Echo's Vet Update

Before I dive into the latest installment of Echo's vet addiction, I do want to send out my best to all of you.  I went back & forth, but decided that I wasn't going to write much, if anything, about The Virus -- it was already all the words on all the channels & I didn't think I had anything meaningful to add to all that noise.  The best any of us can do at present is to follow reputable safety protocols to the best of our ability & for your own sanity, turn off the news & the facebook (if you even watch it, I do not anyway as I don't need to add to my sources of anger).

We are fine (at least as much as we ever are) here -- my job is secure & I can do much of my office work remotely to the extent that my limited rural internet access allows.  Our field work is reduced, but we will still be working on mission-critical projects; there is plenty of room for social distancing in the river though.  I generally don't go many places outside of work anyway; I hate grocery shopping so much I only go maybe once a month (basically when there is literally nothing left in the house), & as an introvert, I don't encounter other humans often.  I remain grateful to have the horses at home, so not many changes for us.  I definitely feel for all of you who can't see your horses right now & am hoping that ends as soon as possible! 

If you are in a position to help others, but are not sure what to do, you can follow this link to a summary page from Charity Navigator of groups which are accepting donations to help with everything from medical supplies to food to financial assistance.  Sending even a dollar from your living room is risk-free for you & can make a difference to someone else.

Click to find a reputable charity helping those in need

Turning back to my problem child...

Earlier this week, I took Echo back to the vet, as his shoulder was just...lingering.  I had started doing stretches & massage about a week prior to that following a phone consultation with vet.  That treatment did bring about some improvement & Echo was moving a bit more freely with a little less limping, but I wasn't comfortable proceeding without a better idea of what exactly we were dealing with.

Also..."Echo's Vet Update" should probably be the new name of this blog.

Turns out he did indeed partially tear his triceps muscle.  Good news:  that muscle is enormous, covering the entire scapula, so there is plenty of "extra" to do the job it needs to do.  Also good news:  it will heal without any functional limitations.  Also good news:  he is at the point in healing where he can start to go back to work as he needs to use it to continue making progress.

Equine shoulder; From horsesidevetguide.com

Less good news:  muscles heal slowly & giant muscles heal even slower.  It will probably 5-6 months until it is completely healed.  He may have a permanent divot to add to his existing scar collection, but at least it won't affect anything.

In the balance, while it's not great, it could be so much worse.  At least we can start doing things again, while is a huge relief to us both.  I will, as always, be conservative -- I got on a couple days ago & we just did walk work & stepping over poles.  Of course, Echo is already happily trotting & cantering around in the pastures on his own.  I'll never know exactly what happened -- maybe it was a kick, maybe he just slipped, maybe it was both.

His lump 10 days ago

I did put him back on the Equioxx, carefully, after we finished other meds, & am relieved that he is having no issues with it, so he has that mild anti-inflammatory support as we work through the physical therapy process.  He also completed a week of Ulcerguard & his stomach is much happier, so he's back to eating his meals (although still at the slowest....speed.....possible).

Farrier also put the hoof testers on him last week & he had no reactions, so it looks like the coffin bone bruise is healed up too.  At least it helps me to gauge lameness without the compounding factor of that foot on the same leg as his shoulder.

I'm sure Echo will find new things to do, but it still felt good to cross at least a couple of the more recent issues off the list.  And even though I hate any injury in my horses, it's going to happen one way or another, because horses, so I'm still grateful when it is at least something that will heal, because I've dealt with enough things that won't & that is much worse.

Shaking off gnats while regaining weight, shine, & getting less lumpy every day

Baby steps for Baby Monster, but we will begin re-building that topline once again.  It should be easier this time since he has more skills than he did a year ago - some of them are even useful.

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Bute Vs. Equioxx: Tradeoffs

Because it's a good time to learn about things, right?

I recently had the unfortunate but useful opportunity to compare the results of the two most commonly used equine NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs; bute & Equioxx) on the same injury -- Echo's shoulder.  There are pros & cons to each.  Because I firmly believe in making the most informed decisions possible, let me share with you what I learned.

