Category:

Sidelined Again - Part 2

2/15/2019

Holy smokes, was I ever touched by all of your comments and prayers about Speedy's recent injury! Thank you for that. On Monday, I was so angry, at who I don't know, and frustrated that I knew if I had tried to write about it, I would have simply spewed fire and brimstone. While I am still very disappointed and quite worried - things don't always heal as smoothly as we would like, I am no longer angry. I've settled into my usual workmanlike attitude. I have a job to do, so I am just going to crank it out. WIth that ...

Yesterday we left off with Speedy sutured and bandaged. I was discouraged by the injury, but with a plan in place, I decided to just move forward. It was what it was, but this too would pass. I wanted to hang out at the barn for a while to make sure that Speedy was okay, so I saddled up Izzy.

From our last lesson.

I could hear Speedy calling as I rode, but that's pretty typical. He hates to be left behind. I worried a little bit that he might bang up his newly bandaged leg, but he had seemed quiet enough as I led Izzy away.

After our ride, I walked Izzy back toward his gate. My heart stopped. Blood was pouring down Speedy's other front leg, and hunks of hair were clinging to the bottom of the gate. Up until that point, we had been puzzled at how he had cut himself the first time. We had searched for any sign of hair or blood, but nothing was found. Now I knew. In addition, the first bandage was blood soaked and sagging. I was certain Speedy had ripped open the sutures.

The left front.

I quickly pushed Izzy into his paddock, keeping his halter in hand for Speedy. As I tearfully placed the halter on Speedy, I frantically placed a call to the ranch owner. Speedy was dancing in hand, his marbles having been lost an hour earlier. I dragged him over to the hose and quickly began flushing the wound with cold water. I needed to see how deep it actually was.

My heart had already sunk so many times that morning that I simply quit thinking straight or logically. I had enough sense to snap a photo and send it to my vet, but from that point on, I was either sobbing while hyperventilating, or just sobbing. Just how much can one person take?

I called the vet again and was put straight through to the office manager. She urged me to take a breath and assured me that both vets would look at the photo immediately. I was still sobbing.

By this point the ranch owner had joined me and reassured me that it didn't look as bad as I feared. The bleeding quickly slowed to a trickle - which was probably mostly water by that point anyway. As I weeped incoherently into the phone, I handed it to her and she explained what we were seeing.

Both vets confirmed that it could be stapled closed if I wanted, or I could just as easily wrap it as I had the other one. Both wounds would heal in a similar time frame.

Two days later Speedy was sporting three bandaged legs. I am half way waiting for him to injure the fourth one to ease my OCD.

With the ranch owner's help, I slowly calmed down and carefully removed the first bandage. To my relief, there was no additional damage, just some seeping of blood. With Speedy protesting, I rewrapped that wound and then bandaged the new one. By the time we finished, Speedy had been stuffed full of candy, and now had three freshly bandaged legs.

On Wednesday, I removed all of the bandages in order of severity; I did the hind leg first. To my surprise, the wound had scabbed over and looked mostly healed. That leg was off my worry list.

Monday

Wednesday

The less-injured front leg looked remarkably better, prayer is a powerful thing. Even though the wound looked nearly knit together, I decided to re-bandage it anyway.

Monday

Wednesday

Feeling a bit encouraged by the progress of the first two wounds, I slowly unwrapped the final leg. Since I had stepped out of the treatment bay as the wound was being stitched, I didn't see it freshly sutured. I did see it flayed open however, so when I had a chance to closely exam Dr. Tolley's work, I was of course grossed out. After getting over my ew response, I closely examined the stitches and felt amazement at what he was able to repair.

Monday

Wednesday

Since Tuesday morning, I've been at the barn twice daily to give Speedy his antibiotics. If I was grateful for last weekend's three-day weekend, I am even more so this weekend. Driving out there twice a day has made this a long couple of days. I'll give Speedy the final dose of antibiotics on Monday afternoon.

I am also re-wrapping every other day. Today is a re-wrap day, so I am optimistic that things will have continued to improve. It might even be that the front leg without the stitches might be healed enough to stop bandaging. My fingers are crossed.

So I can tell which one is which.

