Horse week; FAIL and some tiny WINS

 Oh Laz

What a teaching horse he is!

This week has been a bit of a doozy so far, with tiny...little..annoyances.

Sweet boy standing by his choice in one of the open stalls.

I think, since he is in a herd of two, sometimes he stands here to 'rest' and feel protected.

I could be wrong...just a feeling.

"Lemmez naps in my apartzmant"

Pretty boy is shedding out and of course, it's like 30 degrees out...he's still naked and is doing well.  Weight is great, and when I'm there I'm always able to toss out extra hay, in addition to his grazing time of 3 hours now.

Why must he always cut his face...?
Trust me, I've looked everywhere for possibly reasons, and I just can't find it.
He does like to rub his face on things so maybe that's why??...

Last Thursday, I took him on a road walk of 2 miles.

On our way back, about .5 mile left, I noticed he was telling me 

"Too much for my feetz Momma"

Nice Fail on my part.

I didn't bring his Equine padded slipper, so I tried tying my hoodie around his hoof for some padding.
Yea, stupid and stupider.

Obvi, that lasted for a millisecond and Laz gave me a look like "I'd rather BLEED from footz that allows that!!"

So, I took note, no more than a mile on road for now unless booted..

We did cover new ground and saw a new barn with horses and Laz barely behaved himself

Laz was all "MUST LIFT NECKz UP TO SEE ALL THINGS AND SNORT AWAY DANGERS!!!!!!!"

 Back home, I tossed him and his BFF some extra hay

Spoiled babes.. :)

 Then on Saturday, yep, a lame RH.

Laz would barely walk on it. No swelling, heat, or increased pulse so I was confident this wasn't a laminitic issue but a poorly shaped/structure/healing hoof issue

Awesome, I felt AWESOME about that 2 mile walk two days prior

It's so hard to gage, and in PT, it can be trial and error

Thankfully, my trimmer and some of YOU have armed me with some tools and knowledge that I felt, OK, I think I can do something with this....

and try to help alleviate any pain

I worked on heels, rolled the backs a bit, used my rasp to wear down (because I still don't have knives) the folded pooling bar on his medial side

Below is what I got when I set his hoof down..

Him choosing to stand on his RH and let out a big Siiiigh and licking/chewing.

Ok, VICTORY!

Not only was he SUPER patient with me strugging to rasp at him (oh, no hoof jack either), he would nuzzle into my hair and blow so gently like "Good jubs Mom"

So, for now, he's moving like 'his' normal again

Trust me, still questioning a lot when it comes to his hoof shape/balance/etc but I'm trying to be patient as well and allow for more growth

Oh, and another step forward in my vaccination baby steps.
I elected to give (er my Vet give) Laz his Tetanus and Encephalitis yesterday with my Vet backing it up with Equioxx to prevent any possible inflammation. 

So far, 24 hours later, he's totally fine and I'll still be watching him for the next few days.

It's so nice to have a vet who is patient about my questions and concerns.

Oh, but a HUGE horse mom FAIL...sweet Lazaroo has RAIN ROT.

Yea, rain ROT on my baby.

So annoying that I thought those little scabs on his rump were from his horse buddy's play bites. 

Nope...it's f'ing rain rot.

So, now I am armed with a special shampoo that my Vet loves and swears within two cleanings (when it's warm enough again-hopefully later this week) will rid the ROT.

GAG...

I was SO embarrassed that I missed that and with my EVERYday currying, brushing, etc...I missed it. I guess when you don't know, you don't know. I assumed incorrectly.

Horse Mom FAIL and my Vet chuckled at me because I think she knows how anal I am about Laz, that it was beyond ridiculous that I missed this.  She seemed to think, he's body just compromised enough that every.little.thing. triggers in him.

Oh..joy.

;)

ADD thoughts

So, I blame this post on too much coffee!

But, I've had some thoughts swirling inside my head, so I am deciding to purge them onto paper, er blog.

So, here it goes.

Coconut Oil.
BIG fan of it. In fact, I'm obsessed with the Coconut as a whole; the nut, the oil, the water...but for myself.  How does this translate to my furried Equine?
 Last night it sprung to me, perhaps I should have some Coconut Oil at the barn.

