Horses | Y Ceffyl Du

Where has Ceffyl been?

Aug 302010

For once, mostly having fun by riding and working the girls. My main concern has been that Isis has been in the middle of an insulin resistance episode. We have been careful about her diet, so the next item was to up her exercise. All of the girls are getting worked more. I’ve mostly focused on Isis and Kasane because they are both overweight.

Stella is also having trouble with her weight. She isn’t eating enough and might be having trouble with her teeth. She usually sits with me, so I have to bring her food to where ever we are sitting. Spoiled little girl.

Kiesha has also had thyroid problems. Her last test was within the upper range of normal (0.5 – 4). Much better than the original test result of 14. Kiesha is getting 1.5 pills of the thyroid meds every day and seems to be tolerating it much better.

Overall, the animals are all doing better. Fiction writing and attending a great (inspiring!) con, ReConstruction (NASFiC 10). Lots of sessions for writing, met quite a few writers, and had a great time.

Hivin' a good time

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Aug 292010

In which our intrepid explorer, One More Nite, explores the wilds of a mowed pasture and returns with hives. Proving, once and for all, that she is still a sensitive-skinned Arabian. Poor little girl got into something and then she scratched.

I found Prize’s hives on Friday evening when I turned Isis out in the paddock. It was dark, so I could only feel the lumps and didn’t see them. All of the Arabians I’ve had have ended up with hives from getting into something they were allergic too. Never anything serious (except for one time when Logan had a severe reaction to spring shots).

Saturday evening I was very surprised when I saw her. The hives were much worse than I originally thought and they were sore to the touch. She has hives on the left side of her cheek and upper third of her neck. The hives are also on her left leg, left knee (swollen), and inside of her right leg. Maybe she laid down in the soft cuttings as a bed in something she was allergic to.

The barn owner and I tried to figure out what she might have gotten in to. Were the lumps hives or stings? Did she manage to tangle with a wasp nest or ground bees? The scabs on the hives were scraps across the top instead of coming to a point with a bite at the top. One of the cedar trees in the mares’ paddock had many of the lower branches rubbed off, so we guessed that Prize had itched her neck against the tree.

I gave Prize a dose of antihistamines. Shortly after, she had a gentle bath with some oatmeal shampoo. Once she dried off, I put hydrocortisone cream and diphenhydramine cream on the hives.

Isis also had hives, but not nearly as bad. (The Houdini horse had managed to get her grazing muzzle off and dispose of it. No matter how many times we searched, we weren’t able to find the muzzle.)

This morning, I called the barn and Prize’s hives were much better. The swelling was gone and only the scabs from where she had scratched against a tree were still present. Prize’s hives were almost completely gone this evening by the time I arrived at the barn.

Update on Isis' lumps

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Aug 032010

A while back, I wrote about Isis’ odd lumps behind her front legs. The vet came out in mid-July and biopsied one of the lumps on the right side. Test results finally came back last week: the lumps are granulomas. In other words, the lumps are scar tissue from an allergic reaction or injury. They should go down on their own.

Granulomas was the best possible outcome of the biopsy. For once, Isis’ luck appears to be holding. Once the stitches heal and have been removed, I’ll be able to start riding her with a saddle again. It’s been ages since we did that!

It feels so good to write good news about Isis.

Free lunging finally!

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Aug 022010

Kasane finally figured out what free lunging really is today. It doesn’t mean that I chase her around the ring while she stops in each corner to graze until I can catch up with her. Even if the grass in the corners looks so enticing.

The first time I tried free lunging her was after she had watched Isis free lunge in the big ring. I brought Kasane into the ring, let her loose, and ripped around the ring. Not productive. Once she calmed down, I put her on the lunge line. When I lunge in the big ring (without a saddle or bridle), I’ll often travel the entire length of the ring: circle at one spot, travel farther down the arena, circle again, and repeat. This way we’re moving all the way around the ring so the horse doesn’t get bored. Kasane was fine at a walk, but when I tried to trot with her a length down the ring to continue into the next circle, she bolted. We recovered and worked through it. If I trot next to her, she gets nervous if I am at her shoulder or ahead. If I stay mostly behind her shoulder where I should be, she’s fine. This only happens going clockwise and not counter clockwise.

