Hmmm... I've mentioned it before but I figure they need a thread of their own
So, a bit of back story:
Dacke got caught in barbed wire after he escaped the pasture and sliced both pasterns in the hindlegs. Pretty deep, half an inch (and for non-horsey people the pastern (or at least the part I'm talking of) is the ''wrist'' of the horse, that small area that's like 4-5 inches thick and just consist of skin, bones and tendons. I found him one morning outside the pasture, found it strange that he didn't come hen I called and went looking for him. Heard him neigh and as I came to him (finding my way through weeds taller than I am, btw) he was standing with a barbed wire under his belly, unable to get either forward or backwards. We believe he had been standing there all night. I noted some blood on the hind pastern that's white, but right then all focus landed on trying to get him loose. No phone and naturally no wirecutter in my pocket.. the wire wouldn't budge and he was too tired and feverish to really try. At last I managed to convince him to step over it while I stood balancing on it to keep it down - some 10 inches off the ground. Got him loose, got him home. Called the vet. Noticed the deep cut, got him to the veterinary clinic where he was put through surgery and had to stay for 5 days. Amazingly enough, no tendons were injured. He'll live.
That was about 3 weeks ago, he's on stall rest and I still change bandages once or twice a day. Stitches are taken, one of the wounds are almost closed, the other is open but they're healing steadily. His temperatue is a bit higher than normal but staying below the critical point. Besides the boredom and so, I think he's fairly content with staying inside in the shadow, getting waited upon all day and having several meals a day. And he's ost some weight, despite the inactivity. (Well hay simply won't be the same as pasture). He dislikes having the bandages changed but he's a sweet horse.
Crow has a bit more messy story. I have no idea how long he's been injured and I have no idea what the problem is. I guess the first sign I know of was earlier this year. We noticed he would lift his right half of the back more than the left when I rode him. We figured he was just uneven in the muscles and tried to excercise him well. He showed no sign of discomfort, still doesn't.
Then several months later I participated in a riding camp for a week. My instructor found out a few oddities, first that he ''walked through'' some basic cues when I rode. He's been doing this for a long while, I just never noticed but compensated with other cues. Eventually she figured he had some blocking in the lower back muscles. I've found vets are generally not the best source to go to with this, but we figured a horse chiro was the way to go. I procastinated it though, I didn't have money and we figured it was pretty old and not bothering him much, so it could wait untill my study-loan would start coming in (next month from now). I don't ride a lot anyway and he seemed happy enough.
Then all this with Dacke happened and we moved Crow to a friend. She has a riding arena and I figured I'd take the chance to lounge him a bit.. I noticed something was off. He moved strangely, I couldn't define it but that wasn't how he should move at all. My instructor took a look as well, and we agreed that the chiro shouldn't wait any longer.
The chiro found a blockage/brace in the lower back on him and corrected it. She didn't watch him move however. But it became obvious that it hadn't helped.
I finally decided it was time for a vet, but not the closest clinic where Dacke had been. They're good at obvious problems but not at finding out what's wrong if it's less obvious. Got another place recommended and hauled him over there.
They found a slight lameness, located to his lower back and hip area. Sent me home to ride him in walk for a week and then starting to trot him a week, using fenylbuthazon (painkiller) during that time.
And here I am.. it's the third day of the trotting week. He's not getting better.. he's more or less getting worse. He seems happy as ever when we're out, but I can feel something is off with his movement, especially after trotting. While his left hip moves my left hip up-forward-down-back, the right hip goes up-out-forward-in-down-back, and much further forward than the other. It's like he's tossing my hip into his wither. It messes up the rythm in his walk as well. On the painkiller, he's also feeing unsteady. Stumbling even more than usual, forgetting to straighten his feet before putting weight on them. But despite all that he seems perfectly content, walking around with a low, forward headset, moving his neck freely and having his ears perked. Listening to my cues etc.. It's strange.
First thought of back problems in horses goes with saddles. But it doesn't make sense to be the saddle; I've had treed, treeless, western tree, bareback and altering between them. All have a good fit as far as saddlers can tell. And he's had a lot of pasture rest, so preassure from a poorly fitting saddle shouldn't be the issue..