Why you ask?
For treatments of thrush and bruising for Laz's tender tootsies. It's natural, relatively inexpensive and why the frick not? I'm going to give it a go...Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Anyone else want to weigh in on this? 

When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.

Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm,athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.

As climates and seasons are swiftly changing, I am moving on to....Blanketing
For those that live in the cooler climates (we are in SE Michigan) when do you blanket your horse?
Or do you?
I struggle with this EVERY year.
Laz's current living situation; he has the choice to be outside roaming his 6 acres (about half that now as two of the fields are being preserved for Spring/Summer) and is able to walk into any of the large stalls (3) and under the lean to.
So he has great protection. He is very happy with his herd and they all allow each other in the space and even sometimes I find two of them in one stall grooming each other.

His fur coat is THICK, but he is an OTTB and was Florida bred, so I do worry he isn't warm enough. With his fur, it's sometimes easy to think he's fatter, but ribs are EASILY felt although he's NOT thin currently.
Especially in the last couple of days, where it's been raining, sleet, some snow and about 36 degrees to 23 at night.
Once I put his winter blanket on, it's kinda ON through the winter. I give him random days off without it but it flattens the hair so much that it leaves him cooler than when before I blanketed him.
So, hence the back and forth of "Do I...don't I?"
Now, on cooler days when it's damp...I worry his wet fur won't keep him warm especially if he chooses to not stand inside and dry off like a good pony should.
For the last week, I've just been watching him; making sure he's eating/drinking/pooping like normal and checking his ears/muzzle for warmth.
The general rule is if they have enough hay, they will keep themselves warm without a blanket, and have access to shelter to get out of wind/rain/snow.
That assumes;
A. they don't eat up all their mass amount of hay that I shove in front of them all day/night long, we don't do round bales.
B. they choose to stand in shelter to get out of elements...we all know that sometimes we question their brain ability to choose what we WANT to be the right choice.
Pouring rain=Laz standing out in it by choice grazing around. UGH
A little wind=Laz standing in his stall acting as though Lions are in the field
What???
So, I have a hay net (large-fits about 4-6 flakes of hay) that I stuff full of hay. He shares that with two others, and in addition to that, Laz gets 8 flakes of hay a day.
But it's not 24/7 grazing...
He is still naked as of now (Gasp!) but I have my blanket in my car ready to spring into action....which may be soon!
I want to hold out as long as possible as long as he's warm and comfortable...and if he was on my own property I could run out and check on him and assess the needing it or not.
Alas, he's not in my backyard, so I have to plan 1, 2 days ahead as I go out to the barn pretty much every other day.
I am more concerned with having him blanketed and being too hot vs too cold
We are past the rain sheet in weather, that has no fill and would probably just make him colder (ie flattening out his hair) but would keep him dry.
See..the insanity?
Am I the only one laying awake at 4 am thinking of this?

Xray/Vet appt-Part 1

Upon my arrival at the barn, this morning.

What a happy site to see. Hay stuffed ponies sunbathing...

 I've seen this scene a few times now. Laz and Justin (the WB/Paint x) napping with Red, the other OTTB watching over.

 "Ohhh cookie Laydee is here! Time to Roll and get ektra durty"

 Eesh, neck muscles not looking good.  I made a mental note to ask my new Vet about it.

Laz impersonating a snorting Elk

So, our Vet arrived and we got talking (as she's only met us now twice) about where we are at, what we are concerned with and what we want to accomplish.

As I was explaining Laz's past....... I started to cry. 

EEesh.

 I felt so embarrassed but when I talk about what he's been through, it just gets me. 

EVERY TIME.

Any way, she was there for 2 hours and gave us a VERY thorough exam.  She writes down her thoughts, recommendations, etc so I can review after our appt too, which is so great.

We took xrays of the RH only (she agreed I didn't need them on his Club foot and she thought his Club wasn't as bad as I thought..whew).  

These are non digital xrays so I don't have results yet.

We will talk results, review images and formulate our plan in the next day or so.

I love a good plan...so I'm hopeful there is one that is doable.

Hoof tester on his RH was almost a joke. His sole is so soft that she barely had to squeeze with one hand.  She was very concerned about that, as both my trimmer and I are-hence why I brought the Vet in.  

I don't know what our next steps are yet, she didn't want to tell me our path BEFORE reading our Rads.  She smiled and said "I know you are a nervous Nellie so I don't want to tell you anything until I know for sure" 

Is it that obvious? 