Over the past week, I’ve been working on getting her to free lunge in the big ring. Usually I start off by letting her run around and offer to let her free lunge with me. Instead she runs off and grazes while I do a pathetic version of keeping up with her. Each day, the amount of time she canters or gallops around has lessened. When she keeps going into the corners and grazing, out comes the lunge line and we do a quick review of gaits and paying attention to where I am. The lunge line is then taken off and we practise her walking as if she was still being lunged. Usually that works well so long as I don’t go faster than a walk.

For the first time, she actually lunged around me and kept pace with the gait I asked for from the beginning. She never had to have the lunge line on her this time! We did walk and trot really well. Canter took a little bit more guidance, but she did get it. Amazing she figured this out on the third time.

I was so tickled with her. And such a gorgeous day! No clouds in the sky and mild weather. Lovely fall day with the daylight hours of summer. Perfect!

Symptoms of being a horse person

Horses, Just Silly No Responses »

Jul 312010

I found this online a while back. I originally got something like this when the “you know you are a horse person” emails went around. I can certainly relate to most of the things in the list. Variations on this theme are on quite a few web sites.

You know you are a horse person when…

…Your horse has had medical insurance when you did not. (That’s me all right.)

You realize finding a horseshoe truly is lucky because you’ve saved ten bucks.
Every time you drive past a construction site, you think what nice jumps the barricades would make.
You consider a golf course as a waste of good pastureland.
You pull a $17,000 horse trailer with a $1,700 pickup truck.
When your six year old tells everyone that he’s going to be the “ring steward” at your aunt’s wedding!
You’re seriously considering an even trade of your 1998 Buick for a 1986 Diesel crewcab dually pickup truck.
Your friends no longer ask to get together with you on a weekend afternoon because they know you’ll say — “I can’t, I have a show/penning/rodeo/trail ride.”
You dress like a lawyer on weekdays, and someone who needs a lawyer on your days off.
You’ll drive an hour in a snowstorm to ride your horse, but God forbid you have to drive 5 minutes to the store to buy groceries.
You plan your pregnancy around the show season so you can send your horse to the trainer during the eighth and ninth months.
You buy duct tape by the case, and carry a roll in your pocketbook, your briefcase, and the console of your car.
Your boyfriend complains that you love your horse more than him and you say, “And your point is?”
Your someone does something nice for you and you say, “good boy”, and pat him on the neck.
You’re trying to get by someone in a restricted space, and instead of saying, “excuse me”, you poke them in the ribs and say, “get over”.
Your horse gets new shoes more often than you.
You get to the point where flies don’t bug you anymore.
Your Mother, who has no grandchildren, gets cards addressed to Grandma, signed by the horses and the dog.
You see the vet more than your child’s pediatrician.
You clean tack after every ride, but never ever wash your car.
On rainy days, you organize the tack room, and not the house.
You stop channel surfing at the Budweiser Clydesdale commercials.
You have more pictures of your horse in your locker/office that you have of your family.
When going up a hill, you cluck to your car.
You pay more for a saddle than you did for your car!
Your horses’ mane and tail look better than your hair does.
Your tack box isn’t in your car, it IS your car.
Your evening attire is yesterday’s jeans, an old T-shirt and mucking boots.
A fly lands on your leg you stomp your foot instead of swatting it.
You say you are going to muck out your room.
You call your shed a barn.
You find hay in your bathtub, horse treats scattered around the house, horsehair on your work clothes, and hoof shaped bruises on your feet!
You are sick you say you’re going to see the vet.
You are exited when your friend tells you that there is a huge sale at the bridle shop, then you are disappointed when you realize they mean the bridal shop.
You have the vet’s number but not the kid’s pediatrician on your speed dial.
Your house is a mess, but the barn is as neat as a pin.
Your nice clothes are the ones without horsehair all over them.

