On being proactive

<----------This?

This is the face of a horse who would never worry his owner.
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Which would be true if he were a cartoon character, or a stuffed animal, but he is not. He's a living, breathing, money eating machine that seems to thrive on giving me grey hairs and high blood pressure. But I love him all the same, mostly.

But this is the curse of horse ownership right? That constant balance between the high you feel after a great ride or the feeling you get when your horse nickers at you and the lowest of lows when your horse is so desperately trying to tell you something hurts and you can't figure out where or why.

If only you could talk!

But the thing is... owning a horse is more about the grey area. The days of mediocre rides and small break throughs, pulled shoes and mystery lamenesses that leave us scratching our heads. And our role in all of that is to be the very best advocate we can for them.

I realize that this varies, WILDLY amongst horse people. There are the "wait and see" types, the "bubble wrap the horse" types, the "let's call the vet every-single-time" types, the "I'm going to post this on OTTB connect and get advice" types, and everything in between. If I had to describe myself I'd say that I'm a bit old school about some things but I'm also very cautious.

I take what I know about my horse and try to apply my knowledge base around that horse's particular issues. Some horses are stoic (mine is not), some are prone to certain types of issues (cough, cellulitis, cough), some never tell you anything but you have a gut feeling that they are not quite right (I find those the most frustrating).

And when I say I'm cautious I mean that I probably build more recovery time into my treatment protocol than some. For example, after Scout got cast and developed a nasty vasculitis I kept him on stall rest judiciously, and turned him out slowly. And while he seemed sound, I did not push his training schedule because he was not completely 100%. I gave him a little more time (an additional week of turnout and no riding) and it was worth it to see him moving like this:

Strong and stepping evenly (and happy!)

And so when he came in from turnout with a big fat leg two days after these photos, my proactive protocol kicked in once again. Vet worthy? No. Needs immediate treatment and care? Yes.

Who me?

What I thought was just mud is actually a gross scab + fat leg

Once I got under all the mud and scrubbed the leg I saw what appeared to be a gross scrape. No biggie, BUT since I didn't know how long it had been there (I had been away from the farm for two days) and given the mud, I opted the best course of treatment was a 5 day cycle of smzs, a day of stall rest, and overnight wrapping. The antibiotics are to keep any sort of cellulitis from developing hopefully. He did have a slightly elevated temp (but like a half a degree), and given his history it's better to treat this judiciously. And while he was sound on it, there was no reason for me to push him to work on it.

Cleaned up but gross

And he'll be fine. The cut will heal, he will hopefully not develop a cellulitis, and he'll be sound and happy again. And that's the end goal for me... keeping him happy (first) and sound (second). But they go hand in hand I think.

I think at the end of the day it's hard to trust that we are always doing the best by our horses. What happens when you don't trust yourself to make a decision? Do you have a good support system to bounce your ideas/worries off of? What happens when you don't agree with or worse, you don't trust your vet? How do you know where to start or stop with treatment? How closely do you listen to what your horses needs?

Maybe I listen a bit too much (to my horse, to others), but that's my prerogative. Your protocol is yours. While some might find me too cautious, I might find others too cavalier. But it's all a learning experience in the end. 

And God he's worth the worry. <3

Status Report

Sass Wagon

Are you guys tired of Scout progress posts? Because I am.

But here I am typing up more boring notes on how he's progressing. He's been turned out for a little over a week and the leg swelling is staying down. There's still some residual heat which I'm hoping dissipates over time (it took his fetlock quite a while to finally stay cool and tight). So I stuck him on the lunge with some keep-your-shit-together parameters (Ahem, Pessoa rig).

And thank god he's got a good education on the lunge. He was feeling very good about life and tried pretty hard to keep a lid on things, but he was enthusiastic and spicy to be sure. Luckily, I'm well adept at lunging a wild horse, video-taping and holding a whip (#skillz).

That trot, I'm not mad atcha

Moving pretty nicely at the trot

At the trot he was moving out beautifully. Even in both directions with nice over tracking. At the canter he was still noticeably stiff on his RH. In fact, tracking left he was not subtle about his annoyance of having to put lateral pressure on it.