I kid...I know it is.

I hope whatever the plan is, it sits comfortable with me.

I'm anti-shoeing him although she assured me NO SHOES and in his soft foot case, she said, no shoe would help anyway.

I'm anti-stalling him to dry out his feet...

I'd rather boot him in a duct taped boot than stall him....I don't know if that will be discussed so I'm jumping the gun here.

Ultimately I decide what is best for him, after collecting my information.

Before our xrays, she did a general lameness analysis on him.

Walk-strides evenly, left shoulder inward towards me.  She had me switch side leading him to see.  She thought shoulder was still wonky.

Trot-Very lame. :(   But I know this

RH rolls hip and hock, both hinds paddle out, left shoulder out. RH stifle weak

LH stifle over working, LH hoof good shape, stronger but overall all hooves too moist.

Not great news...but nothing I didn't know.

Neck flexation-stiff. 

This I know. 

I do a ton of Masterson Massage on him and he really struggles with the neck bends. She said his whole body is off due to compensating for his RH.

That's obvious...so she recommended a Chiro whom I will contact to help him out as we resolved his hoof problem.

Recommended putting him on MSM immediately to help with overall joint health. 

(already ordered)  actually need to talk to Vet about MSM and it's issues with effecting mineral balancing and selenium.

Recommended using a daily cleaner on his hooves of 1:1 ratio alcohol and 7-10% iodine to help dry out hoof and keep clean.

She blocked his RH (right hind in case you don't know what I'm referring too) for the xray and to test his lameness again once he was blocked. 

Not a huge difference, but she was able to tell what parts of him are sore due to his RH being compromised.

She thought his weight looked good. He has a hay/fiber belly but he needs more rib coverage and she thought his neck did look thin. She told me to up his Triple Crown L/S to see if that helps.

As we get to the bottom of fixing him (hopeful still) his muscle and balance should work itself out, slowly.

She commented on how shiny and soft his fur was..BONUS!

I asked "For a 10 yr old OTTB in post laminitic phase, does he look good??" 

She laughed and said yes.

Regarding Laz during the exam;

Angle boy.

A.N.G.E.L.B.O.Y.

Stood stoically still during blocking, for xrays, for general exam, was perfect for the 2 hours we fussed with him.  Trotted when he asked and even gave a few bucks and playful "I'm not lame" performances. 

Nice try pal but it's too obvious.

After Vet left, he seemed to just want some cuddle rub time, so he got plenty of it.  

No more road walking for a while...Vet said his RH is just too soft and that will continue to bruise the hoof and set us back.  No problem, it's now off our to do list.

I hope we get decent results with the xrays and a plan of "To Do's" that we are all happy with to get this boy back to sound.

He deserves it.

In non related Vet news; I hung Laz (and the others) our new Busy Horse hay net

It's a GREAT product and seems really durable

This is the large size that fits about 4-6 flakes of hay in it.

Perfect for colder days/nights. 

The BO's are cool with me stuffing it full in addition to his daily hay. Sweet!!!!

Here's how I hung it..pretty good for $6 and free labor via Husband

I hung one spot here, under stable lean to, so horses could nibble in wet conditions and I have a second hanging out in the field, in the open for nice days or to just switch it up location wise.

Just a BIG general thank you, to my readers...which many of you have become my friends.  Without your constant support, encouragement and knowledge, Laz and I surely wouldn't be here today.  

Thanks to Kate  for her 'how to hang' suggestions for the hay bag.

Thanks to J9 and Frizzle for their constant emails, phone calls of support, exchanging ideas, hoof thoughts, diet plans, on sale items, general listening with words of encouragement and compassion.

It's SO appreciated!!!

HOOFLEX Giveaway Contest!

My wonderful readers!

I have a contest for YOU!

Actually, for FIVE OF YOU

Absorbine knows how much Laz and I love their Natural Hooflex dressing (with arnica in it!!)

and offered a contest for me to giveaway

  5 bottles of their 15 oz size HOOFLEX 

in the brand new packaging.

You will love this dressing.

It's great to use all year long and with the natural Avocado and Tea tree oils, I know it's only benefiting my horse's hooves!

So-how to win???

Leave a comment on your best grooming tip!