I am deeply disappointed, but my emotions are firmly in check. I haven't cried since Tuesday, and I am already moving on. Speedy's life is going to suck for a month or so, but then we'll be back at it.

Have a great weekend!

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Sidelined ... Again

2/14/2019

20 Comments

I had to wait a few days before I could wrote this post. I am no longer angry - I may have dropped more than a few F bombs, but I am frustrated, disappointed, and worried. Yet again, Speedy and I will be starting the show season later than planned. Before I tell you what happened, I'd like to share some photos from Sunday's lesson.

Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, braved a winter storm to come to Bakersfield to give lessons.

So much better than last season: poll is up and look at his reach!

We worked on the regular stuff: getting Speedy in front of my leg, establishing a softer bend, and the medium trot.

I was giggling out loud at his medium trot. It's not quite an extended trot, but it was the most uphill trot he has offered, and boy was it fun to ride.

Twelve hours later, I got a text from the ranch owner letting me know Speedy had injured his leg. This photo came with the text.

I emailed the photo to my vet who urged me to bring Speedy to the vet hospital quickly. Without hesitation, I raced to the barn, loaded Speedy in the trailer and made the 40 minute drive to Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital. As mentioned earlier, I dropped F bombs the whole way.

I carefully unloaded Speedy and slowly walked him into the stocks so that Dr. Tolley could get a good look at what Speedy had done to himself. It wasn't pretty. I'll share the photo of what it looked like when the vet first examined it, but once Dr. Tolley started to pare away the damaged skin, the wound looked much, much worse.

Dr. Tolley quickly tranquilized Speedy, and then he went to work with his clippers (I bet they're not 20 years old - see? Not angry.) removing as much of Speedy's winter coat as he could. There was an injury to the hind leg that was actually deeper than it first appeared, but it was not serious. The more severe injury was to the front leg which had a large V-flap laceration.

Hind leg lacerations.

Dr. Tolley explained that we could treat the larger wound in one of two ways. He could simply cut away the skin leaving an open wound that would need to be re-wrapped every other day until the gap could epithelialize. I had already done that with Izzy's wound, so no thanks. Option 2 was to try and stitch the skin back together. If that was at all possible, I wanted it done. Dr. Tolley also explained that while not advisable, one could simply clean it, and let it heal on its own. This treatment would take longer and leave plenty of scar tissue under the flap of skin. I told him that wasn't really an option I wanted to consider. He agreed.

As Dr. Tolley began working, he repeatedly injected the wound with lidocaine to block any nerve pain. Speedy was having none of it though as he consistently jerked his leg from Dr. Tolley. I could hear the frustration in Dr. Tolley's voice. I've been a client of his for 2 decades. In all that time, I had never seen him look anything but confidant. He finally gave a deep sigh and shook his head.

He told me that he should have knocked Speedy out completely. It was too late by that time, however as the drugs needed accomplish that couldn't be safely combined with the drugs that Speedy had already been given. By this point in the procedure, blood was pooling on the floor, and my nerves had had enough. I felt engulfed by fear and worry. Speedy's always been my pal, but at that moment, I realized how attached I am to the guy. I recognized that at nearly 15 years of age, Speedy was probably more than halfway through his life. Eventually, I will have to make some hard decisions.

I pride myself on how casually I handle vet visits. I never get anxious or worried. I approach these kinds of injuries with a very unperturbed, matter of fact attitude. After wards, I might fall apart, but never during. This time, with this injury, I felt myself losing it. For the first time ever, I had to leave the examine bay and stand outside.

I stood close enough to listen, but the conversation was very quiet and very tense. Without being aware of it, the team had positioned themselves in such a way as to keep Speedy calm and less reactive. Rudy had applied a twitch and everyone else, including Dr. Gonzalez, assisted with the surgical aspect of repairing Speedy's leg. My anxious presence wasn't helpful. I kept my distance.

By the time they had finished, I had myself under control. I am not sure why this particular visit left me feeling so terrified; Speedy is not going to die from a laceration to his leg. Maybe it's because I have so much invested in him. Not just financially; I have dreams and plans still to accomplish with him, and he deserves to be the one to help me get there.

