More colic, and now a hospital visit

The doc came out this morning after he worsened. He did a rectal exam and got pretty concerned, so we opted to hall him in for treatment. The doc says that he does have a rectal displacement but not full torsion yet. He's hoping that the oil will help everything go back into anatomically correct position. We went ahead and put a big bucket of oil down to his stomach, started him on 20 liters of IV fluids, and he got another shot of banamine. He was looking ribby from getting dehydrated and continuing to not want to eat since Monday's event, but now even after just a short time in treatment, he's looking perky and less ribby. Keep your fingers crossed everybody... he's not out of the woods yet till he starts passing the oil and we've confirmed everything is back into its normal, anatomical place. Thank goodness the people at Harrington Equine are awesome.

Holy bejeezus, Ivan DON'T scare me like that! 1st Colic

First colic experience tonight, and worst of the worst it's with my baby boy, Ivan. Apparently, the cool thing to do is turn 7 years old and then colic within 2 weeks of your birthday to make Mom think that you're not going to make it to see 8.

Tonight's timeline

1. Fed at 4:30/4:45 pm. Didn't notice odd behavior then, but he wasn't as talkative...
2. Turned out at 5:20 pm. He calmly walked out to the pasture.
3. Started noticing odd behavior when he went down to roll and then didn't scramble up immediately to start chasing the others around the pasture off of their hay piles.
4. Stayed down on the ground, so I walked up to him, started stroking his face, asked him to get up and move around. He walked off and went back down again.
5. Jennifer and I decided to bring him back in, so I walked him into the small paddock, then went for his halter by his stall to be able to walk him up to the trailer where my medi-kit was. 
6. Gave him a 10cc shot of banamine at 5:30/5:35 pm, then started walking him up the road. Attempted to offer water before passing the house, but he refused it. 
7. Walked Ivan up the road past Faye's all the way up to past the Williams' mailbox, then called the vet at 5:55 pm. Spoke with the vet for 4 minutes, relayed symptoms, received instructions. Called Tasida back at 6 pm, received more instructions.
8. Checked vital signs at 6:20 pm. 
1. Mucosa normal and slimy
2. Respiration normal
3. Heart rate normal
4. Capillary refill normal
5. Checked bilaterally for gut motility and was able to detect sounds in right lower quadrant. Not as much noise in upper quadrants or in left quadrant. 
9. Within another 15 minutes, Ivan was perking up, acting turdly towards the cat, and trying to nibble at grass.
10. Brought Ivan back out to the small paddock and let him loose, then caught Valor since they are buddies so that Ivan wouldn't stress out about being away from the herd for the night. 
11. Just did an 8:30 pm check on Ivan. He seems to be doing alright.
1. Mucosa normal and even more slimy than before. Has the scent of grass on his breath. 
2. Respiration normal.
3. Heart rate normal.
4. Capillary refill normal.
5. Forgot to check for gut sounds.
12. I put Ivan's sheet back on him since it's supposed to drop to 41 tonight. I'll be doing an additional check at 11 pm on him tonight. 

The Horse | Recognize Insulin Resistance Before Laminits Onset

The Horse | Recognize Insulin Resistance Before Laminits Onset

Recognize Insulin Resistance Before Laminits Onset

by: Alexandra Beckstett, The Horse Feature Editor
January 06 2012, Article # 19396

Early detection and intervention are key to managing any disease process. With laminitis, picking up on the subtle signs of hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin in the blood resulting from insulin resistance) before the horse suffers a serious laminitic event is one way caretakers and veterinarians can try to halt the hoof disease in its tracks. At the 6th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, Donald Walsh, DVM, of the Animal Health Foundation, in Pacific, Mo., described easily detectable changes in hoof growth that might hint at the development of hyperinsulinemia and laminitis.

Laminitic changes associated with hyperinsulinemia start and progress slowly. Walsh believes abnormal division of insulin basal cells (the bottom cell layer of the epidermis) and stimulation of insulinlike growth factor receptors on laminar cells cause the laminae, which connect the horse's hoof to the coffin bone, to stretch and lengthen. "If hyperinsulinemia is not addressed and blood insulin levels normalized (through diet, exercise, and appropriate medication), then continued abnormal hoof growth may lead to further weakening of the laminae and the development of laminitis," he explained.

Early signs of hoof damage due to hyperinsulinemia can include abnormal growth rings in the external hoof wall, separation of the hoof wall from the white line when looking at the bottom of the horse's foot, and a "seedy" toe (increased width of the white line, where the sole and the hoof wall meet) as the laminae weaken. Small areas of hemorrhage (caused by damage to the laminar vessels) in the seedy toe area might also be visible.