I don't know what this means, I don't know what's wrong with him.. and most painfully, I don't know how long it's been something wrong with him.. Have I been riding all these years without noitcing he's hurt? Was that last lunging last year the ground making him trotting strangely, or was it the same symptom as I noticed on the flat ground? I don't feel anything very different in the saddlre now compared to the riding before I noticed his off movement.. Was his half-bucking and unwillingness to walk a few years ago a sign of this? He's always been a bit odd, off the track standardbred and moving a bit different than normal horses, but we all figured it's just who he was, and the gaiting genetics. He's alwways been sweet and trying his best, I can definetly imagine how he'd be in pain and still try his very best.. Have I been adding pain to his injury all these years? And what is the problem with him? Will he be ok? Can they treat it? Can I afford the treatment and will the insurance cover it? ... will I loose him?
These are the questions I try not to think about. Right now I'm just following the vets orders, making sure to find a trailer to get him to the next check with the vets and writing down notes in my journal for the rides. I try not to figure out what the problem is, I'd rather wait untill the vets tell me. At least his fetlocs, hocks and patella are good. So I get up, give him his painkillers, feed them, change Dackes bandages, cleans out the stalls, feed the rabbits, check on Kori, ride Crow for 45 minutes, muck out Dackes stall again, feed them again, get breakfast (yeaaah.. I'm bad with brekfasts at the moment, they end up getting rather late) and have some spare time before the feeding and mucking starts over, give Crow his medecine again and go to bed. It's not a busy day, it's just lots of small tasks with an hour or two spare time in between. Luckily I'm having a summer break.
I just wrote this to have somewhere suitable to write any updates, mostly on Crow as Dacke is just steadily getting better. There's a horseforum I write in too but I've been gone from there for a long time so I figure they're just forgetting about me. Feels a bit stupid hopping in just to complain and whine after all that time. Better be here and whine constantly :lol:
Well.. wish me luck. Wish Crow luck..
Crow.. my crazy companion (yes I asked him to rear. He only ever does it when asked by me just lifting my rein-hand and saying ''up'' at the same time..we don't do it a lot)
A picture from those long trailrides we used to do..
..because the world is prettier between a hors's ears..
Without him..I'm just a silly girl who likes dressing up..
And this would be Dacke and my dad.. Dacke's just a great horse as well. They're perfect for each other.
So, a bit of back story:
Dacke got caught in barbed wire after he escaped the pasture and sliced both pasterns in the hindlegs. Pretty deep, half an inch (and for non-horsey people the pastern (or at least the part I'm talking of) is the ''wrist'' of the horse, that small area that's like 4-5 inches thick and just consist of skin, bones and tendons. I found him one morning outside the pasture, found it strange that he didn't come hen I called and went looking for him. Heard him neigh and as I came to him (finding my way through weeds taller than I am, btw) he was standing with a barbed wire under his belly, unable to get either forward or backwards. We believe he had been standing there all night. I noted some blood on the hind pastern that's white, but right then all focus landed on trying to get him loose. No phone and naturally no wirecutter in my pocket.. the wire wouldn't budge and he was too tired and feverish to really try. At last I managed to convince him to step over it while I stood balancing on it to keep it down - some 10 inches off the ground. Got him loose, got him home. Called the vet. Noticed the deep cut, got him to the veterinary clinic where he was put through surgery and had to stay for 5 days. Amazingly enough, no tendons were injured. He'll live.
That was about 3 weeks ago, he's on stall rest and I still change bandages once or twice a day. Stitches are taken, one of the wounds are almost closed, the other is open but they're healing steadily. His temperatue is a bit higher than normal but staying below the critical point. Besides the boredom and so, I think he's fairly content with staying inside in the shadow, getting waited upon all day and having several meals a day. And he's ost some weight, despite the inactivity. (Well hay simply won't be the same as pasture). He dislikes having the bandages changed but he's a sweet horse.
Crow has a bit more messy story. I have no idea how long he's been injured and I have no idea what the problem is. I guess the first sign I know of was earlier this year. We noticed he would lift his right half of the back more than the left when I rode him. We figured he was just uneven in the muscles and tried to excercise him well. He showed no sign of discomfort, still doesn't.
