I just talked to the vet. He said that the toxins in Isis’ system are gone (yay!). Unfortunately, her small intestines still aren’t showing any motility. It may take several days for motility to return. It’s not unusual for intestines that were as badly damaged as hers to take a few days to recover. The vet said he’s seen this before. Right now, she is static: mobility isn’t present, but at least she...
Continue reading...Insulin Resistance
Monday update
I just spoke with the vet. He said Isis is doing about as expected, which is pretty good considering everything her small intestines have been through. She had some issues with electrolyte levels today. That has been corrected and is being monitored. She still doesn’t have any motility in her small intestines and may not for another 24-72 hours. It all depends upon how she starts healing. She was transferred from the emergency...
Continue reading...Bay Wonder Mare in the hospital
Five second summary: Isis had colic surgery today (VERY BAD). I had written a long post about Isis being in the hospital with colic and a slippery-finger mistake caused me to delete the entire entry. It’s too raw to rewrite now. She was okay at breakfast this moring. The barn manager called me at 9:30 AM, the vet was at the barn about an hour later, and Isis was at the hospital being...
Continue reading...Off her supplement
Okay, I knew Isis’ supplement helped her. The past few weeks have really highlighted just how much she needs it. For about the past month, Isis has not been eating her supplement. She gets a low-starch pelleted grain and 2 ounces of Grand Meadows Complete, a powdered supplement. She decided that she didn’t like the pellets and she didn’t like the supplement. She quit eating her grain. Four years ago, we started Isis...
Continue reading...Frustrating feet
I think I should expand my consulting business to include “horse health specialist.” With all of the special requirements Isis has for managing laminitis and insulin resistance, I’ve learned more with her than all of the years I’ve had horses. Low carb grain. Grazing muzzles. For months, last year through the beginning of this year, we struggled with keeping the grazing muzzle on her. Finally after we get that to stay on no...
Continue reading...The Bane of Easy Keepers
I’ve always had horses who were easy keepers — only taking them off grass would make them lose weight. Isis was no exception. Metabolism? What’s that? I’ve managed her weight as best I can through nutrition and exercise. It’s not always enough, I can’t get out to the barn as often as I like. The weather does not cooperate either. Two years ago her weight wasn’t that high, but conditions were right and...
Continue reading...Laminitis resources
Web sites, mailing lists, and articles available online for laminitis: Laminitis-related Safer Grass: A Web site by Katy Watts with a lot of information for both the owner and the veterinarian on laminitis and insulin resistance in horses. Excellent site. HorseShoes.com Laminitis and Founder articles: Wealth of information on this farriery site. Hoof Project: The Hoof Project (HP) is an electronic journal that is focused on the foot of the horse. The HP...
Continue reading...Houdini Horse, part 3
We’ve had some cold weather, so Isis is in a small pasture with grass. Her grazing muzzle is put on every morning. Her new pasture has only a little grass in it, most of it is that light shade of tan that happens after several heavy frosts. The diet paddock she had been in had turned into a mud pit and she was started to get scratches on her heels. She has been...
Continue reading...Ah c’mon, Isis… just a little bute
Isis, like her sire, is very intelligent. She tasted the bute (horse aspirin) in her grain and refused to eat it. Even crumbling treats into the grain didn’t tempt her. She picked them out and left the grain. We had another trick up our sleeves! The barn manager quartered an apple and inserted small pieces of a bute tablet into each section. Isis ate the first one, then spit out the a piece....
Continue reading...Laminitis and tendons, take 2
The farrier came out today and had some excellent news. Even after Isis had a mild case of laminitis, her feet are in excellent shape. The white-line growth is normal and she isn’t lame any more. As far as he was concerned, her feet were good enough to start riding again. Six weeks pasture rest and the grazing muzzle had paid off! Except for an annoying swelling on the inside of her right...
Continue reading...New pasture, new ‘tude
The first week Isis had her grazing muzzle on, she discovered how to take it off by rolling. A few minutes after she was turned out, she would roll and rub her head back and forth against the ground. The strap behind her ears slipped off, and she dropped the muzzle on the ground. She did this four out of the six days I turned her out at lunch. The one time she...
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