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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

It's Spring - Time for the Vet

4/24/2014

 
I always take my boys to the vet for their spring vaccinations, dentals, and fecals on the last day of my Easter Break. That way, I get to ride all week, and I don't have to take a day off work. But since Easter came so late this year, I sort of feel like calling them summer vaccinations. Sheesh!

I know many riders have the vet come to their barn, but since I've never boarded at a trainer-run barn, I've always found it easier to just haul my boys down to Bakersfield Vet Hospital. It's only about a 20 minute drive, they have a nice, airy bay for working on teeth and doing other exams, and it saves me the ranch call fee.
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While we waited for the vet, Speedy took a nap, and Sydney … didn't.
This year, both boys got a little something different done. We always vaccinate for Eastern/Western Encephalomyelitis, Rhino, Influenza, Tetanus, and West Nile Virus. Since both boys might get to go to Chemaine's for a lesson this summer, we added the Strangles vaccine. Most of you probably give that one anyway, but where we live, it only occurs rarely (and epidemically), so most people don't do it annually.

Since I've only had Sydney for three years, we don't know if he has ever been vaccinated for Strangles.  Giving the vaccine to a horse with no history of the disease can be dangerous. If he has already had it, he could have a very serious reaction to the vaccine, so we did some blood work to check his titers. Based on the numbers we get back, we'll either forgo the vaccine, give him one dose, or vaccinate him with a follow up booster.
Picture
Dr. Tolley's dental gear.
After an exam by Dr. Tolley, both boys' teeth were determined to be in tip top shape; no dental work was needed this year. There is a lot to be said for regular dental care. Both boys get looked at each year which means there is never any big, dramatic issues. Next year I'm sure they'll need some work, but I appreciated saving a little money this year!

I do fecal counts to check for worm eggs twice or a year. None of my horses ever test positive, but that's not entirely due to our cleaning practices. It's so dry and hot here that fly eggs don't have much of a chance for survival. Even so, I was glad the tests came back negative. Both horses will get their dewormer this weekend. Even though they always test negative, I still administer the dewormer in case of encysted worms.
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One is still napping; one is not.
Aside from the regular stuff, I also talked to Dr. Tolley about Speedy's "injury." I explained the nerve blocks to isolate the soreness, the x-rays, the trot out, Dr. Judy's tentative diagnosis, and finally, his conservative plan for recovery.

We've been following that plan religiously:
  • Hand walking for 45 days (he was walked 44 of the 45 days)
  • Walking under saddle for 45 days (we're at day 27 of that 45 and he's been ridden at least 15 times)

Next on the list would be to add 1-minute trot intervals for 30 days, followed by adding 2-minute trot intervals for the next 30 days, and finally adding some canter for the final 30 days. Dr. Judy also recommended a re-check at 60 days.
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STILL napping. At least Sydney's head is a little lower.
Since the day we came home from Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, Speedy has been solidly sound. The lameness never returned. All along, I have felt that the injury behaved more like an abscess or a "hot" nail. To my delight, Dr. Tolley agreed. In his opinion, this did not present as a collateral ligament injury. The sudden onset and fast resolution are not consistent with a ligament issue. 

A "normal" wear and tear ligament injury would normally begin with intermittent lameness with some days showing improvement until the horse was consistently lame. Speedy's injury was sudden with no heat or swelling.  And while it came and went for a few weeks, he was either completely lame or completely sound, never in between.

Dr. Tolley was not critical of Dr. Judy's initial diagnosis (collateral ligament, bone bruise, or abscess). Without the MRI (and even with it we might not have known for sure), Dr. Judy really just took a best guess and then treated Speedy accordingly. Two months later, it seems as though we have a best case scenario, which Dr. Judy also hoped for.

The good news? Dr. Tolley has cleared Speedy to return to work! He even did a flexion test which Speedy passed with flying colors. I'm still going to be somewhat conservative, meaning I am not going to go out tomorrow and do a full schooling ride. And since he has felt a bit puny from his injections, he needs a few more days of walking until he's completely recovered. I'm going to work out a revised mini-version of Dr. Judy's plan that introduces the trot and canter over several weeks. Even though he may be sound, Speedy has certainly lost some fitness. 

I feel quite comfortable with this plan. I am pretty careful with the health of my horses and would never jeopardize their soundness to suit my own purposes. My worry has been that Speedy's weight (he's put on a few pounds) and lack of an energy outlet are going to cause an entirely different problem. Tubby horses are prone to laminitis, diabetic issues, and other diseases. Bored horses are not only destructive to property, but they tend to hurt themselves as they try to alleviate their boredom.