When the sutures were done, Speedy was escorted to a stall where he could sober up. Dr. Tolley and I discussed Speedy's at-home treatment. He was given an antibiotic injection, but would need 10 SMZ antibiotic pills twice daily. He would also need the wound re-wrapped every other day with a pressure bandage - it's a good thing I am an expert.

One graphic photo below.
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Two days later I sent this photo to my vet. While ugly, he said it looked good.

After discussing Speedy's Cushing's Disease diagnosis and my show plans for the year, I paid the bill and loaded Speedy up for the drive home. Once home, I turned him out as usual and went to ride Izzy. When I walked Izzy back to his paddock, I was met with a devastating scene.

To keep anyone from worrying, Speedy is okay, but I am simply too tired to tell the rest of the story today. Check back tomorrow to see what else happened.

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How's Speedy?

2/5/2019

6 Comments

The speedy pony has not made much of an appearance here of late. There hadn't been much to report. Speedy had a hole in his foot, and all I could do was check daily for lameness and see how much progress had been made in the closure of said hole. Finally, there's something to report.

We're looking at the large circle in the top right corner. Yep. It's a hole.

While the hole hasn't filled in entirely, Speedy is 100% sound on it. For the past several weeks, my soundness checks have progressed from can he walk a few steps?, can he walk down the grass?, can he trot on the grass?, can he walk down the driveway?, until finally, I asked him if he could trot in the arena. Last week, he finally trotted out sound in the arena on a circle going both directions. Progress!

When I felt confident that he was sound, I added my tack and a lunge line and asked for walk/trot transitions. When that looked good, I added some cavaletti poles which he thought was the most fun he'd had in months, which it was actually. And when I asked him to canter the cavaletti poles, he about died and went to heaven. Yesterday, I rode him for the first time, and his good mood evaporated. Oh, yeah, this is work. We finished up by trotting the poles which reminded him that he is (almost) a Third Level horse.

He really does like me.

A lot has happened in Speedy's world recently, which bothers him immensely. He really doesn't do well with change. Besides suffering from multiple abscesses, that would wreck anybody's mood, his pasture mate, Willy, moved away which left Speedy alone in his large dry pasture. While he loves the 24/7 turnout, he hates the alone part.

He has all of this plus a large area to the left where he has a covered paddock.

He's not actually alone. A lovely mare lives in the large sandy pasture adjacent to his. Changes though. Her side of things are being worked on. Freshly composted dirt has been added with an updated sprinkler system. Grass should begin growing shortly. In the meantime, she has moved to the neighboring small pasture that has grass. Speedy can see her, but he can't touch her. He thinks he's going to die.

She is quite lovely and worth pining for.

Of course, adjacent to her pasture are two more friends, Winaro and the mule. While Speedy can't touch them either, they're all within chatting distance. And let's not forget that Izzy lives across from him in his own large dry pasture (although not so dry right now).

Izzy has all of this plus what's on the other side of the cross fence. There's a gate that allows him to use both sides, which he does.

Speedy doesn't care how many horses live in his neighborhood. He wants someone to live with him, and if that's not possible, then someone, preferably a hottie like red mare, should at least live where he can breathe on her. Since none of that is happening, he has decided to live at the gate. And by at the gate, I mean RIGHT NEXT TO THE GATE.

The gate is open in this photo, but this is as far as he will go - this little area.

His decision to confine himself to this small space has driven everyone at the ranch nuts. We've had to move his feeder here, but the most annoying part is that he is now standing in mud. He has a HUGE area to roam, but since he only stands HERE, the ground is getting all mucked up.

The pit he has worn away.

Living at the gate has caused one last problem. As he paces and whirls, he has carved a substantial pit. In its farthest corner, the hole is more than a foot deep. As this is the gate used for the tractor, this has made things a bit awkward for Reggie who takes care of dragging and spreading manure. If Speedy doesn't quit being such a jerk, he's going to get us all kicked out. Just kidding. I think.

So now we're all caught up on Speedy's life. Hopefully we can get back on a riding schedule and tackle those flying changes again. As I look out my window this morning - it's still dark, I see rain. What's one more day?

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A Cushing's Tutorial

1/28/2019

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So what exactly is Cushing's Disease? Until a few weeks ago, I only knew that it was a disease that mostly affects older horses with symptoms that include long shaggy coats, pot bellies, and problems with hooves. Sort of like this guy.

