Crunchy Snow, and Dawn Thinks Her Water Bucket is a Toilet

Sunny and cold this morning - it was in the teens with a sharp wind when I got to the barn.  The little bit of snow/ice mix on the ground had formed a thin layer on top of the short grass, and Dawn and I were crunching as we came down the hill.  We made our usual stop at the water trough - I think it's only polite to offer her a chance to drink before we ride - and she took a long drink.  Dawn's looking much better this year than she was at this time last year - she's at a nice weight, her coat is thick and glossy and she even has some dapples. Although it was barely 30 in the indoor, we had a very nice ride with lots of lovely, forward trotting.

Red and Pie get the day off, with just a quick check over and hoof picking, since I have my music lessons this afternoon.

I did a few chores after Dawn and I were done with our ride, after I turned her back out.  Dawn regularly - not every day but often several times a week - poops in one of her water buckets - always the same one.  She apparently does this because she often stands with her tail in the water - this morning she had frozen manure in her tail which I'm waiting to remove until it thaws and dries.  This made some sense to me when we were at our last barn, where the buckets were heated since the barn wasn't - at least then she perhaps was warming herself on the bucket.  Now it makes less sense for her to do it . . . The guys will rinse out her bucket, but sometimes they don't really wash it with soap, so I prefer to do that myself if I can.  I also clean all my horses'  water buckets once a week, usually on Saturdays, since the guys only clean them once a week on Tuesdays and they can get pretty dirty - there's a lot of dust from the shavings and Red is a "dunker" - he likes to take a drink while he has a mouthful of hay and often gets a lot of hay in his buckets.  So I got out my soap - I use Seventh Generation dish soap, which is unscented and pretty plain - and little scrub brush, and went to work - it only takes a minute to do one bucket.

The things we do for our horses . . .  Is there some job you do for your horse that falls into this "special" category?

Tick? This Late in the Season? Cold, and Colder . . .

Yesterday, when I was grooming Pie, I felt what seemed like an odd flap of skin in his throat latch area, just behind his jaw.  But when I looked more closely, it was . . . a tick . . .  Yuck is all I can say.  I've found only a couple of ticks on the horses this whole season, but a tick in November? Since the temperatures had fallen into the low 30s and it was snowing, it wasn't a very lively tick, but still.  We've had a couple of very hard freezes already this season so I'm not sure how it survived, although we've had some days in the 50s recently and it could be a new one.  Or it could have been in the large bales the horses are now getting in their turnouts - the location on Pie made me think of that.  Just to be careful, I'll be probably have Pie retested for Lyme in about a month (the Cornell test can pick up infection 3-5 weeks out), since although this tick didn't look like the type that transmits Lyme, there clearly are ticks around . . .

Yesterday we had some rain and wind, with temperatures in the low 40s, but during the day the temperatures fell below freezing and it snowed a bit.  There was snow on the ground this morning, and it barely got to freezing today, and it's windy too, so the wind chills were in the teens this morning.  Brrrr . . .  Yesterday morning when I was riding Dawn, it was 40 in the indoor; this morning it was 30.  Despite the much colder temperatures, all horses have been just great, and we've been having some very good rides.  I think they prefer winter, provided they can keep warm and dry.

I actually like winter too, but just I care to keep warm, too.  Winter seems to me to be a time of more simplicity, and perhaps clarity, and there's a freshness to the air . . . it can be a time for thought and contemplation . . .

On the Bit, Behind the Vertical - Excellent Explanations

This is an excellent article on head/neck posture in the horse, with a very clear explanation of the benefits of a correct way of going from the perspective of the whole horse, and also the incorrect "frames" many horses are forced into, and the effect on the various muscles and bones of the horse and its movement.  This is one of the best explanations I have seen of why rollkur is not only harmful but also just plain incorrect for proper development of the horse's muscles and carriage - there are some disturbing photos in here that those of you from the dressage world may be familiar with - but these issues exist across the horse world in many disciplines.  Take a read - you may learn something - I know I did.

Be Careful When Handling Equine Medications - a (Minor Human) Medical Mystery Solved

Those of us who've had horses for a while, and treated various illnesses and conditions, know that there are certain medications and treatments that need to be handled carefully.   Sometimes you need to wear protective gloves - as when handling dex or Surpass.  Just do it - you don't need that stuff in your system.  Also hormonal treatments like Regumate have to be handled with great care, and shouldn't be handled at all by women of child-bearing age.