Tracking right, which is normally his tough direction he was quiet and balanced. Ultimately, I just wanted to get a sense of WTC in a controlled setting. The footing was slick and deep, so I didn't want to do too much with him but I was pretty pleased with how he looked overall.

Going forward, I'll start legging him up like I did in September with some long and low walk-trot until the strength in his right hind improves. I was admittedly a little bummed when I saw how stiff he was, but he'd only been turned out for a few days at that point. So maybe I need to recalibrate my expectations and just be patient.

And, if there's a bit of a silver lining about this whole experience it's that his condition is looking REALLY good! Let's give a big shout out to alfalfa for helping him get there:)

Closest thing I've got to a conformation shot for now

Here's to keep on keepin' on.

One foot in front of the other

Scout says HI

It's been four days since Scout got cast and we're continuing to improve! His fever is gone -- we've switched him from Banamine to Bute and tomorrow he'll scale back to Bute just once a day, so hopefully the fever stays away and he remains comfortable. I started to get pretty concerned yesterday as the limb itself was still warm and VERY swollen.

Fat hock

Cankle

More fat hock

And while he was walking comfortably on it and not favoring it anymore we needed to try something additional to reduce the swelling. After chatting with my regular vet and the clinic we thought that it would be worth trying to sweat the leg to see if it would respond.

Time to gather supplies.

I'm pretty sure the CVS near the barn thinks I'm a serial killer at this point because I am always buying the weirdest stuff. I chose a traditional sweat with Furacin and saran wrap, standing wrap on that and a stacked hock wrap with a figure eight bandage.

Turns out I learned something when I was a working student:)

I added some elasticon to the top and bottom of the stacked wrap to help it from slipping/moving too much. He didn't seem to care much at all about being wrapped up to his neck and I threw a supportive standing wrap on the other hind as a precaution.

In the meantime I got Boredy-McBoredpants some stalls treats that he couldn't figure out how to use

I came back a few hours later to make sure the wrap hadn't moved around too much (it hadn't, but I still re-did the top wrap to be extra careful) and I tucked him in for the night while me and the rest of the East Coast braced for Bomb Cyclone (WTF is with that name?).

For reference, I live in Philly and the farm is in Medford

The snow was scheduled to start overnight and be at it's worst during rush hour traffic. I got up and 6 to look outside and there was just a light dusting so I thought maybe the storm had veered off the coast more than anticipated. At 8, I jumped out of bed and the wind was whipping (gusts of 50mph) and the snow was really coming down. At this point they predicted it would snow until 1pm, so I though I might fare a little better if I made a run for it early to get back before there were several inches on the ground.

Untouched roads everywhere

My neighborhood is always a shitshow after snow, but I figured the main arterial roads would be better. NOPE. Nothing was touched, not even I-95! Major roads that are usually 3 lanes were mayhem with one lane of undefined boundaries and people driving all over the place. I had driven my truck home the night before as a precaution and I am SO glad I did. Having 4wd and a heavy vehicle was the only way you'd be getting around safely. By the time I got into New Jersey it was pretty much blizzard conditions. Visibility was down to about 1/8th of a mile and the blowing snow was making booby traps of snow drifts.

When I got to the farm I was happy to see one other set of tracks on the driveway (phew, the barn staff made it out there!) -- My goal was to get in and get out, as I was unsure of how hair raising my drive home would be!

All the ponies were staying in (much to their dismay), but Scout seemed happy for the company. I took his temp and mixed up his bute and took a peek at his legs. Hooray! The wraps stayed on perfectly all night (I'm not kidding when I say I was worried all night about them!)

OMG, a leg!

I've never been so happy to see bony protrusions 

The heat was greatly reduced and the swelling was down dramatically! I cleaned off the Furacin and cooled his leg off with a wet washcloth (winter's version of cold hosing). I'm thrilled with the effects of the wrap, so I'm going to leave him unwrapped for the night to see if it blows back up. If so, I'll start a protocol like I went through with his fetlock (wrapping until it goes cold and tight and weaning him off the wrap). Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to hand walk him and assess his soundness a little more. I'm feeling much more positive about his recovery at this point. Well worth the hellish drive this morning to see his improvement!