Background

Heat, pain, & swelling are the result of the body's inflammatory cycle.  One of the primary mediators of this cycle is a group of prostaglandins created by cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, which convert a substance interestingly named arachidonic acid (does it have spiders in it?).  There are different varieties in this group, referred to by number:  horses have COX-1 & COX-2, while humans have additional variants.  NSAIDs aim to break the inflammatory cycle by inhibiting the production of these enzymes, during which the body can break down harmful prostaglandins which have already formed (which takes about 12 hrs).

As you might suspect, COX-1 & COX-2 have different functions.  COX-1 plays important roles in things like maintaining stomach mucous coatings, keeping blood flowing through kidneys, & coagulating blood.  COX-2 is only found at low levels in normal tissues, but levels surge when that inflammatory process begins & COX-2 feeds that cycle. 

A simplified illustration from previcox.com; click to embiggen

Drugs

Bute refers to phenylbutazone, our old friend which has been around for decades.  It's cheap & fairly effective for pain management.  Given orally, it takes about 2-3 hrs to absorb from the belly & peaks in 3-5 hrs.  Persisting about 12 hrs, bute blocks both COX-1 & 2 production.

Equioxx is a brand name of firocoxib, a newer drug that is known in the canine world as Previcox.  It was developed for the treatment of osteoarthritis.  It's also given orally by owners, but is much slower to take effect.  It takes at least 24 hrs for levels to begin to peak & does not reach steady state for 4-6 days.  It also has a half-life of 44-46 hrs, so it takes an additional two days minimum to disappear after you stop giving it.  Firocoxib is a selective COX-2 inhibitor, which means it preferentially blocks COX-2 but still has a minor effect on COX-1.

Choices & My Observations

It just so happened that I was able to directly compare the two as Echo was on bute for the first week of his shoulder pain, then on Equioxx for a second week.  Pros & cons:

Bute Pros:

• Much more effective pain control (side note: I've heard the same from others)
• Significantly more rapid action - both to start & finish.  The latter can be especially important if you need to take a lame horse to the vet the next morning & you need the pain unmasked for an exam.
• Relatively cheap
• Easy to give -- even picky Solo will usually eat it on his food.  If they start refusing it after multiple days, I just dump it in a syringe with a little water & shoot it in their mouth.

Bute Cons:

• Blocking both COX-1 & 2 is what brings about the higher incidence of GI issues with bute.  This is why I switched to Equioxx, as Echo had already been on bute a lot for his foot bruise & I was beginning to see ulcer signs.

Equioxx Pros:

• Primary benefit is its selective COX-2 action:  this spares the GI tract some abuse, as well as protecting other COX-1 processes (cartilage maintenance is another one not mentioned above).
• Also pretty easy to give as a tablet -- Echo snarfed it up when I put it in my hand with a little grain.  I've also heard of people stuffing them in cookies or gumdrops.  Just don't let other humans eat the gumdrops.  I've also heard of that happening once, LOL.

Equioxx Cons:

• I saw significantly less pain control that definitely seemed better suited to something milder like arthritis.
• Slow action, both to kick in & withdraw.  
• Not cheap -- I did find (too late for me) that it was significantly cheaper online than through my vet.  Vet also did say that he did the math & it was actually cheaper per hour of pain control than bute was.  I believe him, but almost $2 a pill still hurts me.

Related note:  Equioxx & Previcox are both firocoxib.  Because Previcox can be cheaper, many people use it for their horses & just divide pills themselves.  However, be aware, it is now illegal, through the FDA, for a vet to give Previcox for a horse.  This is because accurate dosage for firocoxib is important to avoid adverse effects & it's very easy to over- or under-dose when manually dividing dog tablets.  This legal change occurred around 2016, when the tablet form of Equioxx became available; here is a good explanation.  I'm not going to call the drug police on you, just informing. 

One more note:  I learned from the Equioxx package insert that all NSAIDs have the potential to also block the prostaglandins which control body temperature.  This isn't common, but is something to keep an eye on if something goes awry.

Take Homes

Just like pretty much all of life, there are tradeoffs with each option, but I hope this will help you better understand which might work best for you.  I still consider bute my first line tool in acute pain control due to its strength & speed.  However, if you need to give an NSAID for a long period of time or are treating a horse who already has ulcers, Equioxx may be a more appropriate choice to protect GI tracts.

