Thursday, February 2, 2012

Vet update!

The vet (finally) made it out today to look at Mr Dig My Size. Digby got a couple shots. The vet and I got to discuss lots of good topics. Overall, she's pretty pleased with how he looks. He's at a good weight and seems happy. I'm still supposed to give him off until May. We're going to reevaluate in May if she hasn't come out for spring shots yet.

When he goes back into work, we're going to carefully evaluate the following things:

  • Weight
  • Footing
  • Shoeing
  • Medication
Weight being that he typically gets plump during the spring, summer and fall. This is highly frowned upon this year. He needs to be a BCS of 5 if not slightly lower (think 4.75 haha). We need to carefully watch what types of footing he's on and watch what he does best on. We're going to hopefully leave him barefoot but if he doesn't come back into work well, we're going to shoe him like a navicular horse including shoes (perhaps a type of bar shoe that we didn't try) and wedges. I'm supposed to leave him on his hoof supplement and possibly research one for tendon/ligament injuries if I find the money to do so. As for medication, he's currently not on bute or Isox or anything. We can start playing with them if nothing else works. I don't want to keep my horse on bute every day but if it means riding vs no riding, I might have to.

So, overall, she was happy with how he's doing. Now... we wait.

8 comments:

  1. Ask your vet about previcox. A lot of people around here use it daily. It's supposed to be safer than bute.

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  2. I was just going to post about previcox too. So, previcox is not FDA approved for horses (the approved form is called Equinox I think). Ultimately these 2 things are exactly the same. The problem is, the horse form is SUPER expensive compared to previcox. To get previcox I think you either have to have it prescribed to small animal, say a dog, or attempt to get off label use? (not sure exactly how it works...something to ask vet about).

    Previcox or Equinox is supposed to not have as many or none GI side effects that bute can have when give for a long period of time (side note...i have given my navicular horse bute for 5+ years now off and on and whenever he is ridden b/c i can't afford equinox and just haven't had the time to ask a vet to get me off label use of previcox. anyway....he has be totally fine with it and has never had any issues and i know of many horses that have lived on bute for years with no issues. you just have to be aware of potential ulcers, potential kidney side effects b/c it is an NSAID and potential right dorsal colitis which is a rareish side effect of bute or banamine in horses, but a severe one).
    Personally I think the benefits of a pain reliever for my horses very light use and for him to comfortable as a pasture potato outweigh the small potential risks of giving the bute, however, it really is a horse by horse thing and many people and vets worry about leaving a horse on bute for long periods of time.

    :) - Julia

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  3. Thanks for the advice! I actually used Previcox when Digby was lame the first time around so I know that the vet has no issues getting me that. It is rather expensive, isn't it? The only reason I'm currently not giving him bute/Previcox/another NSAID currently is because of the risk of ulcers.

    He's a very big worrier. He looks fat and shiny but I do still wonder if he has ulcers anyway. He's been moved around a lot in the past 3 years, has showed, has been on limited turnout (3-4 hours a day plus times of stall rest), has been on diets of large grain amounts, has gotten bute, gets dewormed, and basically every other usual cause of ulcers. Oh and hes girthy, spooky and hates being brushed. He does have insurance so I can scope him and get meds if he has them. Plus as a preventative, I do give him extra strength tums as treats if we're going to be doing anything extra stressful (such as moving barns). I'm not sure if tums help at all but it makes me feel better. :) I'll have to look into a cheap(ish) ulcer preventative perhaps if I'm going to put him on bute long term and see if that's cheaper than Previcox. Though there's just "supposed" to be less risk, right? It's still a NSAID.

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  4. Hey Becky, I hear you about the ulcers ;) Have you seen the omeprazoledirect.com generic Omeprazole? It seems to work really well for my guys. I like the U-7 by Finish Line as well. Also, B-L Solution by Equine America is a pretty good pain relief supplement. Doesn't work for every horse but cheaper than Previcox at $20 a month and I think it's super effective. Glad to hear he's doing well, give him a carrot for me!

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  5. I've seen it and looked at it a few times. He's insured (unfortunately won't cover that foot though!) so he can get scoped and get gastro guard if he has ulcers that won't break my bank. I'll have to check out the BL solution... I've heard it works well for some horses and not at all for others. It's not expensive though so maybe it's worth a try? Thanks for the advice. And I'll be sure to tell him you said hi and give him a carrot too! :)

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  6. About the previcox... If you can suck up to a small animal vet, I think you can get it rather cheap, justine sure you get the right dosage. I think it's the lower dose for small animals. The vet that boards at my barn gets it for others for about $56/ bottle which I believe is 60 pills. So it's about $1/pill and you don't necessarily have to give it everyday.

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  7. Oh that's cheaper than I paid. I used it for a 12ish day period (I say "ish" because I might of been 10.. might of been 14... I have it written down but don't know off the top of my head) when Digby first went on stall rest last summer and it wasn't that cheap. I'll ask around. Thanks!

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  8. Yea, you probably paid for the equine version of previcox which is super expensive compared to the small animal version (literally they are basically the same drug..i really don't understand why horse can't get the cheaper version....stupid laws). but agree ... you can get the cheaper version from the vet if they are willing to prescribe it as small animal. and yea...it can still have GI issues,but i don't think they can get right dorsal colitis from it. ulcers i guess is still a possibility.

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