Another thing to check off my skillz list! Parallel parking this beast!

Thank you to everyone who sent good vibes our way, I think they're working! Fingers crossed we can maintain and upward trajectory. For now, stay warm all my East Coast friends, we're bracing for a couple of rough days ahead!

Two Days In

Good news:

Scout is responding well to meds. His fever is staying down and we switched him from banamine to bute (to wean off over the next 6 days). The antibiotics are doing their job so far and he's being a pretty good patient about having syringes shoved in his mouth and having his temp taken all the time. His neighboring stall buddy is staying in to keep him company, so that's quelling the building #FOMO (for now). He's bright, alert and back to his normal personality of HI, HELLO, HI, TREATS?

ALERT + bright eyed

Bad news:

His leg is still very swollen. It's less hot and much less sensitive to palpation and touch but it looks scary. The vet said I could try DMSO, but it could potentially aggravate him (any suggestions for topical anti-inflammatories) plus it's not fun to mess with. For now I've been instructed not to wrap it and luckily the LH isn't any worse for the wear, fingers crossed that continues.

Like where is his hock?

Good news:

He's much more comfortable on the limb. He's not favoring it at all. I hand walked him this morning and he came out of his stall much less stiff. If you didn't know him you probably wouldn't think he was lame at all. I can see the difference in his gait and the shorter step he's taking with the left hind to support the right. He's in very good spirits and seemed to be feeling VERY full of himself out walking (it helped that the other horses came galloping up screaming).

Bad news:

I'm not sure how the next 12 days are going to go. While I'm grateful for the cooler temps in terms of helping reduce the swelling, Scout is already fed up with being inside. I've rarely used a chain on him for anything ever and today I preemptively put one on him and I'm glad I did! When all the horses came running up, he started screaming his God Damn head off and dancing around. A quick reality check and I asked him to keep all four on the floor and act like a gentleman. It helped that I had a pocket full of treats to help bribe him when he was being quiet.

WHERE ARE MY FRAAAAAANZZZZ?!

So, time to invest in some stall distractions and maybe scale back his grain intake just a little to keep a lid on things. He's also convinced that the only good hay in the world is alfalfa soooo there's that.

I'm being cautiously optimistic about his recovery. He's got at least another 12 days of Baytril to go, and a lot can change in terms of swelling etc. After dealing with his fetlock I feel like I'm more equipped emotionally to deal with the slow recovery process. Scout continues to impress me with his good natured attitude about everything and he doesn't seem the least bit worried about getting cast again, as evidenced by his constant need to roll in fresh shavings.

Stop giving me a heart attack!!!!

I'll try to update more on his progress in the next two weeks, but I don't want to monopolize the blog with debbie downer content, so I'll try to sprinkle in some back burner posts I've been sitting on.

In like a lion, out like a lamb

After writing my 2017 year in review post, I found myself feeling quite happy overall about my accomplishments even amongst some big highs and lows. I was eager to begin fleshing out what the first quarter of 2018 would hold for Scout and I but damn if I wasn't going to get through the end of 2017 without one more beat down.

I got a text from the AM feed/turnout person that Scout seemed really stiff. She wasn't sure exactly what was up but didn't see any noticeable heat or swelling. I told her to go ahead and turn him out and I'd be out to check on him. A few minutes later she sends me this:

Ummm...

She hardly had to say the word "cast" and I was throwing clothes on and in the car to go check on him. I've never seen a horse get cast, or witness one trying to get out of it either, but the struggle evidence on Scout's wall had me nauseous. Who knows how long he was there, or how long he struggled for, but I was certain that he was more than just stiff following the episode.