Update from vet visit with Isis

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Jul 142010

The vet said that the lumps on Isis’ sides might be three things: allergic reaction that turned into hard bumps, sarcoids, or lymphoma. The vet gave Isis a local pain block so the lump on her right side could be biopsied. The test results should come back in two weeks.

The biopsy site has two stitches in it. No real special care for it: just Swat around the wound to keep flies away. She can’t be worked for 10 days. Maybe a bare back ride at a walk after 5-7 days. Otherwise, she’s on rest.

Meanwhile, the stitches will take about the same amount of time to heal. No treatment for the lumps until we know what the lumps actually are. Here are possible options:

allergic reaction: possibly inject the lumps with a steroid or just leave them be.
sarcoid: Just leave them be.
lymphoma: Isis goes onto a progesterone therapy like Regumate for the rest of
her life. Lymphoma can not be cure: it becomes a management issue. Regumate is expensive.

So I am feeling really deflated and down. I know there is nothing to do until the test results come in.

Waiting sucks.

Isis feeling good

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Jul 112010

Last weekend the weather was gorgeous and Isis, who has trouble dealing with the heat, was feeling frisky. I free lunged her in the big ring and after a few minutes, the tail came up and she started snorting. The snort, the prance, and the bounce in her step all show how good she was feeling.

This is the bay mare that takes my breath away. Miss Charisma sure that she is the center of the universe (and she is — my universe at least). Not bad for a mare who has had EPM, laminitis twice, two sprained tendons, and colic surgery.

I’ve never had a horse like Isis: one who I think something and she does it. If I am in the barn, I stand next to her stall door away from the other horses (otherwise she pins her ears and shakes her head at the horse next door). She usually puts her head out and presses her cheek against mine (and then nudges my head with her lip).

We’ve had our scares. There have been three times when I wasn’t sure if she would be around for another day. So far, every time she has fought her way back to health (twice the vets used “miracle” to describe her recoveries).

Having been through almost losing her, every day she feels well and is out there prancing and dancing is a reason to celebrate. She is an absolute joy in my life.

Keep on going, Bay Wonder Mare(tm).

Lumps and bumps on Isis' skin

Horses 8 Responses »

Jul 062010

Isis has always had skin issues: rain rot, fly bite allergies, scratches, etc. For the most part, these things last a little while, are treated, and then resolve. For the past two months or more, Isis has had lumps under her legs, right where the girth goes. Initially, the lumps did not interfere with the position of the girth. The lumps were slightly in front. However, wearing the girth irritated the lumps.

The lumps are behind Isis’ front legs right in front of the girth. The lumps appear to be only in the skin: I can move the lumps easily around. They feel mostly hard and small. The lumps are not uniform in shape. The one on Isis’ right side is long and tube-shaped, while the ones on the left side are like clustered pearls.

The lumps have gotten worse in the last week (see pictures).

Attempted treatments

I’ve tried a variety of things to deal with these lumps and so far, nothing has worked.

Early May: Clipped the hair around the lumps to try and help keep the area cool in case the lumps were related to the increasing heat. Made sure we had fly spray in case the lumps were fly bites. I tried using Sore No More Sports Salve on the lumps to help prevent chafing.
Early June: As the weeks passed, the lumps became larger. My vet suggested trying antihistamines, so we started Isis on Histall (which has helped for other conditions). After about a week, the lumps seemed to be softer and slightly smaller but did not go away.
Early July: Isis has been off of Histall for about a week and she continues to have more trouble with the lumps. They have gotten larger and are harder again. She is having trouble with the heat so she is also on electrolytes. Her IR has flared up (fat pads above her eyes and on her rump even though she doesn’t look fat), most likely due to lack of exercise. It has been too hot to ride most evenings.