A Cushing's horse I found on the internet.

Very simply - or not, Cushing's Disease, also called Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), is a disfunction of the pituitary gland. Over time, the pituitary gland becomes over-enlarged and produces too many hormones. Not good. Ask any woman approaching 50 (cough, cough) what it feels like to have your hormones go out of whack.

In particular, horses with PPID produce too much of the hormone called the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). High levels of ACTH cause an over-production of cortisol. And since hormones have effects on many different organ systems, increased cortisol creates a variety of symptoms like:

Hypertrichosis (long, curly hair )
Delayed haircoat shedding
Change in body conformation (muscle wasting and rounded abdomen or “potbelly”)
Decreased athletic performance
Change in attitude/lethargy
Fat deposits, especially along the crest of the neck and over the tail head
Laminitis
Increased drinking and urination
Recurrent infections
Abnormal sweating
Absent reproductive cycle/infertility
Neurologic deficit/blindness

So who gets Cushing's Disease? According to the AAEP, "the average age of horses diagnosed with PPID is 20 years, with over 85 percent of the horses being greater than 15 years of age. Although most common in aged horses, PPID has been diagnosed in horses as young as seven years of age."

I think you can see where all of this is heading. Speedy will be 15 in April. Speedy has never before had an abscess, yet in the past few weeks he's had not one, but two. My vet decided we needed to check for Cushing's Disease.

There are several ways to test for Cushing's: 1) the dexamethasone suppression test and 2) the measurement of resting plasma ACTH concentration. However, one thing to note is that the time of year the tests are done can affect the results. In the fall, horses naturally increase the production of a variety of hormones as the body prepares for winter. Fortunately for Speedy, January is a great time to check ACTH concentrations.

A normal ACTH concentration is somewhere between 10 and 50. Speedy's ACTH level came back at 56, just outside of the normal range. Some horses can have numbers above 1,000. A lot of things can affect that score - time of day, when the horse last ate, and so on. Even though Speedy's ACTH level was very close to normal, Dr. Tolley felt that it would be prudent to put him on medication.

Here's where most owners cringe and ask, "What's that going to cost?" I almost find it funny that Speedy needs a daily medication as I had just this month decided to take my boys off ALL supplements. Joke's on me I guess. The only FDA approved medication for Cushing's Disease is pergolide, brand name Prascend.

I bought Speedy's first box of 160 tablets from a friend who no longer needed it. When that box runs out, I'll need to reorder from somewhere like Allivet as Prascend is available by prescription only. It's per day cost is right around $1.75. Prascend is actually cheaper than the Platinum Performance was, so I can't complain too much.

There is a glitch of course. Pergolide is on US Equestrian's prohibited substance list. Don't even get me started on how incredibly stupid my vet found that rule. One of the worst things you can do for a Cushing's horse is to stop and restart pergolide every other week during show season.

There is good news though. As of December 1, 2018, US Equestrian will now allow pergolide if the horse has been granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). An explanation of the rule change can be read here.

I've already applied for a TUE, and my vet has submitted all necessary paperwork. When I phoned US Equestrian, the woman I spoke to had no idea how long it takes to be granted a TUE. She said that a panel must review my request. Way to go, US Equestrian. No timeline or answers make me feel great.

So that's it. Speedy now has Cushing's Disease which means daily medication, annual bloodwork, and of course getting that pesky TUE. Dr. Tolley wasn't too concerned and neither am I. There's just no cure for getting old.

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For Heaven's Sake!

1/25/2019

2 Comments

After he bankrupts me, Speedy is clearly trying to send me to an early grave. As I came driving down the ranch driveway yesterday, I looked for him as I always do. He's easy to spot with his nearly white coat, especially this time of year as there's no foliage to hide him. When I did lay eyes on him, I could only shake my head in disgust.

Could you try to get a little more gross?

Since a dirty horse doesn't really tell the whole story, let me clarify. Since Willy's move to a new home, Red Mare is Speedy's new best friend. She lives in the adjoining dry pasture. A maintenance crew has been dragging composted manure out to the bottom of her pasture, so she was temporarily moved to a small grass pasture immediately adjacent.

