Lily Update

Apr 072010
 

Lily listening to me back in 2007Lily is feeling much better. I don’t know if it is the MSM, the change to her own paddock and only my hay or her just being happy that I now know what’s going on with her, but she is in great spirits! She’s perky, walks off evenly and is a bit more settled.

I’ve been easing into riding since last Friday’s vet visit. We started off with a short walking ride. The next time out, I let her move into some extended trot. Today, we were out for an hour and a half and she wanted to do more. We did quite a bit of her big trot, on and off and some canter in there too. I am working on sustaining her trot, as it’s faster than her regular canter and pretty smooth to ride. I actually want to get it on video, as I wonder quite what it is. She gets into a speed that’s actually hard to post to, so I wonder if it really is a trot. Lily was feeling very strong and willing to go!

The size 0 Renegades that I traded my size 1s for needed the cables replaced. Now that’s done, they seem to be working well. Today’s ride was a pretty good test, as we went through mud, water, up and down a few small hills at all gaits. Lily was comfortable and moved nicely. I do want to get her booted on all fours eventually. I’m also considering trying some thin pads to stimulate her sole and frog while riding.

For now, I am not going to shoe her. As long as she’s comfortable in the paddock and doing well booted for rides, I don’t feel shoes are needed. I picked up a bottle of Durasole and am treating her feet with that most days. It’s pretty much the same formula that my vet said he uses to toughen feet. I’ll likely use up this small bottle and then reassess.

I should hear about her selenium test by the end of the week. And I am planning to stop by the vet’s office this week to get some Thyro-L and start her on that too. My plan is to treat her as highly prone to laminitis, for as long as I need to. It may be for the rest of her life.

Back in Wyoming, where Lily was born, she would likely be just fine eating dry land prairie grass. Here in lush, western Oregon, most pastures will be too rich for her. So, it’s time for me to start talking with my hay supplier to find out when they will start cutting. I will then get a batch to test for sugar/starch content. The mixed grass I still have from last year was nice and under 11%. More about the intricacies of hay can be found at safergrass.org, an excellent resource. I want to keep her off of any lush pasture and stick with free choice hay though the summer.

So that’s it for today. I have more to say about saddles, but I’ll leave that for another day.

A vet visit for Lily

Apr 022010
 

Wet Lily checking out the equipment


Lily has been showing a lot of symptoms of mild to moderate lameness and just not quite right on and off over the last few years. In December 2008, she was acutely lame. The vet did flexion tests and x-rays then, but there was no diagnosis. She improved somewhat, but not entirely. Now that she’s done having babies and back with me since November, I’ve been watching her closely. And I’ve been reading a lot on the net, researching. I had myself scared into thinking that she might have the early signs of DSLD/ESPA. Instead of continuing to worry, I hauled her into the clinic for some tests today. I was all prepared to have three or four of her legs ultrasounded.

It started to rain, as I left the barn and the wind whipped up. By the time I reached the clinic, there were gusts that blew the rain every which way. This is what we had to work in for the flexions and movement portion of the exam.

Dr. C spent over an hour with us. First palpation of her legs. No sensitivity found in the lower areas, but some in the upper hind tendons. Trotting out, she showed 2 out of 5 lame on the right front. She was sensitive to hoof testers in the heel and frog, so he did a low nerve block after some discussion. Wait for it to take effect and trot out again. This time lame on left front, but not quite as much. Sedate and x-ray. Her bones looked very good.

What he saw and explained was a very thin sole in both feet, .5 cm, when it should be .6-1 cm. The hoof wall was overly thick 1.7-1.8 cm, but parallel to the coffin bone. Coffin bone was not rotated at all, but Dr. C thought the thick front wall was a sign of past laminitis, as was the overly thin soles. He also drew blood for a selenium test. I’ll know that in a week or so.

He said that her condition and weight were perfect and that the low sugar/starch local grass hay with a little TC Low Starch feed with flax, Equerry Plus and MSM was good and to continue. Based on the blood test, I may add a Selenium/E supplement. He also wanted me to consider giving her Thyro-L medication and to shoe her front feet for the summer to give her soles a chance to thicken. I am considering plastic shoes. Most important, Dr. C saw NO signs of DSLD, though we did not do ultrasounds. He did think that she has IR tendencies and that I should treat her as such. In other words, no lush, green spring grass. She is back in her own, peaceful, near dry lot.

I AM RELIEVED! I have to thank a good friend for coming out in the pouring, driving rain to video the whole thing. (you know who you are!) I am going to watch it later to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. This is a first step. I know that there may be other issues, but I feel that I can now start treating my wonderful Lily. We might yet ride at Bandit Springs in July.