If you really want to dig in, here is a really nice paper from the Journal of the American Vet Med Association from 2017 on the COX enzymes & use of selective COX-2 inhibitors.

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Disaster Horse Votes No To Boring

Without doubt, we are in tumultuous times.  Echo the Disaster Horse did not want to be left out of this & had no interest in my plea to be boring.  Not that I thought he actually would.

Right after my last post, he galloped around the pasture like an idiot & re-aggravated whatever he did to his shoulder.  Two weeks later, he still has some lingering soreness.  Vet says it's possible he bruised a nerve, which will take a little longer to heal.  I wish that was our biggest concern.

About 9 days ago, last Sunday morning, Echo was just looking kinda sorry for himself at breakfast.  I took his pulse on a whim & it was a bit elevated, so I took his temp & discovered he had a fever of 101.8 F.  He was already on Equioxx, so I consulted vet & he said go ahead & give bute if the fever gets higher.  At 102.1 F, I went ahead. 

The bute did control the fever well & Echo perked up, but then Monday night, I went out to give the horses their midnight snack of alfalfa cubes only to find the poor kid was completely covered in hives.  As in, his whole body looked like furry cottage cheese & his neck felt hard as a rock, I have never seen anything like it -- even his butthole had hives on it.  He was extremely tolerant of me shoving my shaking hands up his nose to make sure he still had an airway while I dialed the vet emergency line yet again. 

Gee, mom, you didn't actually want to sleep ever, did you??

A few doses of dex took care of that & we never did determine exactly what he reacted too.  It wasn't fire ants (no bites), he had no changes in food (not even a new bag) -- the best guess is maybe a wasp sting but invisible aliens are equally plausible.  At this point, I had no idea what was going on & took him in to the clinic to figure out what the heck to do before I had an aneurysm.

Long story short, blood work came back showing a possible bacterial infection (origin unknown).  Even though the fever had quit by Wednesday, vet prescribed a course of SMZs, which we've just finished.  In addition, & completely unsurprisingly, he also has some acute ulcers from the on-and-off bute over the last few months for his foot bruise.

Baby Monster, you be killin' me.

I have UlcerGuard on order & will be stalking the tracking number, since Echo is now off his feed & he doesn't have weight to spare.  After the last 10 days, I'm off my feed too!  Until it gets here, I'm offering him soaked alfalfa cubes & anything else he will pick at -- at least I have grass coming in & he is grazing some. 

Alfalfa slurpies

I have been itching to get him back into work, as he has lost all that muscle & weight I put on him last fall & he just does better overall when he is doing SOMEthing.  But I don't have the heart to ask him to do anything extra with a sore belly sloshing around, especially when I can't even give him any painkillers.  I'm even afraid of the Equioxx now, which will take a whole 'nother post to get into.

I am absolutely grateful they are at home with me right now & that Echo can at least keep himself mobile since they live out.  I think Solo is also grateful Baby Monster is wayyyyy less annoying right now.  And at least I can keep a close eye on him since I am working from home most of the time right now.

I hope you all are staying safe out there & I hope all your horses stay very very boring! 

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Update On Disaster Horse

Maybe that should be his new name...

Echo's shoulder has improved some this week.  I'm leaning heavily towards it being a kick & have absolutely no doubt that he was asking for it (he basically always is).  Reason being, he has shown no protest to me extending the leg & he did a big "downward dog" stretch himself this morning, which I don't think he'd be that in to if he had pulled those muscles.

He still has a lump there, although it's reduced a bit, which I'll continue to SoreNoMore, but plan on tapering back the bute & seeing what happens.  He's moving much better, I don't see any more tightness in his walk & he trotted up for his late-night snack last night.

I briefly got on him bareback this morning, just to walk him around & get a feel for things, as that can often give me a lot of information.  I didn't feel anything from that bruised foot (granted, he was still on bute, but that doesn't hide everything), which is good, & got no real resistance from the shoulder.