Even though I wasn't there, I know exactly what Speedy did (and said) about her move 50 feet to the west. He ran himself into a lather, screaming his head off all the while. She was well within sight, but he was no doubt pissed to be separated from her. His frantic gallop up and down the fence line stirred up quite a cloud of dust which is now pasted to his once white and fluffy coat.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

That WAS a wrapped hoof.

Why does Speedy have duct tape hanging from his hoof? I hear you ask. Well, he literally wore through several layers of duct tape as he paced the fence line wailing piteously for his lady friend. Jerk.

No more duct tape.

I peeled off what remained of the wrap and redid it. But first, I poked around at the drainage hole and was pleased to note that he didn't appear sore at all. As I walked him back to his pasture, I asked him to pick up a jog in the grass. He was very nearly sound.

Well, hallelujah. Maybe we'll be back to work sooner than I thought.

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Abscesses Abound

1/24/2019

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Holy freaking hell, people. I am not making this up. Speedy went back to Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital (BLAH) again on Monday to figure out why his abscess hadn't healed after more than a week. This makes three visits for abscesses.

Dr. Tolley checking for a digital pulse.

I was on the phone every day last week consulting with Dr. Gonzalez about Speedy's abscess. While Speedy never got better, he did show some improvement. Dr. Gonzalez explained that abscesses in the horse's bar can be particularly painful and slow to heal. When I got back from the CDS Annual Meeting and saw that Speedy was no better, I put in a quick call to BLAH asking if I could bring Speedy back in. This time it was Dr. Tolley who was on duty.

Checking out the first drainage hole.

When I asked Dr. Tolley where exactly the "bar" was, he was quick to drag his finger alongside the frog. Showing my lack of knowledge here, but I had always thought the bar was the edge of the hoof where the below diagram shows the quarter. Oops, glad Dr. Tolley cleared that up for me. This is why I love him; he's always happy to teach me something new.

Image borrowed from the internet.

Dr. Tolley went on to explain that the sole wraps around onto itself forming a layer called the bar. Abscesses form in that spot because there is the possibility for something to squeeze between the layers.

After putting the hoof testers on and getting a loud OUCH! from Speedy, Dr. Tolley knew the abscess was still festering. He pulled out a special set of knives (they were really cool) and slowly started paring away at Speedy's sole.

I am always so fascinated by this stuff. I just wish it were happening to someone else's horse.

In no time at all, liquid poured out of the hole in a volume that I've never seen in an abscess. Not that my data sample is particularly large. In fact, it's actually quite small, but still, a lot of fluid came pouring out.

The red is from Betadine, not blood. If you look closely, you can see the fluid dripping off Speedy's toe.

Dr. Tolley scraped away layer after layer of sole, allowing fluid to drain out after every cut. No wonder Speedy has been so sore. That abscess was filled with liquid that was putting a ton of pressure on the internal structures of the hoof.

The original drainage hold is that bright red spot to the right of the frog.

In the above photo you can see how deep the new hole is. Dr. Tolley referred to it as a subsolar abscess because the pocket of pus was well beneath the sole. Speedy's treatment will continue to include every-other-day wrapping for a week. Dr. Tolley felt confident that Speedy should be back to work in less than two weeks.

I certainly hope so. More important than riding is that Speedy start to feel better. It has to be pretty discouraging to wake up day after day with a pounding "headache" in your foot. Keep your fingers crossed that we finally have this problem beat!

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Good Thing He Only Has Four Hooves

1/15/2019

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I mentioned the other day that Speedy had yet another abscess. He wasn't fooling around with this one. By Saturday morning he was pretty much down to three legs and grumpy was written all over his face. And Arabs are particularly good at making faces.

Dr. Gonzalez checking out my wrap job.

After an early morning text from the ranch owner sharing Speedy's condition (not good), I sat by my phone waiting for Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital to open. Fortunately for me, they were having a slow day, so I was able to book an appointment for that morning.

Pulling off my wrap.

Normally we see Dr. Tolley, but I was glad Dr. Gonzalez was on duty because he took care of Speedy's other abscess from a few weeks ago. Dr. Tolley could have handled this one just fine, but Dr. Gonzalez had seen the last one and knew how Speedy would react to the treatment.

