Hi Gang,
Three weeks ago my horses both came in for breakfast, quite ouchy in
front. I was understandably upset and tried to figure out what was
wrong. Since they both had it, it wasn't like one got injured.
What could they have ingested? This time it wasn't clippings from the
garden. Leaves? Their hay?
I decided they could be foundering, because they were having a hard
time getting any hay from a tightly packed 1300 pound alfalfa bale.
They've been eating that hay for a couple of years but for some reason
this particular bale was very hard to eat. I cut the wire, to free it
up and feared that they ate too much too fast... hence founder.
I called the vet immediately. She came right out, and put the boys
right on meds. I forget what she put in them that day, but she left me
bute paste, banamine liquid and needles and syringes. I duct taped sea
sponges up under their feet, at the vets insistence. They helped.
The banamine and bute helped too, but when it wore off they were still
lame so I called the vet back to take xrays... no
rotation...zero...phew, good news!
I backed off their Senior and backed off their alfalfa.
A week went by with no real change, they would be better or worse
depending on their meds...
Bailey started looking too thin, Robbie has weight to spare.
I bought the $18.00 a bale orchard grass and took them completely off
the alfalfa.
I got the farrier out who put hoof testers on them.... they weren't
overly ouchy, more slightly uncomfortable. He said they are not
foundering.
I figured maybe they're laminitic and trying to founder.... what do I
know... the vet was treating them for founder.
Thanks to someone here, on the rec., I went to Seminole Feed and got
Senior Wellness feed, which is high fat low starch. Good for
foundering horses.
They actually walked fairly well when going straight, but would almost
fall over, from pain, when turning in the stall.
By now she had me pumping banamine into them... IM... once a day and
bute paste once a day.... they did fine but if I tried to decrease
either they went sore again.
I called the guy who comes to pick up dead horses to see how that
works.... I truly thought this was it.
Then I called the vet and she came out again..... I had given them
bute before she got there so they walked well. She had me stay on the
banamine/bute protocol but at this point, three weeks later I was less
than amused.
I told the farm owner that I want a vet who is older and has
seen lots of things, not this kid who is still wet behind the ears.
She suggested I call our small animal vet, who was a horse vet before
he was a small animal vet. He is swamped at his practice and you can
never get him to come out. I went to speak to him, told him how
frustrated I was, I was near tears, and asked him to please come look
at them.
He came day before yesterday. He watched them walk. He used hoof
testers.
He couldn't understand why the banamine and the bute... said to just
bute them as needed.
Then he said to get a hoof hardener.... paint it on them because they
weren't foundering at all... they simply have ouchy feet. <THUD>
Three days on Keratex hoof hardener and they're 99% better.
Vets, meds, hay, feed totaled approx $1,000.00
Ouchy feet - Priceless.
Hunter
|
