So what have I been doing in June, besides not posting?! Digby has been oddly sound then sort of not sound. I'm terrified that he has Lyme, as that's a common sign. I'm hoping it's not (please don't spend ALL MY MONEY. GAH) and that he just was fresh in the field/was working too hard. I gave him about a week off now, paired with a few Vetrolin baths, and he seems to be doing better. The game plan is to ride tomorrow and see how he does. Here's an update photo of his weight that I promised last post:
As you can see, mucho, mucho better. Thank goodness! So finger's crossed that he continues to do better. I'm still hoping for a couple extra pounds and some lots of topline. I went down to the shore (Ocean City, NJ) last weekend so Digby got neglected while I was away. It was awesome and much needed for mental sanity. My friend's family has a house and they weren't going to be there so I swung down (it's about 2 hours away from me and only one $1.50 toll) and hung out on the beach. It was PERFECT weather on Saturday. High of 79, sunny, light breeze... Sigh! Perfection.
Noms. (Note, wild hony is not being held.... I clearly think he's going to run away.)
I've posted about his weight issues this winter and spring before here and here. After changing feeds to Triple Crown Senior, having the vet out a few times, and treating for ulcers, he finally seemed to be gaining weight. There was much rejoicing.
Fancy trot, fairy skinny horse. Late April.
Mid May.
Late May.
As you can see, he was putting weight on and gaining muscle which was even better but still needs a few pounds. I sadly don't have any good conformation shots from the end of May but I assure you his neck is probably double the size than it was and he's adding on weight all over. Yay! The combination of hay, meds, 8 lbs of senior feed, and a scoop of soaked alfalfa cubes seemed to be doing the trick.
We had treated him for an entire month and around mid May, started backing off his omeprazole. There's an article that (sort of) touches on the topic of "acid rebound effect" and why you should slowly back horses (and humans!) off omeprazole. He has since stopped gaining more weight while we were backed him off his normal treatment dose. His hay, alfalfa cubes and grain stayed the same. I spoke with my vet and she suggested treating him for another month. It's possible if his ulcers were bad enough that one month of treatment was not enough. We've bumped him back up to the treatment dose and we'll continue that for another month. Hopefully that does the trick!
Has anyone else had ulcer issues? What's worked for your horse? What hasn't? I'd love to get some other opinions, as it seems that there's easily 100 different opinions and options on treatment/prevention.
All jokes aside, the vet came out for spring shots and we discussed a lot of topics. She pulled blood, we decided to up his grain to 4 quarts twice a day, as well as adding in alfalfa cubes/hay stretcher. I also started treating for ulcers, sort of as "just in case" option. He hasn't lost anymore weight but I wouldn't say he's gaining much.
The blood work came back just fine so hopefully the addition of more hay in the form of cubes or hay stretcher plus treating for ulcers will help!
Digby is shedding a ton lately. There's a low of 31 (ahhh!!!) degrees tonight so his blanket is back on but hopefully the shedding will continue. He looks very handsome in his spring coat. :)
I also threw him in the round pen yesterday for a few minutes. I haven't been riding even though he's sound because he is quite skinny and I don't want him to burn any more calories than he needs to. Plus, honestly, is his saddle even going to fit?!
He just poked around, as I was testing to see his responses to my voice and making sure he was sound. He seemed to enjoy the "work" so hopefully he'll get some weight on soon!! I'm dying to ride!
Also, I've been eating toooo many donuts and cookies so I've got a few pounds that I could lose from riding. :)
Let me start this post off with a big old "I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks!"
Digby is not a big water drinker. I currently supplement him with Apple-A-Day during the cold winter months and during the hot summer months. If he's at a facility that gives beet pulp during the winter, I don't give them because I feel he's doing ok water wise but I'll still give them during the summer. If it goes below 25 degrees, he gets a 1 oz dose of electrolytes in the AM. If the temperature varies greatly, I give him a 1/2 oz dose. In the summer when it's super hot and humid, he gets between 1 oz and 1 1/2 oz. I've tried SmartLytes and while he gobbled it down with no problem, he seemed to sweat more and drink more with Apple-A-Day. I won't use Stress Dex or AccuLytes because of all the sugars and filler in them. It seems to work for him. In the winter, he drinks enough that I don't worry about colic and in the summer months, he sweats.