Besides that, these kinds of non-emergency visits are a good way to build rapport with a different vet. The day will come when Dr. Tolley won't be available, and I'll need to use Dr. Gonzalez. Having a good relationship with him will help when it's an emergency.

Right hand side, dark spot.

This abscess - you can see it just to the right of the frog, was fairly shallow, much to Speedy's relief. Once Dr. Gonzalez pared away a bit of the sole, lots of ickiness poured out of the hole. In some ways I love abscesses because when you get it to drain, there's no wondering if that was really the problem.

Flushing it out.

Dr. Gonzalez treated this abscess exactly as he had the last one. He flushed it out with a Betadine solution, packed it with gauze soaked in Betadine, and then started with multiple layers of bandaging material: cotton wrap, brown gauze, vet wrap, and then the ubiquitous duct tape.

Duct tape is next.

There was one last thing. Dr. Tolley and I had previously talked about drawing blood for an ACHT test to check Speedy for Cushing's Disease. None of the vets think Speedy has Cushing's, at least we hope not, but getting a baseline now will help in the future. Dr. Gonzalez pointed out that Speedy looks great, but recurrent infections, as seen in abscesses, can be a symptom of a horse with Cushing's Disease.

It's nice to have a such a great team working on my horses.

For now, Dr. Gonzalez recommended wrapping the hoof every other day for the better part of a week. As soon as the hole epithelializes and Speedy seems sound, I can get him back to work. They'll let me know what the ACTH blood test reveals when they get the results back in the next week or two.

Speedy will be 15 in April. While not quite a senior citizen, he's definitely knocking at the door. Since Arabians tend to be long-lived, I guess I had better start getting ready for old man issues to crop up.

Here's to good health and no more abscesses - three is more than enough.

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How to Pack an Abscess

12/18/2018

1 Comment

Hopefully your horse will never have another one. For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of owning a horse with a painful pimple in his hoof, here's one way to help him through it.

First up, invest in a boatload of duct tape. Yes, the guy in the paint department will look at you strangely. At least the guy at Home Depot did as I carted an armload of the gray stuff back to the register. If I had bought zip ties at the same time, he no doubt would have called in the FBI. The thing is, if you buy only one roll, you're asking for a lengthy abscess. If you purchase way more than you'll ever need, your horse will never abscess again.

From right to left (not sure why I arranged it all backwards): syringe to irrigate, soaked 4x4 gauze pads, Betadine, Webril cotton roll, Vetwrap, and duct tape.

You probably have most of this stuff already, but if you don't, it's all good bandaging material to have on hand as it can be used for a lot of different types of bandaging jobs. I keep a good supply of this stuff on hand at all times, especially the Vetwrap.

If the abscess is still stuck somewhere in the hoof, you'll need some kind of poultice like Numotizine or Ichthammol to draw out the abscess. Once it's blown, the hole that it creates can lead directly into the hoof, so you'll need to clean and protect it until the tissue has epithelized. This bandage is for after the abscess has blown. If the abscess hasn't blown substitute the flushing and gauze pads with Numotizine.

I am pointing to the hole that Dr. Gonzalez made to let the abscess drain.

The first step is to clean the entire hoof with water and a Betadine solution. If the hole is at the coronary band, you probably won't be able to irrigate it, but if it's in the hoof itself, it's important to flush it out so that a new piece of foreign material doesn't get stuck as the tissue is trying to epthelize.

Cool, right?!

To irrigate the hole, create a dilution of Betadine with water. The percentage of water to Betadine doesn't really matter. Just get it looking like tea, and squirt it in. I do at least three full syringes. You want to make sure to flush until nothing but your solution comes out. The first day I did this, the solution actually oozed out from a small "blow out" hole in Speedy's heel bulb, just above the large drainage hole. By the second wrapping, that hole had closed up.

Gauze pads soaked in Betadine.

Once the abscess's drainage hole has been thoroughly flushed of foreign material and any pus, pack the hoof with gauze pads that have been soaked in Betadine. The Betadine serves as an antiseptic and provides antibacterial activity. It will also "dry out" the abscess.

That's NOT blood, jus the Betadine soaking through.