My next step will be to call the vet and see what she recommends. Maybe a biopsy? Maybe this is caused by clogged sweat glands. Who knows?

: June 4. Behind right leg.

: June 4. Behind right leg.

: June 4. Behind right leg.

: June 4. Behind left leg.

: July 3. Behind right leg.

: July 3. Behind right leg.

: July 3. Behind left leg.

: July 5. Behind left leg.

: July 5. Behind right leg.

: July 5. Behind right leg.

Bragging rights on the Bay Wonder Mare

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Jul 042010

I’ve been trying to ride my mares more often. Today was a 2.5 hour trail ride on Prize. We baby sat my friend’s four year old gelding. He’s been ridden about the same number of times as Kasane, although is training is farther along.

Here is Sylvana riding Renegade:

We got back from the trail ride, and I tacked up Kasane. My friend was in the ring with me and offered to take some video and pictures of the Bay Wonder Mare Junior. It’s rather disjointed footage but it shows two things: her responding to my seat and legs for gait changes instead of relying on reins. This is only the third time we’ve trotted in the ring, maybe the fifth time I’ve asked her to trot. Ever. She knows the cues and the voice commands. (For comparison, it took me about 10 times to get Isis to trot by understanding what I was asking, as opposed to tricking her into trotting.)

I was really tickled with her today.

[2003] Dew poisoning on Isis' legs

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Jul 032010

Just before I started this blog in 2004, Isis had a record year for Bad Things. Okay, not as bad as later years, but up until that time it was Bad. Laminitis, rain rot, sprained tendon, and dew poisoning.

A reader asked a question about Isis’ February 2006 case of belly gunk. In addition to her gelding having the same belly gunk that Isis had, he also has a bad case of scratches or dew poisoning.

Back in the winter of 2002/2003, Isis had a horrible case of dew poisoning. I had not documented what happened with her case on the blog so I am writing about it now. Just in case what I learned can help someone else (like 3horsemom who commented on the Belly Gunk post).

Bad scratches, no donut

Isis’s 2002/2003 case of dew poisoning (a.k.a., scratches), a skin condition that causes crusty scabs, inflammation, and irritation to the horse, was bad enough that she was lame. Dew poisoning most often appears on the horse’s heels or around the pasterns on legs with white socks. In mild cases, the horse has some bumps that are easily treated. In bad cases, the horse may be lame from the painful scabs and have swelling.

Her worst case of dew poisoning started around Thanksgiving of 2002 as a few small bumps behind her fetlocks on her back feet. I treated them by washing her legs with antibacterial soap (so much fun in cold weather), clipping long hair from around the scabs, and picking off the scabs before applying zinc oxide ointment. Over the course of the winter, the dew poisoning got better.

By mid January, the scabs had exploded all over her legs. The scabs went from her hocks to her coronary band on her back white stockings, her front white sock had scabs, and so did her front black. Her back legs were the worse. The scabs were as thick as my thumb in some places. (Other cases of dew poisoning I’ve treated on my mares, the scabs are the size of small beads clumped together.) When the scabs were pulled off, she bled.

Treatment

I finally had the vet out. The treatment she gave me worked for Isis, so I’ll repeat it here:

If the horse is in a wet or unsanitary pasture, change the environment if possible. (The quality of the care wasn’t an issue in Isis’ case. We were able to turn her out later so she avoided the dew on the grass.)
Do not pull the scabs off. They will fall off as they heal. Pulling scabs off irritates the skin underneath and can actually cause the stuff to spread.
Gently wash the area periodically with an antifungal/antibacterial shampoo. You don’t have to wash every day.
Use an ointment on the scabs to kill the gunk causing the scabs. Some people use zinc oxide, Monostat (yeast infection treatment for people), or other concoctions (see recipe below).

It took several weeks for the scabs to disappear and for Isis’ legs to heal properly.