Then several months later I participated in a riding camp for a week. My instructor found out a few oddities, first that he ''walked through'' some basic cues when I rode. He's been doing this for a long while, I just never noticed but compensated with other cues. Eventually she figured he had some blocking in the lower back muscles. I've found vets are generally not the best source to go to with this, but we figured a horse chiro was the way to go. I procastinated it though, I didn't have money and we figured it was pretty old and not bothering him much, so it could wait untill my study-loan would start coming in (next month from now). I don't ride a lot anyway and he seemed happy enough.
Then all this with Dacke happened and we moved Crow to a friend. She has a riding arena and I figured I'd take the chance to lounge him a bit.. I noticed something was off. He moved strangely, I couldn't define it but that wasn't how he should move at all. My instructor took a look as well, and we agreed that the chiro shouldn't wait any longer.
The chiro found a blockage/brace in the lower back on him and corrected it. She didn't watch him move however. But it became obvious that it hadn't helped.
I finally decided it was time for a vet, but not the closest clinic where Dacke had been. They're good at obvious problems but not at finding out what's wrong if it's less obvious. Got another place recommended and hauled him over there.
They found a slight lameness, located to his lower back and hip area. Sent me home to ride him in walk for a week and then starting to trot him a week, using fenylbuthazon (painkiller) during that time.
And here I am.. it's the third day of the trotting week. He's not getting better.. he's more or less getting worse. He seems happy as ever when we're out, but I can feel something is off with his movement, especially after trotting. While his left hip moves my left hip up-forward-down-back, the right hip goes up-out-forward-in-down-back, and much further forward than the other. It's like he's tossing my hip into his wither. It messes up the rythm in his walk as well. On the painkiller, he's also feeing unsteady. Stumbling even more than usual, forgetting to straighten his feet before putting weight on them. But despite all that he seems perfectly content, walking around with a low, forward headset, moving his neck freely and having his ears perked. Listening to my cues etc.. It's strange.
First thought of back problems in horses goes with saddles. But it doesn't make sense to be the saddle; I've had treed, treeless, western tree, bareback and altering between them. All have a good fit as far as saddlers can tell. And he's had a lot of pasture rest, so preassure from a poorly fitting saddle shouldn't be the issue..
I don't know what this means, I don't know what's wrong with him.. and most painfully, I don't know how long it's been something wrong with him.. Have I been riding all these years without noitcing he's hurt? Was that last lunging last year the ground making him trotting strangely, or was it the same symptom as I noticed on the flat ground? I don't feel anything very different in the saddlre now compared to the riding before I noticed his off movement.. Was his half-bucking and unwillingness to walk a few years ago a sign of this? He's always been a bit odd, off the track standardbred and moving a bit different than normal horses, but we all figured it's just who he was, and the gaiting genetics. He's alwways been sweet and trying his best, I can definetly imagine how he'd be in pain and still try his very best.. Have I been adding pain to his injury all these years? And what is the problem with him? Will he be ok? Can they treat it? Can I afford the treatment and will the insurance cover it? ... will I loose him?
These are the questions I try not to think about. Right now I'm just following the vets orders, making sure to find a trailer to get him to the next check with the vets and writing down notes in my journal for the rides. I try not to figure out what the problem is, I'd rather wait untill the vets tell me. At least his fetlocs, hocks and patella are good. So I get up, give him his painkillers, feed them, change Dackes bandages, cleans out the stalls, feed the rabbits, check on Kori, ride Crow for 45 minutes, muck out Dackes stall again, feed them again, get breakfast (yeaaah.. I'm bad with brekfasts at the moment, they end up getting rather late) and have some spare time before the feeding and mucking starts over, give Crow his medecine again and go to bed. It's not a busy day, it's just lots of small tasks with an hour or two spare time in between. Luckily I'm having a summer break.
I just wrote this to have somewhere suitable to write any updates, mostly on Crow as Dacke is just steadily getting better. There's a horseforum I write in too but I've been gone from there for a long time so I figure they're just forgetting about me. Feels a bit stupid hopping in just to complain and whine after all that time. Better be here and whine constantly :lol:
Well.. wish me luck. Wish Crow luck..
Crow.. my crazy companion (yes I asked him to rear. He only ever does it when asked by me just lifting my rein-hand and saying ''up'' at the same time..we don't do it a lot)
A picture from those long trailrides we used to do..
..because the world is prettier between a hors's ears..
Without him..I'm just a silly girl who likes dressing up..
And this would be Dacke and my dad.. Dacke's just a great horse as well. They're perfect for each other.