On Thursday, farrier removed the glue-on boots & put him back in the flip flop pads.  So far, he's looking pretty comfortable in them, which confirms that his initial discomfort with them last time was in fact that it was a suddenly firm surface under that bruise.  He's made enough healing progress now that it no longer bothers him.  We did use race nails (thinner/lighter) in the shoes this time, just for cautious bet-hedging. 

They're back (altho this weird-angle pic is from the first round)

Thanks to the commenter on that post who gave us a perfectly timed tip:  the EasyCare flip flop boots CAN be reused!  We pried them off intact with a screwdriver (by the way, the Adhere glue worked perfectly for 5 weeks).  The adhesive stayed stuck to the hoof, so the boots came off clean & ready to go if I ever want to use them again.  If adhesive does stick to the boot, it can be easily dremel-ed off.  This at least made the price slightly less painful -- if you get two cycles out of them, that's $30 a cycle, which is still a bit high, but much closer with other plastic/rubber/polyurethane footwear.

I am happy with the boots' performance overall:  they stayed on (always critical), tread still looks good, horse moved normally (you know, for a creature with 3 functional legs).  I would definitely add the pour-in material in the toe in the future, as there is just no way to get gunk out of there & there was some moisture trapped in there when we pulled them (we've been in a rainy period).  Echo's feet were healthy when they went on, so no harm done, but pad material would help prevent that buildup.  Alternatively, you could probably cut out some sole "windows," the way we've done with the pads, because the material is pretty sturdy (caveat, I haven't tried this, but I bet someone has).  

Please, Echo, can we just be boring for a while?

Discovering spring grass a couple weeks ago

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Unlucky People Shouldn't Own Unlucky Horses

Echo insists on continuing to demonstrate his talent...for misfortune.  Combined with my own terrible luck, I feel like we are stuck on a moebius strip of exasperation.

You know his left front leg, the one with the bruised coffin bone at the end of it?  Well, it had been showing some improvement...until yesterday.

I came home from work to find him limping anew.  I initially thought we had somehow aggravated the foot on the short, walking trail ride I ponied him along on Sunday.  Oh no -- now he has done something to the shoulder ON THE SAME LEG!

I found a big, hard lump just behind his scapula that foamed up white as soon as I put SoreNoMore on it (which can be an indication of elevated temperatures which go along with inflammation/spasm in the muscles, which arnica reacts to).  At this point, my hypotheses are either:

1. Solo kicked him.  Which I have absolutely no doubt Echo deserved, so I couldn't even be irritated at Solo.  If you get kicked by Solo, it's only after you have ignored countless warnings, which are not subtle.  Echo is not one to take warnings seriously if he feels entertained.  There wasn't a mark, but Solo is barefoot. 
2. Echo torqued the shoulder playing Wild Rearing Plunging Mustang games.  Equally possible.

He didn't react at all when I poked it.  I've seen him roll & get up just fine & he's weight-bearing.  He had no problem with me lifting the leg, extending it in front of him, rolling the shoulder around in its joint.  Which is a little baffling, but at least tells me he didn't break a rib (or anything else) & he didn't dislocate the shoulder.

At least one piece of my tack is getting some use

I'll give him a few days with bute & rest -- oh wait, he was already resting, gahhhh.  If he doesn't improve much with that, then I'll call my poor, harassed vet again.  I'm cautiously hopeful it looks like nothing too major right now, as the lump had softened when I got home from work today.  I put some ice on it this afternoon, although I'm not sure it can penetrate much in an area with so much body mass.

Hopefully he will decide to quit all this nonsense before I forget how to ride a horse.  The key to preventing this kind of stuff is strengthening soft tissues through fitness -- which is a little hard to do when you can't work them.  That hollow, thumping sound you hear is just my skull hitting the table repeatedly.  I'm thinking it would be smarter to trade him in for a pet turtle -- it takes some serious effort to break a turtle. 

Can someone just pat my head & possibly pour some libations down my throat??