Once the gauze pads are in place, wrap the entire hoof with some kind of cotton padding. I like the Webril cotton rolls because they have a waffle texture which gives more cushion than just brown gauze rolls might. It's also easier to handle than cotton sheets used for large bandages. But really, use whatever you have on hand.

Clean and tight.

The next step is to wrap the entire hoof in Vetwrap. The Vetwrap's job is to keep the bandaging material firmly in place. For some bandaging jobs there's a risk of getting the Vetwrap too tight or even too loose if it's a pressure bandage. For covering the hoof, just wrap it without worrying. You want it tight enough to keep it from slipping around, so wrap with sure, firm, layers.

Finished.

The last step is to protect the bandage from mud and dirt. If you have a boot, you can use that instead of duct tape. To make the job a bit easier, peel off 3 - 5 strips of duct tape that are about 10 inches in length. I stuck mine to the bucket I was using to hold all of my materials. Once you have your tape strips ready to go, start laying them from toe to heel to create the bottom of the wrap. From there, keep applying layers around the hoof and across the bottom until every bit of Vetwrap is covered. Press it all tightly, and you're done!

For all bandaging jobs, I like to rewrap every other day. If you're interested in doing a pressure bandage, check out this post or this one.

And I guess a thank you goes out to Speedy G for providing this learning opportunity. I appreciate the effort, dude, but I think I've got the bandaging thing down. No more experience needed!

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Someone Else's Abscess

12/14/2018

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In yesterday's post, I mentioned that someone else besides Izzy had an abscess. In case you were unable to guess who the someone else is, it is none other than the gray pony, Speedy G. Little stinker. Every single winter he manages to come up with some kind of injury that gets him out of work for several weeks (or months).

Speedy's abscess was a lot more interesting than was Izzy's. When Dr. Gonzalez put the hoof testers on Speedy, he nearly fell over. And that was just in the middle of the hoof. As Dr. G gently probed Speedy's sole, it was a lot like the game where you hide an object and then shout out temperature settings as the searcher gets closer to the object. In Speedy's case it was hot, hotter, you're burning up, you're on fire! Speedy's abscess wasn't well hidden; Dr. G found it right away.

Yep. Right there.

As Dr. G dug out layers of Speedy's sole, he kept glancing at me to see how I was handling Speedy's pain level. You see, Dr. G is not my regular vet; we always see Dr. Tolley. Dr. Tolley frequently calls Dr. Gonzalez over to see what's going on though as Dr. G. is a relatively new vet, and it's good for all of the doctors to know all of the patients. I know Dr. G. from many previous visits, but he's never actually treated one of my horses.

As it happened, Dr. Tolley wasn't in on Tuesday, so Dr. G stepped in for his maiden voyage on the good ship Team Speedy. While we've met many times, he's never been with me from the start of a visit all the way through to the end. I sort of felt sorry for the guy. While I am not that client, I bring my own special brand of crazy to each visit.

What's that? Can I touch it? Why does it look like that? Where does that go? Is it supposed to be that color? Ew. Cool! Okay, that's just gross. What do I do after that? What's my other other option? For HOW long? Wait, I didn't get the picture - do it again! You get the idea. Dr. Tolley totally digs it that I ask questions and want to be involved in every step of the treatment. They are my horses after all, and I am the epitome of a hands-on owner.

So when I leaned over Dr. G's shoulder and gave an ooh, ahh at the gunk coming out of the hole he had just opened up, I think he was a bit surprised. When I told him to squeeze it harder, I think I scared him. Not that I want Speedy in any pain, but I have no problem causing some quick discomfort if it's going to get the job done more effectively. He squeezed harder.

Fortunately, Speedy's abscess is shaping up to be a pretty typical pimple in the foot. You give it a good squeeze, out comes the gunk, and then you wait for things to heal over. Dr. G's remedy was for me to wrap it every other day over the course of the next 7 to 10 days.

He gave me a neat little syringe with a flexible tip that fits into the hole he dug out. Last night, I unwrapped his bandaging job to clean out the wound and rewrap it. The little syringe made it easy to flush out the hole. I was able to irrigate it well enough that the Betadine solution actually oozed out of a fresh drainage hole in Speedy's heel. I saw that as a good thing as the abscess has finally cleared his hoof.

