TBT

TBT -

I miss this. I miss riding. I miss him being sound.

Spyder's New Shoes

Hoping that this gets us somewhere with the DMSO/cortisone. I am trying to ride twice this week before I leave for vacation to test out his movement. He'll then have another 10 days of rest before I'm back.

 

Spyder

He got a bath yesterday and he gets his shoes today! Let's hope it helps!

Last night after his bath.

Hoping this is a sign that Spyder and I will have better luck!

Updates

I'm a bad blogger, I know. Anyways, I rode last week on bute and he was good for a second time on trial 2. I gave him off a week while I was away to come home to no bute. The ride was good, and he did have a few trips here and there with the stifle lock, but no fussing or visible anger. Weird? The hind end seemed fine, but the front end still had something going on.

The vet came the next day (Monday... yesterday), and was pleased with the hind end. How does it just fix itself? I got on to ride for another lameness examination and he didn't even have the stifle lock. To the right and left, he was good on a circle. He had a few buckling issues, and I let the vet know about the cracking I'd been hearing (from what I thought seemed to be his shoulder). We worked on tighter turns to find that he's sound going straight and to the right, but to the left, he buckles because his shoulder is prohibiting him from movement which is why we were getting the breaking into the canter. He uses the canter to pick himself up and correct his movement until it happens again on the next turn.

So now what? 1) What the heck? How'd the hind end manage to catch up? 2) Keep riding lightly - we need the hind end to keep moving so it doesn't have any further issues. 3) DMSO/Cortisone on the area that might be prohibiting the movement. 4) Front shoes with a roller so I can get moving on the riding/getting fit/rehab

The vet suspects bicipital bursitis, but test #3 will be the judge of that. The shoes should help him get his movement going better and the cortisone should get him moving better. Time will tell, but it's ever changing. Let's hope he doesn't have a switch back to the hind end again. Sheesh!

Ride 1 During Trial 2

I started the bute on Monday night (because who wants to get up early on a Monday?). I didn't ride until last night, Thursday, and I am still stuck thinking if it worked because of a few factors. 1) It's hot! 2) He had a week off. His overall attitude seemed a lot better. His shoulder is still clicking, but he didn't argue with me when I asked him to do things. He didn't trip in the front (for just a 20 minute ride), but he was still dragging his toes and not reaching as forward as he usually does. Asking him for the canter transition in the sand, he did have the stifle lock, but it was to be expected since he didn't have it during warm up, at walk, or at trot (and the sand is pretty deep).

There was no kicking out and no fussing, but in the morning before work, it's always a fiasco to get Spyder his bute. He's normally very good, but he's smart to pick up on situations and he knows it's coming. He HATES the taste and won't eat/drink after it for quite some time. He likes apples but not apple sauce and he doesn't trust me enough after bute to even take a mint or cookie which he loves (poor horse, hard life!). He's been picking through his grain and skipping hay which isn't like him so I've been keeping a close eye on his behaviors. I have seen him munching grass in his new field (they moved them to the swampy one to give the other field rest) with his new friend (a horse that was out with him, but is now on turnout 24/7 like Spyder).

He's fat and happy, and I plan to ride 1-2 more times before I am going to NC for a week on Sunday for work. BOO! So is the bute helping? Is it's short term/long term of a week's use upsetting his stomach? I feel bad because he doesn't want it, but I feel like it's at least doing something. Where do I go from here? Does the vet check out his shoulder? Do I get a chiropractor out? I have a week to give him off of bute while I'm gone to ride again when I get back. I hope there is a difference, and hopefully something is figured out soon.

...and happy birthday Spyder... he turned 7 on the 4th! Sorry about the bute that you hated for "your day" and get well soon!

Trial #2

Trial #2  - Does bute help over the course of a week? Give 1 dose in the morning and 1 in the evening. You can ride 24 hours after giving the first dose.

Let's see what we get here.