While "round," Speedy has not yet reached a worrisome weight nor has he caused himself any harm, but those things have been on my radar. Now that he has been cleared to get back to work, I won't need to worry about secondary injuries caused by inactivity.

We might even salvage this show season yet!
Austen link
4/23/2014 11:04:32 pm

That's great news on Speedy! I bet you're super excited to see him come back to work. :)

Also, Sydney is one nice looking horse -- even if he won't just nap.

Bakersfield Dressage link
4/24/2014 11:56:23 am

Thanks, Austen :0)

Tracy link
4/23/2014 11:36:30 pm

The vet came to do spring shots for us a few weeks back. I totally forgot about the fecal, so she's coming back out to do that (terrible horse mom!)

Glad Speedy is doing well, and that he can return to doing some work! Yippee!!

Bakersfield Dressage link
4/24/2014 11:57:18 am

Not a bad mom at all. At least you do them, many people don't. :0)

lytha
4/24/2014 12:26:03 am

The sleepy Speedy pics look so much like my horse it kind of creeps me out: ) I have the "same" photo of Baasha from that perspective, resting at the trailer.

One nice thing about Germany - fewer diseases. We only have to get Flu, Rhino, Tetanus, and Rabies if you think you really need it (but there has been no Rabies in Germany for over a decade, it would be silly to vaccinate for it, my vet agrees). The Rhino vaccine is interesting, I read up on it the other day, not proven to prevent the disease, but required by many facilities. Oh, but they don't call it Rhino here, they call it Herpes (EHV 1 & 4).

Glad to hear about Speedy. I'm his biggest European fan, I think.

Bakersfield Dressage link
4/24/2014 12:00:35 pm

So interesting you say that, Lytha, because Dr. Tolley raised that very concern. Since Sydney was imported from New Zealand, we wanted to be particularly careful as we have no idea what they vaccinate for and what they don't. My vet had no idea if strangles even exists in New Zealand!

Lauren link
4/24/2014 02:09:00 am

Great news all around, yay!

Bakersfield Dressage link
4/24/2014 12:00:55 pm

I certainly hope so!

Sarah link
4/24/2014 02:17:06 am

Great news!! Btw, are you coming down in early May for the Dr. Schacht clinic?

Bakersfield Dressage link
4/24/2014 12:01:52 pm

YES!!!! I meant to send you a message. I'll be there early Saturday morning and will go home Sunday afternoon. Are you riding? Can we get together????? :0)

Alanna link
4/24/2014 03:26:00 am

Lots of good news. Congratulations!

Bakersfield Dressage link
4/24/2014 12:02:14 pm

Again, I hope so. :0)

Tori link
4/29/2014 11:06:07 pm

Interesting. If your horse has a low egg shedding count you should consider not worming. Horses now are building up tolerance and I actually went to a seminar on fecal counts and worming last year. Interesting stuff.

Bakersfield Dressage link
5/1/2014 02:55:55 pm

Hi, Tori. I love the topic of de-worming; there's a lot to discuss! Partially due to a situation that I experienced, my vet hospital revised it's suggested de-worming protocol a few years ago.

Their current recommendation is this (by the way it is REALLY hot and dry here and MOST horses are on dry, sandy soil and not irrigated pasture): fecals done each spring followed by an ivermectin product. In the fall, a second fecal is done after the first "freeze" (we just get cooler days), followed by an ivermectin gold product.

The reason for the dewormer (even though the fecals come back negative) is that fecals do not show the presence of encysted strongyles. This is what happened to me in 2010.

I had been doing fecals for years but not following up with a dewormer because my horses ALWAYS came back with a ZERO count. And then one year, my mare had encysted strongyles which created a blood clot in her intestines which came free and killed a section of her intestines. She was euthanized with a necropsy to verify the cause of death. Surgery would not have saved her.

My vet's thought was that since she had been negative for so many years, when she did encounter worms (from a field where we pastured over night for an event), her tolerance was so low that her body was not able to resist the encystation.

Because of my exact situation, my vet hospital revised their protocol and now recommends deworming even with negative fecals. In an effort to reduce parasitic resistance to the dewormer drugs that are currently available, they recommend only twice a year deworming for horses with a negative count.

More than you wanted to know, I am sure, but that's my situation. :0)


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong 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.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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