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Two Suppling Exercises For Any Gait

Echo & I are just doing sporadic walking with occasional short trot spurts (less than 10-15 steps) currently, as I wait oh-so-impatiently for his foot to heal.  It bores both of us, but there are endless opportunities to work on important basics.  Things like lateral cues, contact & balance in transitions, responsiveness to aids.  We learned some new simple schooling exercises from Trainer Neighbour last fall -- here are two of them that I have been using very frequently.  Both can be done at any gait.

Exercise 1:  Stretchy Turn On Haunches

I just made up that name for it.  This one has been excellent for Echo's devotion to curling behind the bit.  Prerequisites:  you need control of your horse's shoulders such that you can move them sideways.

Walk on a long or loose rein.  When you are ready to turn on the haunches (TOH), shorten your reins up.  Then ask the horse to move his shoulders around to reverse direction.  I'm calling it TOH, but it doesn't have to be a perfect, hind feet immobile, thing.  The important part is mobilizing the shoulders & feeling them step around.

When direction is reversed, immediately slip your reins back out & if the horse has actually used himself, he should stretch over his topline, reaching down & out.  I was amazed that this worked immediately with Echo.  I had never done or tried to do TOH with him before, just taught him to move his shoulders around at the walk.

The words aren't exactly in the right place, but you get the idea

Repeat the exercise as desired.  You are looking for the shoulder motion in the turn & then for the stretch when you slip the rein.  I find this very effective in warm up.

At the trot or canter, I use an abbreviated version, without the rein slipping, if Echo starts to curl again. Just bring the shoulders sideways for a step or two, which shifts his balance & uncurls him.  You could probably also encourage a stretch this way, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Exercise 2:  Spiral Circles

This is a variant on the classic spiral that I find helps keep the horse moving better so they don't get "stuck" in a circle.  Simply incorporate small circles (whatever is appropriate for your horse) all around your work area.  But as you get to the last 1/3 of the circle, cut in a little, then leg yield back out to your track.  Diagram, because words are confusing:

Arrows are where you leg-yield out, I just failed to angle them enough

I also like to incorporate transitions within a gait in these.  For example, if posting the trot, compress the horse into a sitting trot for the circle.  Or just half the circle.  Or just the leg yield.  Alternate.  You get lateral & longitudinal suppling this way, along with balance & strength work.

You can also add in shoulder mobilization to these circles, a couple steps here & there.  Keep them separate from the leg yields, so your aids are distinct (unless your horse is wayyyy more advanced than mine, in which case you probably don't need this post, ha).

Tell me about your favourite exercises -- especially if you have uncurling tricks!

Evidence from last fall: uncurling after some spirals

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My Horse Is Wearing Flip-Flops In Winter

We've yet to nail down the exact footwear type that optimizes Echo the Baby Monster, but I feel like I'm getting closer.  I've been trying some "new" technology & there is a lot to like -- this post covers two alternatives.  As I've mentioned before, Echo dislikes anything that he feels pinches his heels; this can include a plain horseshoe, so I devoted some focused brain effort towards exploring options that still allowed me to protect the bottom of his foot while he heals.

Behind Door #1:  Flip Flop Boots
 
Right now, he is still wearing the EasyCare flip flop boots I brought up in the last post.  They are still working pretty well:  the epoxy is holding firm in the rain/mud/frozen/unfrozen roller coaster of conditions that is a Carolina February.  Traction remains good.  He seems to be moving comfortably in them (i.e. definitely doesn't prevent him from cantering & bucking across the field for dinner) & I've seen no signs of over-reaching (I am using bell boots with them because, well, it's a horse owned by me, therefore bad luck is probable, heh).  And the rubber is very sturdy -- vet commented on the radiographs that the sole of the boot was nearly the same density as the coffin bone. 

Solar view, complete with mud for "natural" look

As far as application, they truly ARE easy.  If your horse already had a good trim, you could definitely glue these on yourself.  I didn't get any pictures of farrier putting them on because it was dark & I was busy holding extra lights, but it went like this:

1. Trim foot & rasp wall to roughen for maximum epoxy bonding.
2. Set foot in boot (without epoxy) & mark (sharpie works) where you want to trim excess length off the back (if needed).  Trim with hoof nippers.
3. Smear entire inside of boot cuff liberally with expoxy of choice (we used the black Adhere this time since that's what EasyCare recommended, but farrier commented that wasn't his favourite).
4. Place boot on hoof, making sure it's snugged up against toe.  Hold long enough for intial setting, then place foot carefully on ground for the rest of the set time.