To be entered TWICE; re-post about this contest on your blog along with a picture of your horse displaying your best grooming job!

The five winners will be selected by random by Lazarus (creative juices flowing...) and will be chosen the week of November 8th.

GOOD LUCK!!!

xo

**Contest officially ENDS November 9th at Midnight Eastern Time"

Lifestyle and Nutrition; changes and updates

It's been officially just over one month since our move to our new barn.

I am so relived that Lazarus has adjusted so well.

In fact, I would say this move has really benefited his overall health and prompted me to make some changes to his overall diet.

Lifestyle changes:

Laz is out 24/7 on acres of pasture

Moving, grazing all  helps with his body, ulcer prevention, overall happier horse and helps with his healing.

I am so thankful there has been no negative changes in his feet due to ingesting grass

The limited softer terrain doesn't produce a rock hard hoof but hopefully as he heals we can do more road rides to harden them up slowly.

One thing at a time...

He's moving more. 

He is always somewhere different when I pull up which is a good sign.

 He has 3 huge stalls that are open for him to go into.

Today he was relaxing in one by choice (drinking, and sometimes seeks relief from bugs or sun)

His feeding regime as of late;

24/7 grass pasture

Hay 2-3x a day

Feed; 

1.  Triple Crown Low Starch-2 cups twice a day 

(low amount I know, I may bump it back up but I'm not a huge believer in BIG amounts of feed)

So..I supplement that with a balance of minerals/vitamins by using  

and called CA Trace to confirm this was OK to mix with my small dose of feed)

2.  California Trace -1 oz twice a day (recommended amount for 1000 + lb horse)

3.  Flax; ground Omega Fields Horseshine 1/4 cup twice a day (min serving recommended)

Then, I recently started his Beet Pulp mash

I tend to do this Fall-Winter-early Spring I stop

When I want some extra food for him, and WATER in him

With weather changes; this makes me feel good to make for him.

He LOVES it.

Recipe:

2 scoops of shredding Beet Pulp (less than 10% molasses)

1 handful (about 5 cubes) of Timothy/Alfalfa cubes

1 cup of feed (T/C)

1/2 bucket of water to soak

Add one chopped apple and/or carrot (usually carrot)

1-2 tablespoon of salt (or 1 oz)

Any of his Homeopathic medicines (Arnica, etc that I may want to add at the time)

He gets this 4 times a week approximately

Come Frost, I may add in Uckele's Liquid E to this mash.

The grass provides so much Vit E that I may want to supplement when it's all gone.

It's been so great comparing notes with some of YOU readers, to see what works for you, what you use for your horses and why. It's so helpful to talk things out with others.

One thing I've learned-many 'feed' stores act knowledgeable about products they DON'T carry and why you should buy what they DO carry.  

Do your own homework...a lot of advice you get is garbage.

I was incorrectly advised to NOT use California Trace because California (they are located in Northern) has too low Selenium. However, in doing my research, the Selenium is the exact same amount/level I was giving in another product (Uckele's) and in fact Northern California has LOW selenium like us in Michigan.

Again, do your homework and call the distributors/carriers/manufacturers for more detail and cross reference with it people that you trust (vets, trimmers, friends)

"mmmNONMSSlllurp"

 

Sleepy eyes like mash

Terrible table manners

Now, Laz has been on CA trace for about 2-1/2 weeks and his T/C and Flax combo/pasture/hay for a month.

Major SHINE is happening for him.

His fur literally feels like mink

 This is an unbrushed boy -UNBRUSHED and he's that shiny?!
This is new for us...love love love it.

He's been getting this metallic gleam in  his coat that I've never seen before on him.
Ever.

 I just see a difference...and feel a difference

He looks healthier

So I wanted to write it all down and compare to see what other changes may come
I luv this picture of him...

 Mega movement for this boy in his new home

Below is are a couple of great links for diet suggestions by Dr. Kellon and The Horse and by MSU

The Horse | Understanding Feeds for the Busy Owner

http://www.myhorseuniversity.com/

...and on a side note; I hugged my boy today. 
I hugged him so hard for Gogo and Andrea.
Everyday is a victory that we have our horses.

Perfectly Imperfect days

You know those days, when you should just stay home. 

I have moments of TOTAL klutzy behavior, where even I am stunned at the lack of coordination.