This process can be "somewhat reversible," Walsh said, if caught early. Thus, "owners need to look for abnormal hoof growth, have their veterinarian check the horse's insulin levels, and institute a low-carbohydrate diet and exercise program (even 10 minutes a day is beneficial) and medical treatments to restore (normal) insulin levels," he concluded.

Regarding trimming and caring for these horses' feet, Walsh suggested farriers move the breakover back to reduce stress on the laminae; leave a little excess hoof wall on the sides of the foot to reduce sole pressure; and cauterize the seedy toe to prevent bacteria from entering.

Calves, Core, and Thighs

So apparently all this daily riding I've been doing has really been strengthening my calves, but I've still got some work to do on my core muscles and inner thigh as yesterday's work proved. Thanks Cathy Zappe for giving me eyes on the ground yesterday, and thanks to Paula Padelford for letting us join the party! Next stop, Atlanta to do a clinic with Karen :)

The Horse | Human Behavior Changes Necessary to Improve Equine Welfare

The Horse | Human Behavior Changes Necessary to Improve Equine Welfare

Human Behavior Changes Necessary to Improve Equine Welfare

by: Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc
December 31 2011, Article # 19358

All animals--including horses--have the right to their "five freedoms" (as established by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee): freedom from thirst, hunger, and malnutrition; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury, and disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress. Welfare issues arise when animals are denied any of their freedoms, and most animal welfare problems are directly due to human behavior problems, according to one Thai researcher.

"Most veterinary intervention tackles welfare problems related to health and disease, but providing solutions takes away from prevention and the responsibility shifts from animal owners to veterinarians, creates dependence and is unsustainable," explained Siraya Chunekamrai, DVM, PhD, of the Lampang Pony Welfare Foundation during her presentation at the 12th Congress of The World Equine Veterinary Association, held Nov. 2-6 in Hyderabad, India.

According to Chunekamrai, to achieve sustainable results, human behavior must change. However, traditional methods of changing human behavior (such as awareness campaigns, incentive programs, imposing legislation, and social marketing) have limited success in achieving behavior change.

Instead, participation is a key factor in inducing change.

For example, some equine communities invite owners to participate in workshops to address welfare problems instead of simply being on the receiving end of efforts to prevent or treat them. Chunekamrai explained that owner participation in such programs and human behavior change will address welfare issues related to the other freedoms, not just freedom from injury, pain, or disease.

"ROPES is the acronym for Responsibility, Ownership, Prevention, Empowerment, and Sustainability, which are the key concepts of the HBC (human behavior change) work," explained Chunekamrai. A more detailed summary of the ROPES concept and additional information regarding human behavior change is available atenextranet.animalwelfareonline.org/work/HBC/index.aspx .

Chunekamrai concluded by saying, "Veterinarians are at the forefront of witnessing welfare problems and are often asked to take part in resolving the problem. If we take on an approach that can change human behavior it will make our efforts more meaningful and sustainable."

A full summary of Chunekamrai's presentation will be available for free on the International Veterinary Information System

Smarty Pants Queenie!

My filly was so great this morning! And she's getting SO BIG SO FAST! Her little face barely fits between the foal feeder bars anymore, and she's only 3 months old. We did leading work this morning, and she was very well mannered, and she picked up all four feet over and over again on command, she was great about haltering and unhaltering, and she even let me put one of her front feet up on Kimberly's step-up box for her ponies! Queen is such a smarty pants :)

Re-emergence of the Turdinator

Grrrrrr.... The Turdinator showed up today. I put both the bridle/bit and saddle on him for the first time in over a week, and apparently he decided he still thought he was on vacation. Managed to get him somewhat soft by the end of the ride after first a jackass-running-away-from-me for 15 minutes in the paddock (making him continue to run till he quit giving me the finger), then tacked him up and lunged to make sure he wasn't still unsound in the left hind like he was yesterday, then hopped on and alternated between good boy behavior and battling behavior, then at least managed to end on a good note (in the saddle anyway). Yes, I'm aware that was a long, semi-run-on sentence with punctuation but oh well. Untacked and groomed, then uh-oh, Turdinator acts out again on the ground so out came Mr. Whippy and we practiced backing up and getting the hell out of my space when asked. Finally, he was good, so dinner, a blankie, then an evening with his hay, and now I'm rewriting our workout itinerary for the week.