure, has an abscess. The vet was out on Monday to look at another horse and since she was out, I figured I'd split the vet call and have her take a look at Gus too.

According to the BM (and the BO, as I sent her an email asking more questions) he was very sore in the sole... not sure if it was in the toe or where, but they did find the abscess and the vet dug it out. It's quite possible that there was another exit for that abscess... see those photos I posted previously.

So, the treatment plan is soaking and wrapping until it's no longer draining. The BO has been soaking and wrapping Gus since Monday. I believe she's doing an Epsom salt soak and then a betadine/sugar (sugardine) wrap.

I'm heading out today (first time I'll have been at the barn since Sunday) to do a soak and wrap before my lesson. I'm also planning on soaking with Epsom salts, but then doing a wrap with Magic Cushion. It's a great product (so I've heard) that I've fortunately NEVER had the pleasure of using. I'm hoping to not have to use it ever again (although it looks to be a great product to keep in my arsenal).

I plan on taking more photos, but it'll be with my Blackberry... so nothing spectacular.

Leg Photos

Gus's newest leg injury to his left front leg. Noticed the injury yesterday, April 19th but noticed the day before that he was off. Couldn't pin-point the leg (or even if it was front or hind lameness, although the head bob should've been a dead giveaway) but when grooming him yesterday this was pretty obvious.

These next couple photos were taken prior to cleaning up... although area has been clipped short.





This view shows there is no swelling at the site... which is LF outside, so the right side in this photo (where it's all wet). There is NO heat in the leg and it is not tender when been prodded. I ended up doing a hot pack (really, just a really warm towel - soaked in water) to the area for about 10 minutes. Nothing came out of the sores... least nothing that I could detect.

These next couple are after being hot packed and then slathered with Patch N' Go. I felt I needed to put something on there... so I figured that stuff wouldn't hurt. It's like an antibacterial ointment/homeopathic stuff.

And finally, another body shot of Gus with his head shoved in a round bale. Nice, huh?

Weight Gain!

Yeh! I think Gus is finally starting to pack on some weight. He should be now, getting nearly 8lb of "grain" a day now and nearly unlimited hay...

Here's some photos. These first few are from March 15th, the last are from today.

March 15th:

Oh, these next couple were from the first day at his new "old" barn:

Today:

He is HAIRY. And gets sweaty so incredibly fast. Today was a good day though. He started off really rough, with some bad stumbles from the hind end. After working through that doing lots of trotting, we worked on the shoulder-in. Man is his a plow-horse on that front end of his. Sheesh.

We did end up with some nice work at the end. A few half-hearted attempts at leg-yielding too, which was a pleasant surprise that he offered that. He's much softer to the left then to the right. To the right, he just blows through my aids and leans heavily on the right rein. I definitely need to get some lessons on him again, but not until he's more fitted.

The goal is to start working on transitions again. Walk to trot, trot to walk, walk to canter, canter to trot to walk, walk to halt, etc. He really needs to strengthen that hind end. I am also wanting to start working on cavalletti again too. Those are supposed to be very good with strengthening the hind end. So, we'll see.