Left front (bruised foot) with boot

EasyCare has an excellent video with detailed instructions here, which is what I sent to my farrier since he had not used these before.  You can also squirt some pour-in pad material into the toe to help keep dirt out -- I would have liked to have done this, but we were worried about creating too much pressure on a sore foot & at the time of application, I still thought it was a bruise more towards the toe.  So we skipped it. 

Since nothing is perfect, the things I don't like:

• These are rather stupidly expensive, at $32 for EACH ONE.  So a pair is $64 & they are not designed to be reusable -- according to the instructions, you have to cut the boot to get them off.  As a result, I will not be using these again barring emergency, because that is way too pricey for a single cycle (since total price with farrier labour is obviously more than that).  
•  They do get junk in them.  However, not as much as I expected & I think it would be even less if we weren't in the middle of rainy, muddy paddock time.  When it has been drier & Echo has been in the upper field, he doesn't get anything in there.  
• It's not too hard to pick out the back of the collateral grooves around the heels, but you can't reach the toe at all.  You could flush it out with a hose pretty easily though.
• I got the flip flop model because I didn't have time to do a bunch of size exchanges & I figured they had the most flexiblity in terms of fit.  The trade-off is this:  a boot that glues around the whole foot will probably keep more junk out but then you also lose air circulation to the bottom of the foot.  Pick your poison.

Behind Door #2:  Flip Flop Pads

A couple of weeks from now, when the boots come off, we'll switch Echo to something I think is even more promising:  true flip flop pads.  I'd been wanting to try these for him ever since I read about them in this article.  My farrier had never used these either, but was willing to give it a shot. 

We actually tried a set about a month ago & they looked great.  However, Echo was pretty sore in them & again, I wasn't sure what the problem was yet.  We thought that one of the nails might be putting pressure on the hypothesized bruise, so we pulled the shoes/pads after a week.  I know now that he was sore because these pads are VERY firm, they are made to be reset & that sudden change from barefoot was too much for him at that phase of his healing.

Solar view of flip flop pads & half shoe

As a result, I don't yet know exactly how they will work out long term.  But my initial impression, on the foot that wasn't sore, was that these could be good for him.  The concept was designed by farriers & they've been in use for a long time in Standardbred racing (we used the Grand Circuit pads to match the thickness of an eventer shoe).  The pad itself covers the whole foot, providing even support across the entire width of the heels without any restriction on heel motion.  It's then held in place by a regular horseshoe which is cut in half. 

Shoe & pad thickness must match to create level surface for foot

The niche these pads particularly address are horses that need more/better heel growth, whether they are underrun or low or just weak.  The pads work by distributing pressure across the entire back of the foot, spreading out the forces that would otherwise be focused on the heels by a regular metal shoe.   

I like that this provides protection for toe wear, the area where Echo tends to get separation on his right front (in above pic).  It checks the box of "no heel squeezing," as per his majesty, Pony Princess Feet.  The pads come with pre-stamped holes in the toe, but we cut out bigger openings so I could keep things clean more easily (this worked great).  Farrier was a little hesitant at first that cutting might compromise pad integrity, but he stopped worrying about that as soon as he tried to actually cut them -- all his normal tools (pad cutter, hoof nippers) wouldn't do it, it took a lot of muscle & hacking with a very sharp hoof knife & that barely cut it.

You do need a chop saw to cut the shoes

I'll definitely share more info when I've had a chance to collect more data.  I've seen good reports from other users online.  They are much more reasonably priced than the boots, with the pads themselves around $16 a pair & can be reused.  The concept seems solid -- we'll see what the princess has to say about it. 

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It's Not An Abscess

Echo decides to prove yet again that my paranoia is not unfounded.

We finally made it to the vet today for spring shots & the planned radiograph I mentioned previously.  It was supposed to be last week, but the rain prevented the machine from coming out to play & it was so wet, I couldn't get the trailer hooked up & out without tearing up half my property.

