Pop goes the what?

Last night when I was getting Kat out and ready to drive, I ran my hand down his leg as the signal to lift his hoof so I could clean it out. Right below his right knee on the inside of his leg was a hard lump. It is not very big, but it is there.  It almost feels like splint, but things are not adding up. 

He seemed like he may be a little off or even gimpy on that leg in Paulden, but lunging him he worked hard and looked fine. I worked him last weekend and again, he looked fine, moved fine and when I was grooming him before harnessing up, there was nothing there. Now all of a sudden it IS there. But then there is no heat, he is not sore or off and the thing is rock hard.

I remember treating a splint on a young horse- long ago, far away, waaaay back in the day some 20 odd years ago.  It was a weanling or yearling filly that was destined to be a halter horse. The area was shaved and twice a day I was to use a toothbrush and scrub a mixture of DMSO and furazone onto the splint. I don't remember wrapping it, but you can wrap it with plastic wrap and a stall bandage to sweat it out.  Mainly you are trying to reduce any and all inflamation in the ligament between the small bone running down alongside the cannon bone. These used to be the horses other toes when they were Euohippus and the size of a dog.



More information here- Basic splint article or for more in depth look at things- This article from The Horse dot com. Equine Splints: Causes and Cures Sure you have to sign up to read the whole article, but what is there to lose? 

Mostly though, it happens more commonly in horses under the age of 4, in heavy work, unprotected legs or working too hard on hard ground. None of which is anything that applies to Kat. Also splints are usually soft at the beginning as they are swollen or inflammed- again, this doesn't seem to apply.


Compare the splint on the buckskin and the chestnut. (I won't even go into any of the other things I see wrong here... Maybe later?)

Coming from barns with BNT's and dealing mostly with halter horses and young horses, I learned early on- ALWAYS wrap the legs. Splint boots were a MUST for pretty much everything and this was long before the SMB's and all the pro-tech rage swept in. GAWD Forbid a horse popped a splint because their days as a halter horse were pretty much Done! Judges look for 'clean', correct legs. 



Even our old horses, even for trailering, I have been known to throw on splint boots if nothing else was available. My thought was and still is- Something is better than nothing. In the case of our older mares- if it hasn't happened before now, if it happens now- the boot is not going to do much at this point. It is only going to hold things together if it should all go horribly wrong. 

Which leads us back to Kat.
-I have always used boots, polos or something to wrap his legs with. Check.
-He is now 13 years old- well above the age of being a young horse with still growing/forming bones. Check.
-I always run my hand down his legs and rub them before and after applying or removing any leg wraps or boots. Check.
-His legs were 'clean' the last time I worked him. Check!
-When I found the knot last night, I checked for heat, swelling, soreness- nothing, nothing, nothing. Check, check, check.
-It also was not soft as swelling or inflamtion generally is. Check.
-I worked him last night and he was not lame, sore or off at all. If he was, I would not have worked him, period. Check and check.
-I haven't been working him much at all lately, he has had the whole summer off for the most part so no overworking there. Check.
-Hard ground? Um, no! Not good for the legs and feet. If I am going through everything else so thoroughly, why screw up on this? Check.

Which leads me to the question of WTF?

Yes his feet are a touch long and need to be done, but he is not over reaching at the trot which is usually a good indicator for him that he is or is coming due, but he has been long before and over reaching and no issues to date....

The only other thing I can think of is one of the articles mention it being a bone in the lower portion of the knee being chipped or broken. But then again- there would be soreness, heat, likely swelling which would be soft or at least softer... and none of this is present.

I was going to start working him to bring him back into shape for the CDE in Sonoita next month and to also fix some of the things that have gone wrong by letting him have so much time off.. Right now, it is all on hold and shaky ground. I will not take him if he is lame or if things could really blow up and get horribly worse.  I won't ruin him for the sake of the game and a ribbon. 

I am going to have a look at him tonight and hubs will be looking closely at his legs too. If we are still at the point where nothing makes sense, I will be scheduling an appointment with our vet who specializes in lameness. If anybody knows- he will!

Dynamite!

This is going to be a shameless plug / infomercial type post. Be warned, but also know this- I don't often post these things and Never if the stuff is total crap.  I also value the honest and straightforward opinions of others.  This post is scattered with 'clicky links'.

Our gelding Mondo has forever been a fly- magnet. If he is in the barn- the other horses are fine. The flies will leave them alone to relentlessly go after him. Fly sprays work, but don't seem to last for long. With one exception and that would be ShooFly! from Show Off Time products. It is eco friendly, non toxic and it smells good. But it is also oil based and STICKS. 

