77 days and counting!
Faith's rehab thus far has been steadily improving. She has put on about 145 pounds and is about halfway shed out of her winter coat. (I will have pictures available shortly of her half-hairy, half-shiny body.) She still occasionally has colicky nights, but has made consistent progress over the past week. Her attitude is improving and she has continued fighting.
I have started her on Neigh-Lox (the equine version of Maalox) to determine the cause behind her colic episodes. We have decided to try this first before proceeding with the GastroGuard treatments.
Faith is currently receiving the following amounts of feed and supplements per day (divided over two feedings):
-> 4 quarts of Blue Seal Vintage Victory
-> 4 quarts of Blue Seal Hay Stretcher
-> 4 quarts of Purina Equine Senior
-> ProBios - 5 grams
-> Electrolytes - 2 oz
-> Vitamin E Supplement - 10,000 EU
-> Neigh-Lox - 6 oz
-> She still has free-choice hay in front of her at all times, and eats about 7 flakes per day.
Each morning around 7am, I take her out of her stall and put her on the crossties. She stands patiently while her blanket is removed and I begin grooming her. I pick her hooves, being careful to not move her hind legs too quickly or pick them up too high off of the ground. (She is more stiff in her left hind leg, and it is uncomfortable for her to hold it more than 8 inches off the ground while it is bent.) Twice a week I put Thrush Buster around the edges of her frogs and in the dry pockets left from her abscesses. Faith is then led to her paddock to stretch her legs and enjoy the warm spring sun. She has a 100-gallon water tank that she enjoys playing in, using her nose to splash water all over the place. She is smart and has learned how to kick the boys through the fence. She lures them over by calling to them and then nuzzling them, gets them wound up like knots, and then turns, squeals, and kicks at them. Gotta love mares...
Around 7pm, I head to her paddock to bring her inside for her dinner. She trots to the gate and waits for me patiently while I put her halter on. However, as soon as the gate swings open, she transforms into a different horse. With her ears forward and tail flagging, she bolts through the gate and leaps into the air. I say "whoa" in a firm voice and she stops, stares at me blankly, then calmly walks beside me into the barn.
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She sounds like she is enjoy life again!
ReplyDeleteWow, it would take my boys all day to eat that much food!
ReplyDeleteIt's great she's packing on the pounds, it sounds like she is improving so fast!
Have you tried doing basic stretches with her, or is her balance still too off?
If you could afford it, I think she would really benefit from hydrotherapy once she regains her strength- it will help rebuild her muscles and keep her limber without putting too much stress on her joints.
Also, are you giving her anything for her joints, with MSM, Devil's Claw, Yucca, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, or Hyaluronic Acid?
Supplements with these work as anti-inflammatory meds, help with joints, and support a healthy digestive system.
Good supplements include Smartflex Senior, Senior Flex, and ReitSport.
Wow! she sounds very happy. I posted it before, but she really has the apperance of a classic DSLD horse. There are tons of pictures and info online if you google it. The post legged stance, dropped pasterns and swolen ankles...
ReplyDeleteShe's coming along pretty good! 77 days can seem like a very long time and then like just yesterday! I'm wondering if you should try just the equine senior and not the two other Blue Seals. Had an older, thin mare that was prone to little colics and found that Senior, free choice hay, (along with supplements similar to what you are feeding) worked really well on putting weight and the colics quit. She got between 16-18 pounds of Senior a day.
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