But there are other things that require caution, as I recently found out.  I was taking care of a friend's horse last week.  One of my tasks was to give him his meds together with a small amount of feed and oil, to be sure he ate them.  One of the meds was his thyroid supplement.  This formulation wasn't the one I was used to - the scoop was much larger, the supplement was very light and easily became airborne, and it had a strong, not unpleasant odor.  I also got a fair amount on my hands and didn't bother to wash it off.

During the week I was taking care of him, I had a routine doctor's appointment for my annual pacemaker check.  They were surprised to note that my blood pressure was substantially higher than its usual number.  Since I became an adult, my blood pressure has always been about 130/70, every single time.  But this time it was 150/70 - a significant increase.  Very odd.  My doctor asked if anything had changed.  No, I said.  And I'm thin - in fact thinner than I've been in a while, I don't smoke and my diet is pretty good.  My dad also had a blood pressure of 130/70 at age 90, without medication.

At my doctor's suggestion, I borrowed my husband's blood pressure monitor and started taking readings - they were all about 145/70, no matter the time of day.  So I looked this condition up - where the top number is high and the bottom number normal.  This is not uncommon as people age, but the sudden and dramatic change was troubling and I'm at low risk for this sort of thing.  So I looked it up, and on one of the reputable sites - I think Mayo - it said that one cause can be hyperthyroidism - that is, too much thyroid hormone.

I wondered if the small amount of this thyroid supplement that I was inhaling or getting on my skin could have caused this change in my blood pressure.  I had also been feeling somewhat wired all week, and had been having some trouble sleeping.  Induced hyperthyroidism, anyone?

So the last day I was treating my friend's horse, I was more careful.  I didn't wear gloves, but I was careful to not breathe over the open container - in fact I held my breath while I was scooping it up and closing the container.  I tried not to get any on my hands, and washed them afterwards.

Lo and behold, the next day when I took my blood pressure several times during the day, all of the top readings were in the 120-130 range and the bottom reading were all in the 60s.  This morning it was 122/62. Back to normal.

This was a good reminder of how important it is to safely handle any medications that you may be giving to your horse.  I was far too casual about it and will try to change my ways.

Pie Gets a Fever

Last night, when I took his temperature, Pie had a small fever - 101.4.  While I was grooming him, I felt that he was slightly warmer than normal to the touch - those of you with children will perhaps know what I mean - the "mom touch" that can tell a fever. I consider anything over 101 a fever.  This was very likely a reaction to his rabies vaccination the night before.  Horses who do have a reaction to this vaccination, according to my vet - and most horses don't - usually develop a mild fever about 10-12 hours after the vaccination, with the fever disappearing by 24 hours after.  Pie was vaccinated about 7 p.m., so any reaction would have started to show at about 5 to 7 a.m.  But he ate his breakfast and when I drove by the pastures about 8 this morning, he was out grazing with the others.

Even though he had a fever last night, and was just a touch subdued although far from depressed, Pie was eating and drinking normally, so he didn't feel too bad.  Horses who have had Lyme and/or EPM (Pie has had both) are often immunologically sensitive and can have an inflammatory reaction that can sometimes reactivate some of their symptoms, not so much due to the active agent in a vaccine, but rather to the adjuvants that are included.  Although his fever might have declined on its own, I gave Pie a 1,000-lb. dose of Banamine just to dampen any inflammation.  Two hours later his temperature was back in the normal range - 100.5.

This morning, he looked very happy eating on the round bale next to Red.  His temperature this afternoon was 99.2 - his temperature immediately prior to his vaccination was 99.3, so this is his usual temperature at the end of the day.  I gave him another day off - if a horse has had a fever I usually try to give them 24 more hours off with a normal temperature before riding.

Dawn Says "Ouch!", and Two Drunks

It was a very busy day yesterday.  Our farrier was coming early to do trims.  I don't ordinarily ride Dawn on Thursdays, but since I had to bring her in (the boys were in pens since their pasture is far away), wait for the farrier to arrive and then wait for two other horses to get done first, Dawn and I rode.

We were going along nicely - we'd done our walk warm up and were a number of minutes into our trot work when something very odd happened.  Dawn is generally more soft and supple tracking left, although the difference between right and left is gradually disappearing as my position is more consistently even.  We were tracking left at a forward, soft trot, when bang!  everything changed in an instant.  She was still sound and even, but her footfalls were rushed.  The contact/feel in the reins went from soft/live to dead, particularly on the left rein.  She was either lugging on the left rein or avoiding contact altogether - in fact she felt a bit bowed up.  And then she started shaking her head - uh, oh . . . something was really bothering her all of a sudden.