Still the flies loved Mondo. They literally have been eating the poor horse alive. He has worn a fly sheet and mask 24/7 for any relief they could bring, but it still wasn't enough. This year they seem to be twice as bad. And since the mask covered his eyes and the sheet covered his shoulders and body- they went after his muzzle, his jaw, his neck, his belly and his legs.  Any time his sheet was torn and had to be repaired- the flies seemed to zoom in on him twice as strong. Wasn't long before he was sporting open sores where the flies have litterally bitten him (in clusters) until they broke the skin.



Talking to another blogger- Brown Eyed Cowgirls - about Mondo and his issue, she told me there is something out of balance in his system. Something is out of whack. There is something that is attracting the flies to him, not just that they are drawn to his eyes for moisture.



I have tried a few different things. We tried putting him on pellets and pouring Apple Cider Vinegar on them. While this has worked for other people and worked for other horses in the past- it didn't do squat for Mondo. The flies still swarmed him, still bit him and would not leave him alone.   In browsing CL one day, I found an ad for a slow feeder. The person listing it also had a website and carries natural products for horses. I looked it up and sent her an email.



Maryann of Horse-N-Heart in Prescott, AZ was willing to help and offered a few tips of using the ACV and also garlic in Mondo's feed. When I told her that didn't work, she advised me of the Excel products.  She had contacted them and forwarded the information on to me. It seems flies are attracted to horses with too much protein in their diet and an imbalance of the ph in their system. Mondo is was on straight alfalfa. It was suggested we switch him to either timothy or bremuda grass hay and put him on their product Dynamite. He is not a fan of grass and although the slow feed hay net was full to overflowing- he wasn't budging. 



Since we were heading to Paulden with Kat for a Darby (driving event) I offered to meet her up there to save the hassle, time and expense of shipping. Although we played phone tag upon arriving in Prescott, we were able to meet up as we headed home.  Mondo has been on the Excel for 2 weeks now and Man has there been some changes!

Although we were only to feed him a 1/2 tsp scoop per day- we were feeding him 1 tsp scoop in the morning and evening to get a jump on things. He was switched to Bremuda blend pellets which he snarfs up without a fuss and since the Dynamite is a powder- we sprinkle it on, and wet the pellets a little to make it stick.  By the end of the week it was working without a doubt.

I had been working with my WB mare and when I put her away to feed the herd- I noticed the bugs were out. Every horse in the barn was swishing their tails. All but one. Mondo stood there looking around waiting for his feed without swishing his tail at all. 



For some reason hey don't go after the right side as much as his left.



But the flies do love his legs.

After the first week, we have cut him back on the Dynamite to the 1/2 tsp, once a day as directed and still wet his pellets in the morning when he gets it. He no longer wears his sheet- which he has done some damage to, and no longer wears his mask either.  I pulled him out last night and got these pictures of him to show how badly the flies have been on him.  Poor horse has been this way for too long.



At least now he finally has some relief.  He will stay on pellets and Excel- Dynamite for a while, at least while this container of it lasts and we will see what happens. If he needs to stay on it for good- so be it.  It is not at all costly considering how much good it is doing him.  I am sold on it and the Excel brand certainly nailed it on this one.  Hopefully I can post some after pics before long when Mondo is all healed up.

Hats, slacks or skirts? Oh my

One vote so far for the pillbox style.  Now I am toying with the thought of using the taffeta to do a small brim across the front of the hat. It's always an option...  I was originally trying for a hat along the lines of a victorian riding hat.  You know, like this-

This hat is from RiverJunction.com and for only $60 is not a bad price at all. However it is brown on brown and wouldn't match my coat so well... Therein lies the problem. I have searched all over for a rust colored hat and found nothing so far that I liked. I figured if I made my own, there would be no issue about matching the colors which can sometimes be tricky beyond belief... Reds, greens and sometimes even black can be tough to match. Too light, too dark, light or dark undertones, too green, a hint of blue, too bright, too dull and do you see what I mean? Total PITA!

I have made the brim for my hat, I have yet to try putting it actually ON the hat. Then there is the task (or maybe chore) of getting just the right bend or curve to it. Finding flowers, ribbons, feathers, bows and other adornments, keeping with or even contrasting the fabric can cause its own amount of headaches and frustration and then there is the question of how much is too much. This partly because I am not all that into excess... I am not a bling person or one to overdo stuff. I like clean, simple and understated elegance. Then at the Darby over the weekend, I found out that yes, jeans are pretty much forbidden. Slacks or trousers are ok, but not recommended. So I emailed my mentor and asked "What then?" Skirts? Is length a factor? *eyeroll* I do have the fabric and now I have a pattern, so it's not really an issue, but still. There is a lot to this sometimes.  To think some people change their outfits for each event- not hard to rack up a substantial bill in the clothing category.