Turns out, Echo's prolonged on again/off again soreness on his left front is in fact due to some bone bruising on the medial wing of that coffin bone.  Which Dr. Bob also referred to as "crushing" & "micro-fractures."  Which I did not really appreciate because I don't care what the vet-land rules are, but these words do not all mean the same thing to me & shave several years off my life!  I am just going to call it bone smooshing because that is descriptive without being quite so terrifying-sounding.

Smooshing is right where the #4 is on this coffin bone

This type of injury happens when a horse's heel impacts something hard, such as a rock or a hard piece of ground, with too much force or just the right angle or it's Tuesday.  Fortunately for Echo & I, his smooshing is right at the tip of the bone.  Which means it will heal, is already healing, & he should be fine.  If you get smooshing farther forward on the bone (like by 3 or 5) or extending up into the joint, that is when it becomes a Really Bad Thing.  I am hopeful I never have to learn any further detail about that.

Since this has been going on since early December, Echo is already a "fur piece" down the healing road.  Having had a gnarly bone bruise, I am familiar with their slowness; Dr. Bob said this type of thing can range from 6-8 weeks for a mild one (like Echo's) up to 6 months for something more severe.  So we should be on the "improving" side of the curve & we should see continued gradual progress over the next month or so.

Also fortunately, my gut management instincts (& repetitive haunting of Dr. Bob's phone line) guided the correct course of action over the winter, even though I wasn't certain of the cause.  He's done very little work, which consisted entirely of walking & an occasional short trot for feels on soft ground.  He's been able to move freely in the pasture, which is what needed to happen for circulation which then fuels healing. 

And for the last month or so, as he's moving more & when we get more frozen ground cycles, both front feet have been protected with full support across the heels & frogs.  The exact devices will get their own post, because farrier & I have been learning about new technology, but right now, he's wearing a pair of EasyCare's flip flop boots & they are working pretty well.

One of his expensive slippers

These allow his heels full lateral freedom (which is his particular Princess Pony Foot demand), but provide a thick, sturdy pad under his entire foot while still providing good traction in mud or frosty grass.  All the details will come in the next post.

Until then, he has been cleared commanded to go back into more consistent work under saddle on the flat (with bute as needed) to use that 5-yr-old energy most constructively (although I am sure he will still engage in many spring frolics) & help the rebuilding process.  I am sure I will be ultra paranoid conservative about it, but I suspect I shall receive no arguments from Echo other than "SO WHYYYY IS ALL-CANTERZ A BAD IDEA????"

Definitely not as "benign" as the abscess I was voting for, but on the upside, it involves no wrapping & will be far less messy.  Another plus:  this was the only foot I didn't have radiographs of yet, so now I have images of all four (yes, horse owners celebrate weird things).  Joint spaces were clean & lovely, navicular bone was fine, soft tissue had no issues, & all the other pieces were where they were supposed to be.  And while it's been frustrating to watch his muscling disappear, I'm just glad that it's not permanent (at least not this time).

Answers bring a great deal of peace of mind, even more so when they are not catastrophic.  We'll see how the next 30 days go, but I'll be thrilled if they are completely uneventful...  

I know he's just hatching his next plot...but at least he will do it shini-ly

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Winning The Thrush War

Solo's feet hate moisture & they've definitely gotten more finicky with age.  I've never had a case of full-blown thrush in the past, it's mostly just been a "things are looking mushy & threatening" kind of vibe.  I was usually able to clear things up with a short course of Thrushbuster.  In the past year or so, however, I've been losing the battle.

His front feet are the problem children & he developed some pretty deep sulcus splits in both frogs, out of which I started getting some smelly not-goodness.  The Thrushbuster was having little to no effect & Dr. Bob told me that all those thrushy micro-organisms can & do develop a resistance to iodine.  It was time to set out on a quest for something new.

Solo's big crack.  Yeah, I crack myself up.  TWO CRACK JOKES!

I proceeded to read the ingredient list & reviews of every thrush product ever formulated, searching for something non-iodine, but demonstrating real effectiveness without requiring long soaking or specialized boots.  Funny side story & spoiler alert:  I ended up at one of the same conclusions as L. Williams, who wrote up a great account of her experience recently!