I soaked a small stack of those mini gauze pads in straight Betadine and packed them into his hoof. I wrapped that with a waffle-like cotton roll, and topped it all with vet wrap. The obligatory duct tape finished off the bandages.

While it was still quite tender and puffy, Speedy was definitely more comfortable. I imagine that by the end of the weekend Speedy will be almost back to normal.

I guess that's one way to get out of doing flying changes!

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Not One Abscess, But Two

12/13/2018

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Be careful what you wish for. The other day, I was hopeful that Izzy's overly dramatic lameness was due to an abscess. I was right, of course - abscesses are fairly easy to spot, but it turns out that I have two with which to contend. His, and someone else's.

Welcome to Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital, Inc.

When someone else's abscess didn't improve, I made an appointment with Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital (BLA) and decided Izzy might as well go along for the ride. Before loading both horses, I gave Izzy one final check. I walked him up to the arena for some lunging and was happy to note that he was sound in both directions at all three gaits.

I pondered whether I should still take him, but then decided an off property trip would do him good, and a final "all clear" from the vet would relieve any lingering doubts.

Outdoor supply closet.

Just a quick aside for local folks: Dr. Pipkin retired this past spring, and the remaining crew from Bakersfield Vet Hospital's large animal practice bought out her practice (clients included) and moved into her facility. Doctors Tolley and Gonzalez, along with practice manager Kathryn Kelly, have since incorporated and now own Bakersfield Large Animal Hospital located on Taft Highway. This was my first trip to BLA.

Stocks for examining mommas, foals wait in the pens.

Izzy's examine went pretty quickly. I showed Dr. Gonzalez my calendar and briefly gave him a rundown of how Izzy's abscess had manifested and progressed: overnight ballooning of the fetlock, acute pain in the toe accompanied by daily improvement, with no visible drainage hole. Dr. G had Rudy take Izzy for a walk away and trot back to which he remarked, "fancy mover!" Yeah, what girl's heart doesn't do a pitter patter with that comment?

Rudy giving a very well behaved Izzy a quick lunge.

Then came a lunge to the left. Izzy was sound. To the right, not so much. It was easy to see, but Dr. G still only gave it a 1 out of 5 on the lameness scale. On soft ground, Izzy was sound. Then came the hoof testers.

React somewhere, horse!

No matter how hard he tried, Dr. G just couldn't find "the spot." Izzy wasn't completely pain free though; he was a bit sensitive around the toe area, but there wasn't a holy cow, that hurts! type of reaction. Even so, Dr. G started paring away at Izzy's sole trying to find that little bit of mis-colored sole indicating the location of the abscess.

Eventually, he decided to leave it alone as he didn't want to dig a big hole for nothing. After much back and forth, we decided to just leave it alone and see what happens. He agreed that riding would be a good idea as pressure on the frog increases circulation which might move the abscess out and away. Of course, if Izzy comes up lame, I can poultice it with Numotizene to help draw out the abscess. In either case, my farrier will be out in three weeks, so he'll have a chance to find what's left to be found.

And then someone else's foot was up. Check back tomorrow for that one.

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About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
Welcome to my dressage journey.

Photo by Lori Ovanessian

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

Second Show - July 2016

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

National Awards

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

State Awards

CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
CDS Second Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

2019 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USEF
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2019 Pending …

3/9-10/19 - Somis (***)
4/12-14/19 - AA Clinic (c)
5/26/19 - TMC (*)
6/15-16/19 - El Sueno (***)
6/22-23/19 - SCEC (***)
6/23/19 - TMC (*)
7/13-14/19 - El Sueno (***)
7/28/19 - TMC (*)
8/10/19 - RAAC (Q) (***)
8/25/19 - TMC (*)
10/26-27/19 SCEC (***)

2019 Completed …

Qualifying Scores for 2019

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Scores
Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:

CDS Championship Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:
Score 4:
Score 5:

Working Towards:

CDS Sapphire Rider Award
Third Level:
Third Level:
Fourth Level:
Fourth Level:

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

Sidelined Again - Part 2

Sidelined ... Again

How's Speedy?

A Cushing's Tutorial

For Heaven's Sake!

Abscesses Abound

Good Thing He Only Has Four Hooves

How to Pack an Abscess

Someone Else's Abscess

Not One Abscess, But Two

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