I digress..I decided on the way to my barn this past Tuesday, to stop at Kensington to pick up our bridle tag, which is what you need to ride the trails. 

It's free, but basically they assign your name to a tag and you ride with it attached to your horse.

If case of an 'unwanted separation' they know who the horse belongs too and etc etc

I pulled in for our first time

So beautiful!!!

 Don't worry (Mom) the road pictured below was a 25 mph and I was the only one on the road when I took the picture. Promise

A lake, a lake, a lake, a lake!!!
Swimming in our future for Laz and I-hopefully!!!!!!!!!

The lake is HUGE so there must be river areas to wade into..

Armed with my trail guide and our bridle tag

19 miles and 4 different horse routes to take! 

 This is where you cross over the main road, into the park, about 1.5 miles from my barn

No biggie.....right? gulp.
There are some other secret trails that the office lady told me about, a little closer to where I board, so hopefully soon, I can investigate!

Snark face!

 Laz and Scout....together...shocker

 Lazy eyes...happy boys in love.

 I decided to boot up Laz on hind only and go for a hand walk.

Damn, his RR ankle was a bit stocked up...not surprising being it rained all day/night the night before and I'm sure he chose to stand in his open stall mostly.  

(It did go down a bit after our walk)

 Heading out to the road, I turned quickly, rolled my ankle, fell into a thorn bush and slapped myself in the face with my lead rope. 

What!? 

Seriously...sigh. 

Thank god, Laz just stood there like "Ummm....huh....??"

Anyway, we saw off the dirt road a tiny little path/trail, so I thought....Hmmmmm, let's trespass, er investigate!

 WOW, it was beautiful!

Little mini paths and awesomely beautiful terrain around....whose path is this????

 Shiny poney

 We just kept going....further trespassing, shoot, I mean investigating, because...well, the trail led that way!!

 Munching along the way...

 I mean, this secret trail was some serious beauty...surely whomever cut this path WANTED horses on it???

 I started to feel like I was in a secret world...Narnia? 

Wait, or do I see a white rabbit?

 If this isn't a cool secret trail, I don't know what is!

 And all the way at the end...we saw something.
What is that? A rock? A landmark??
TREASURE?????

Oh crap......a hunting blind in full camouflage, ready to KILL

So we high TAILED it out of there!!

Here I have 2 brown animals and I wore brown today, and it's days before hunting season ON someone's personal property of what they obviously HUNT DEER (and chocolate labs and lame horses and greek girls) on!!!!

Sheeeyat!!!!!!

Damn....secret trail of heaven may be not open to us. 

I need to ask around and see......after hunting season.

So, we continued down the dirt road in public safety.

Mason was listening 0%.  

I don't know what was up with him. He was running around like a maniac, NOT listening, running up driveways and on people's property.

 I was literally screaming (great neighbors must love me) at him to come back, and he didn't even flick an ear back at me. TOTALLY IGNORED ME. Grrrr, totally frustrating and I was just really disappointed with him.  If he acts like this; I can't risk taking him with me out on the dirt roads. I can't walk him and Laz and surely not free while riding, if he acts up. We'll see what happens in the future.

 Laz was an angel.

Up until he refused to let me get his boot off. 

He kept slamming down his left hind and walking off. I kept backing him up and starting again. I really should have been a bit more ALPHA in this, because, our 2nd to last effort..

He slammed his left rear on my left foot and stood his FAT A** on me for like 20 minutes (real time 3 seconds). IT HURT...a lot. 

"What is going on today?" I thought

I yelled at him.  Yes, I'm not perfect..I yelled at my sweet lame horse! (held back the tears) and backed him up.  He lifted his leg up and let me yank his boot off finally.  He knew he made a mistake so I just let it go.  I HATE disciplining him but I also hate feeling my feet throb and wondering if it's broken. (Again, Mom..it's not, I used my xray vision)

Oh well...in the scheme of things...it was just an OFF day.

Don't we all have those.

And then I remembered...two years ago this week, my sweet perfectly imperfect boy got sick.
What do I have to complain about?
I still have him, he's happy, we are still trying valiantly to improve his feet and all the insane damage that was done.
It is the perfect day...I have my Laz.
Reality check.

I have no complaints

I love you my LazBoy!

Thank you for trying as hard as me to fix you. 

Every day is truly a lucky one.