I've always been under the impression that electrolyte supplements are a bit useless but no harm done unless you give too much. It makes me feel better. He definitely drinks more. Win win. According to some research (thanks to whoever posted about this the on COTH forums!) I didn't know about, electrolyte supplementing can cause ulcers. Oh goodness. Didn't I just discuss how I didn't want to give NSAIDs because I was worried about ulcers? Digby is a worrier by nature and I want to do everything possible to not give him ulcers if he doesn't have them already. I also read that little to no drinking can be a sign of ulcers. I think I knew this already and forgot... Oops.
He has a Himalayan salt lick in his stall that he does regularly lick. I was thinking of offering him free choice salt (either straight table salt or a mixture of half lite/half table salt) in a small bucket as well to help. Any ideas?
Digby and his old owner doing some gymnastics, winter 2010. How cute :)
On Monday, Digby had a massage/chiro appointment. His masseuse is a wonderful woman who just ADORES Digby. That makes me happy. He wasn't sore anywhere really but he hadn't been done since June, actually on the day we discovered his congenital bipartite navicular. I figured he was due. He had had his shoes pulled and had to adjust to not working and being turned out a lot more. She was pretty happy. He was a little out by his poll and a little sore in his back, all on the left side but nothing too major. His hind right was also fairly "locked" but it's fixed now. He's had two massages by her now and he's definitely figuring out what it's about. She doesn't crack them or force the horses into anything which I like. She simply asks them to bend or respond to pressure so that they release themselves. Digby almost has this figured out by the second time. He also drank a lot of water during and after, which is a sign that he's smart. (As if we didn't know this already!) It helps flush all the lactic acid and build up out of his system.
We discussed a lot, everything from ulcers to Digby's diet to his blanket. I'm going to have the vet out after I start foaling shift (no later than Jan 18th!) just for a general check up, to pull a coggins, give him a rabies shot and discuss some of the things we talked about while she was working on him. The wonderful massage lady and I talked about the likeliness of Digby having ulcers. I've never treated him for ulcers and as far as I know he's never been treated ever. He's a little bit of worrier and has been a lot of places in his life. He's had several owners, has had limited turnout for several years, has been on bute/NSAIDs, gets dewormed, and used to be shipped a lot. All of these can be stressful. If you've met Digby, I'm sure you've seen him get stressed at some point. He looks totally fine. He's at a good weight, eats anything and is happy. However, he said due to his colicy nature in winter and just general "worrier" attitude, it might be worth discussing with the vet. If he got ulcers ever in his life, they are certainly still there. Consider it on my "to discuss" list!
She wonders if there isn't something about Digby's nutrition or vitamin/mineral balances that might not make his soreness and lameness worse. It sounds like a complicated chat but it really wasn't. He tends to get sore easier than you would except, has issues with being colicy in the winter, does fine when on electrolytes, and is sound every season but summer... when he's typically getting little to no grain thus not meeting his nutrient requirements. I do try to give him a vit/min supplement from SmartPak but that's just a standard supplement and might not be meeting his personal requirements. I assumed he went lame in the summer because the ground was hard, but to be honest, the ground is pretty darn hard in winter as well and he's sound, sound, sound at the moment. It's just something else I will have to bring up to the vet.
As for the blanket, it's a very heavy blanket weight wise. It's only a medium weight (I believe 180 or 200 fill?) but it's heavy pound wise and she thinks it might be causing some of the soreness in his back. Sigh! Nothing I hadn't thought of myself but frustrating none the less. I guess I'm blanket shopping...
Shamless plug - if anyone is interested in a massage/chiro work up for their horse, let me know. I'll give you her name and number. She's a very nice, helpful lady! Digby lovesss her.