The Winner

After extensive reading, I decided to try Pure Sole Hoof Mud.  I'm always a little hesitant about things that scream "ALL NATURAL FROOFY" or whatnot, that sound like someone just concocts it in their basement & then sells their placebo for a bunch of money.  However, one of the primary ingredients is apple cider vinegar, which is an acid with well-documented effectiveness against thrush, along with zinc oxide, which is a good moisture barrier.

It's extremely easy to use.  I love that I don't need gloves & it doesn't make me all sticky or dye me purple.  It has a perfect, dry clay consistency so you can pack it in to cracks & crevices easily.  I kneaded it deep into those sulci, where it generally stayed for about 24 hours or so.  I've been using it in nasty mud & wetness with no issues.  When the horse puts his foot down, the clay just gets shoved deeper in there.

Just brushes off my fingers when I'm done

Even better, IT WORKED.  I applied it daily for a few weeks, although that may have been overkill with the acid, because I did see a little frog degradation.  But no more stinky funk.  I backed off to using it once every few days, more often if it's rainy, just in the crevices as a preventative.

After packing

I bought the smaller tub & have used probably 95% of it in 1.5 months, but it will take a little while to use up the last 5% now that I'm using less of it less often.  I did already get a new big tub, so now I'm prepared for the microbial apocalypse.  The clay itself seems very stable, the consistency has been the same whether it's warm or cold & it's definitely been out in the shed when it's 20F.

The only thing it didn't succeed at was sticking to the outside of the hoof wall or white line.  I wanted to see if it would help Echo's toe that is prone to separation, but the clay won't stick to that by itself, it falls off or gets rubbed off in about 4 seconds.  But for areas in & around the frog, worked great.

Two hooves up from us (technically eight, because I did put it on some other spots on Echo's feet too).  

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Bruise Purgatory

This is where I've been with Echo for the last too-many-weeks.  A lurking bruise in a front foot that just won't commit to action.  At least I hope it's a bruise, because a worse alternative is...much worse.

He bruised something inside that foot in November, taking a bad step in a field (I saw it, fortunately, he was essentially standing still, so not a ton of force, he just vastly over-reacted to moving out of Solo's way).  Vet checked it out with a basic exam, wasn't overly concerned, we rested.

It lingered.  In early December, Echo was still sore at times & I had worked myself up into an over-anxious state by drawing many parallels with Solo's DDFT injury.  So we went back to vet & he said still just a bruise & after watching the exam, I returned to normal baseline paranoia.

It still lingers, as bruises can sometimes do as they shift around & laugh at me, which Encore expertly taught me.  I am getting twitchy again, because my brain loves to gnaw on things & also does not know how to process time, so I often struggle with temporal perspective.  We have spring shots scheduled in 10 days, so if it's not better by then, we'll shoot a radiograph to see if there's anything bizarre we missed (surely not in a horse that I own *sarcasm*).

Like all things horse, it's complicated.  We did put some super-cool fancy pads on his front feet, which will get their own post, as I thought that would help him bridge the last gap of healing (he's been barefoot for over a year).  Unfortunately, it appeared that one nail, while not a "hot" nail, did put pressure next to the bruise, so we had to pull the shoes after a week & will try some glue-on boots instead.

Thank goodness for Gorilla Tape, my booties now last 3 days

He was much better within an hour of pulling the shoes, but is still a bit sore a week later, so that nail may have aggravated it a little.  Not horrible, just enough that I can see it on harder ground, definitely in his foot, around the medial side of his toe.  Not sore enough that he won't frolic around in his paddock, so I did sit on him today (almost all walking & it just rained so the ground is soft).  I didn't give him any bute beforehand because I wanted an honest feel & while I could still feel the lingerer, I think he did seem a bit better?

Sigh, these subtle things are so confusing & frustrating.  Especially when you don't own imaging devices.  I'm trying to shame Echo by reminding him that his almost-24-yr-old "brother" with arthritis is currently sounder than him.  I'm fairly certain, though, that Echo was standing behind the door when they handed out guilt.

Shame not installed

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