I jumped off and started investigating.  Dawn's had a lot of dental issues, so I started with her mouth. The bit was at the proper height, and her lips, teeth and tongue looked fine, and her tongue wasn't over the bit.  Nothing was obviously wrong with her face.  Nothing in her ears.  I checked out her hyoid apparatus - the bone and soft tissue structures that anchor the tongue - they can be found between the jawbones and sometimes get out of alignment - everything was fine there.  Her jaw moved freely from side to side without her being bothered, and her TMJs seemed comfortable.

If it's a bit/contact issue, it's usually either the mouth or the neck - usually the poll.  Bingo!  When I put pressure behind her left ear, she flinched and started bobbing her head up and down and shaking it from side to side - I think the head shaking was her attempt to release the pressure from either a muscle cramp or nerve pinch.  I started working on her poll area, all around both ears and along her crest.  Within a few minutes, she was relaxing and chewing and seemed quite a bit happier - it was probably a cramp.  I got back on and things were much improved.  I got off a bit later in our ride and did some more - at one point she chose to move her head sharply to one side and there was a loud crack - something else releasing.  I got back on and she was completely  back to normal - lovely and relaxed and soft and forward.

Glad we were able to get that figured out!  If it recurs, I'll have the chiropractor out to do more proper work on her neck and poll.

Then all three horses got their trims.  Everyone was perfectly behaved.  Red was relaxed with his ears up - I could see him thinking: "I have a new name because I'm now a new horse - look how good I am!  It's time you forgot that old horse with the different name (the one that used to nip and kick and strike and slam his feet down if you even tried to pick his feet, much less give him a trim), since I'm not that horse any more."  I think I'll take him up on that - those old stories don't do us any good - he's just one of my good horses now and that's all we need to say about that.

Then, in the afternoon, I was back at the barn.  All three horses were pretty dirty, so it took quite a while to clean them up.  Pie and Red were having a day off - I almost always give my horses a day off from riding after their trims although they usually don't need it.  We were waiting for the vet, so I took my time and really enjoyed our grooming sessions.  The vet had given me an estimated time of 5:30.  Now, one of the great things about my vet is that she's part of an equine hospital, which means she's very experienced, particularly when it comes to lameness issues.  But then one of the not so good things about my vet is that she's part of an  equine hospital, because if there's an emergency that comes in, that takes priority - this is true of any vet but the emergencies at the hospital often are more serious and sometimes involve surgery.  So they were an hour late, but that was OK with me.

Pie got his rabies shot, and then was sedated, with an extra drug to keep him from kicking, which he was inclined to do last time he had his sheath cleaned, even with sedation.  I expect it was pretty uncomfortable that time, since he'd probably never been cleaned before, was very dirty and had a number of sizable beans.  This time he was pretty dirty again, although he had only one small bean.  We're going to keep him on a six month cleaning schedule.  Red kept a close eye on proceedings through the gaps in the wall between their stalls.

We left Pie to sleep it off and Red was next - he only had to be lightly sedated - and wasn't as desperately in need of a cleaning.  He did kick out once - the vet said the water was probably too cooled off.  Red tends to push through sedation and stays as alert as he can, but once they were done he went to sleep and started snoring.

After a while, when the boys were starting to wake up a bit - not enough to put their hay back in their stalls - I put up Pie's stall guard and he came to the door and leaned out, still pretty dopey.  I opened Red's door and he woozied his way out without his halter on - I wasn't worried as I didn't think he'd go far in his dopey state - getting stopped momentarily when his hip got stuck against the doorframe - he figured it out and weaved his way to Pie's door.

Red stopped there and they stood together for a few moments, heads together, eyes squinted - like two companionable drunks.  Then they did a little grooming - I've never seen the two of them groom before - until Red woke up a bit more and nipped Pie on the chest - Pie squealed and backed into his stall.

I walked both boys around a bit, including in the arena, to gauge their alertness.  It took about an hour for both boys to be back to normal.  It was now about 8 - I gave them the rest of their hay and headed home.

Long Day

It was a good, but long day, with much horse.  Too tired to write more now, but there will be an interesting story about Dawn tomorrow . . .