When I arrived, he was out in the field grazing with his buddies, but when the rest of his herd came to see me he didn't move. He reluctantly hobbled along beside me as my heart sank. So I pulled off his rug and looked him over head to toe, making note of every nick and cut. The muscles in his neck near his jaw were swollen, he had a cut on his forehead, a little cut on his RH pastern, but overall no major lacerations. But when I got around to his right hind I got very concerned. It was swollen around the hock and fetlock, hot and he barely let me examine him. I tried to get him to put weight on it and he nearly fell down. So I called Emily and put a call into my regular vet, and took him outside to see if I could get him to walk and jog a little.

My poor guy

I tried to chase him a few steps and he hobbled away on three legs

I mean, it was 10 degrees, the horses were all galloping around and I couldn't even get him to move. So I stopped, got ahold of my vet and told her what was going on. She said typically horses that get cast either get through it practically unscathed or they are very hurt and that I should get someone local out immediately.

Gulp, nothing like an emergency vet call on a Sunday + Holiday + freezing temps.

And while being outside in the cold was probably preventing the inevitable, after being in his stall for an hour or so waiting on the vet, the limb started to swell significantly and he became even more reluctant to put weight on it.

Naked and drugged

Scout presented with a 103.2 fever, so the vet immediately got some meds on board to help with that and then she gave him some tranquilizer so she could further examine his RH. And bless his heart, he tried really hard to be a good boy while she palpated him over and over again. He was clearly in a lot of pain but never aimed his displeasure at the vet. She sat underneath him on a bucket, with her ultrasound machine next to her for hours (yes, hours because everything kept freezing - literally). What she found was interesting but more puzzling for an overall diagnosis. She ruled out any sort of fracture (for now) and explored further with the ultrasound. It seems as though he injured/aggravated the sephenous vein somehow and she was initially worried that he may be at risk for thrombosis. The ultrasound revealed that there was inflammation surrounding the wall of the vessel and evidence of hemotoma in the surrounding tissues. So she deemed it a likely vasculitis/cellulitis of unknown origin. Since we don't know what came first, the infection, or the cast, or the RH injury we decided to just treat it as it presents and go from there. She's sending his scans to a surgeon to review because of the inflammation around the vein.

So, here we are... January 1st, 2018. My horse is on a course of aggressive antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. I spent 3 months lessons/training budget in an instant and he's facing an uphill battle to soundness/recovery. After what we went through in August/September, and how difficult that was to rehab, I'm feeling very discouraged right now.

But, this morning he greeted me in his usual way, full of goofiness and begging for treats. His fever has continued to go down (100.8 last night and 99.7 this morning) -- so the drugs are working. Now he just needs to battle the infection that's raging and we start a plan to get him back on track. It's too early to say if the soft tissues are effected due to the swelling, but for now we'll just take everything one step at a time. No point in freaking out about anything else right now (#butistillsecretlywill).

Mouth full of drugs:)

Bummed he can't go outside with his buddies

So, please send some good vibes our way. Here's to hoping he's on the mend and doesn't go too stir crazy in his stall. Certainly, I know this could have been much worse for him and I feel a bit stupid even writing a post complaining and whining about all of this, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified yesterday and sad today thinking about our future. I promise I'll try to keep the pity party to a minimum:)

*And a big thank you to anyone who reached out on Facebook and Instagram yesterday (and to those I texted in a blind panic) -- I love this little blog world and all the of the support I feel from you guys!!

Every day with him is a gift OR how cellulitis sucks

There's nothing quite like your horse getting injured or sick to help jolt you back into reality. I had been studying the fall calendar, looking for first events to take Scout to when I got a message (while I was on vacation) that Scout came in from turnout with a hot fat leg. I didn't panic, but I hated that I wasn't nearby and it was bad enough that a call to vet was placed.

He was initially very lame, sensitive to palpation and barely walking. My vet pulled a SAA on him and he was positive for an infection. So we deemed it most likely a case of cellulitis, he was ordered stall rest, bute for a few days and a regime of antiobiotics (IM/IV). He weaned off the bute and was significantly more comfortable after a few days. Things were looking up. Vet check a few days later and another SAA, improved results. My vet radiographed the leg to rule out any sort of fracture or chip and we decided to plan an ultrasound in a few days. He finished the course of mega antibiotics and was put on Naquazone to reduce the inflammation. The leg was still swollen and very, very hot.

Broken pony is good at dramatic posing

Three days later, the swelling was down, the heat was reduced and the infection was no longer present. My vet ultrasounded the soft tissue around the fetlock and found nothing of note, he was cleared for regular turnout and we opted to keep in a smaller paddock with a quiet buddy vs. his youngster gelding crew. We were scheduled to start under saddle the next day. The following morning not only was his leg fat and hot again, but he also managed to cut/scrape the skin off the front of his cannon on the bad leg #becauseofcoursehedid. UGH.

Luckily, this horse is an absolute saint

After checking in with my vet, we decided to cold hose, sweat it, jog and ride him to see how he was feeling. I spent the whole day feeling like I was going to throw up, I had such a terrible feeling that he was just broken and now, 12 days into stall rest and treatment I was mentally just spent.

So happy...

So we tacked up and headed up the hill (after a quick in hand jog to make sure he was sound) to the ring. I could have cried swinging my leg over. This 4 year old, on almost 2 weeks of stall rest was perfect. We walked around and he felt good, I was grinning ear to ear. Then I picked up a little trot, and he was LAME. Like, crippled, 3-legged lame. WTF?

We took some video of him under saddle and in hand and sent it to my vet. Puzzled, I took his polos off only to discover that he was significantly more sound without any pressure on the swelling. Now I was completely convinced he had a soft tissue injury. Devastated, I made another appt with my vet to re-check him. Another course of Naquazone started, a negative SAA and another ultrasound scheduled.

Meanwhile, I creep on my horse while he's in a makeshift small paddock

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't losing my mind a little bit. I trust my vet 100%, but my gut was telling me to look further. I felt like we were out of diagnostics at the farm so I scheduled a visit to New Bolton (it's just a few miles down the road) for a more thorough ultrasound just to completely rule out ANY soft tissue lesions/tears.

And, wouldn't you know it... my horse arrived at New Bolton and was SOUND. Palpated negatively, jogged sound, and they sent me home with a long term anti-inflammatory and told me that basically the cellulitis must have resurfaced again a few days prior, and that when he has an infection/swelling/pressure around that joint he's going to be lame. I was under strict instructions to wean him off stall rest while keeping the problem leg wrapped. I could begin taking the wrap off an hour a day until the swelling completely stayed down.

Oh Hai... Yes, I'm totally drinking the BOT kool-aid now

And with his prognosis up in the air and his short term care being pretty high-maintenance, I made the decision to move him close to home (more about this in another blog post). I needed to be able to wrap/re-wrap his leg at least once a day and monitor his progress more closely. Scout, while going through all of this was foot perfect. His only objection to stall rest could be detected by occasional teeth grinding. He was otherwise a gentleman for all of his poking and prodding and constant care.

Settling in, day one

The new barn made him a small paddock with a shed in a spot where he could see everything, but stay quiet. Day after day, he improved and I started leaving the wraps off for longer and longer. After about 10 days I switched him to wearing Back on Track wraps just overnight. His leg has stayed cold and tight and he's been sound. We started legging back up and he feels terrific.

Feeling good again!

And, as of a few days ago, he started big boy turnout. He's got a 15 acre field and 5 geldings to play with.

27 days after the initial injury/cellulitis 

He galloped for like 5 strides and realized he was surrounded by acres and acres of lush grass!

This whole experience made me realize something very special about this horse. I've never had that "heart horse" feeling before, but I think I understand what it is now. He seemed to understand that I was trying to help him and he tried so hard to be on his best behavior. While being on stall rest, we bonded more than ever, logging lots and lots of hours just being around each other. No riding, no agenda. Somehow, having riding taken out of the picture helped me to appreciate who he is even more. When I made the tough decision to move him I realized that even if he needed long term rehab, or couldn't be sound beyond a walk that this horse owed me nothing and that I would move heaven and earth to make him happy. healthy and comfortable.

I truly feel like every day with him is a gift. The future feels bright for us.