Adventures in Ringbone

At this point Chase belongs to my SO more than me. He works out of town and every single day he wants me to send him a picture of Chase. He rarely wants pictures of me or the dogs but he'll harass me if I forget to send one of Chase (he legitimately installed a better light on the front of the barn so I could take pictures after dark).

So it's been pretty rough for him this fall as Chase began to slow down and become more and more lame on that left front. We decided that it was time to take him back to the vet for more x-rays to evaluate where we're at.

Quick recap: Chase has ringbone and significant joint space narrowing in the left front. We've done a series of injections to facilitate the fusion of  P1&P2

With the alcohol injections he showed major improvement. In the week after his first one he cantered for the first time since I brought him home last fall. We did another in June and again in August. He was down to 1/2 a Previcox and was sassy and sound enough to take the Boy for trail rides.

As it got colder I noticed he moved around less and he was looking more and more lame. Cue a serious discussion with the Boy about quality of life. We decided to take him in for a new set of X-rays and a serious discussion with the vet.

The new X-rays show marked degradation and definite bone on bone. Basically it's trying to fuse really hard, but every time Chase moves he breaks apart part of the calcification that his body is trying to lay down. So what we've been attempting to facilitate  is actually happening. Unfortunately it's extremely painful (as anyone who has ever experienced bone-on-bone pain can attest to).

March 2016

November 2016

One treatment path my vet had used successfully in a similar case was bracing the lower limb to minimize movement. Basically a special shoe is built that allows for metal supports to be connected to it. Then the leg is strapped to the whole contraption. (I asked about a cast and he told me why it wouldn't work but I can't remember why for the life of me) Then 3-4 weeks of stall rest, doing the very best to keep them still.

The Boy and I debated our options for the rest of the day, but ultimately it came down to what he wanted to do. It is his horse and I've had some major financial challenges this fall so he is footing the bill. Ultimately we decided to forge forward with this experiment.

Thankfully my farrier is the best! He's actually a welder and teaches welding at a local college as a day job (he got burned out doing feet full-time) and he's super interested in anatomy and movement. I couldn't have asked for the more perfect person to build the apparatus.

Let me tell you though, trying to coordinate my vet and farrier simultaneously was like trying to herd cats on speed!

Chase also got 1 more alcohol injection into the joint (which was not an easy feat considering how little space actually exists in there). Then my farrier built one of the coolest/strangest things I've ever seen attached to a foot (in his words "I didn't miss a single day of farrier school, and they never covered this!").


It's a bit of a production to get him set up, but hey, it could be worse. First I wrap him from hoof to knee with a no-bow. Then the space in the shoe is packed with a tightly rolled polo (originally we were supposed to use a high density foam but after mashing the polo down to the consistency of a brick actually works better). Then another wrap from fetlock to knee. Next I wrap the entire brace to the leg, very, very tightly, paying close attention to the pastern piece. Finally vet wrap the whole thing to make sure it stays in place.

That is all one solid piece built right onto the shoe.

The back brace, it's got bolts welded to the bottom so I just have remove the nuts to take it off.

The final product, basically a giant elephant stump

So for now Chase is currently living the pampered life in a box stall. Before this he'd never spent more than a day in a stall so I was concerned about keeping him chill (the vet even gave me a Rx for sedatives). Turns out it's a complete non issue. He seems super happy about it. He's getting tons of attention from the barn owner and her young kids, plus I'm out there every evening. He also got to avoid the deep freeze of the last 10 days.

Still a total character

He did end up with a small pressure sore almost right away but we've modified the back piece and it's now improving.

Fingers crossed that this works. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to my favourite cookie monster.

Not So Wild Anymore

*No horses or humans were injured during the following events, despite many dark thoughts by both*

We've been working with Sullivan at least once a day for the past 6 weeks now. For the first 4 weeks I vacillated between "Oh god, he's awful and he'll need to find a new home" and "He's just a baby, a super smart baby with a mile-wide stubborn streak, he'll come around". And then at the beginning of week 5 he got his feet trimmed...

Wide-eyed, but he stood quietly for 2 hours

I love my farrier. Sullivan, despite having had all 4 feet picked up every day for well over a week, decided he wasn't having any of this farrier nonsense. He would pick up his foot and promptly jerk it back. When that didn't work well, he reared up, backed up, threw himself into the wall, whatever he could think of. He knocked my farrier on his ass and managed to catch me in the chest with one of his front legs during a time when he reared and tried to run me over. After that he got quite a thrashing. It seemed to give him the clarity required. After that he stood like a perfect gentleman for all 4 feet. He's also been super good for his feet since.

My mom worked him in the round pen (She used to train and her timing is so much better than mine)

He then spent a few hours in a stall (for the first time) while Dee was hot shod. He handled the smoke and banging much better than I anticipated. The next day I borrowed a western saddle from my mom and he learned to pony, once again, it went much better than expected. I'm not sure if it was the clarity instilled by the farrier or just something clicking but he's been super since that day.

Notice his legs are basically the same length as Dee's?

In the last two weeks he's learned about fly spray, blankets, baths, trot poles, going down the road, and trailer rides just for the sake of it. He's even jumped cross rails in hand! He's been super about all of it.  He may object at the very beginning of something new but it doesn't take him long to figure out what I want.

So clean and soft now

I feel confident in kicking him out to pasture now.  Sure he may be a little wild when he comes back in but the foundation is now there.

Exercise sheet works perfectly as a training blanket

He loads solidly now, ramp, no ramp, back out, turn around, it's all good

WW:Baby's First Trim

Best farrier.  Worked with him since I've failed on that front and got all 4 feet done

**I'm a terrible blogger.  I've actually been busy at work so I'm hoping I will get back to it soon.

Busy Pony-Filled Long Weekend

So Friday saw the mare getting her feetsies done.  We had to put new shoes on the front since we wore the toes right down.  First thing my farrier said was "Well you've sure been riding".  As much as resets are much easier (her feet are crazy round and huge, so it takes a ton of manipulation to fit her shoes) I love her new shoes.  She's in a different shoe now, with clips that are much more forward.  My farrier would have liked to put her in a toe clip but he didn't have any shoes big enough so she got the fancy German shoes.  Hopefully we can get at least one reset out of them!

I wish I got pedicures this regularly

Saturday, Isabel and Erin came and picked me up and we were off to Blackfoot Grazing Reserve for the first big trail ride of the year.  Erin hasn't been out on an actual trail ride since she came off a year ago and broke her back so she was justifiably nervous.  But Spider was fabulous and we went on to have a lovely ride were we did a bunch of trotting and cantering.  We ended up going just over 10 miles in 2 hours.  So a little slower my normal pace but still quite a good clip.  It was so nice to actually get to ride with other people.  I've been hacking out by myself too much!

On Sunday we went cross country schooling again, this time with our coach.  Once again the mare was fabulous.  We had a few bobbles, but for the most part she was forward, brave and willing.  Even after our big hack the day before she showed zero signs of being tired.  We worked our way through pretty much every complex at Beaumont, including banks, ditches and the water.  We're back there next weekend for a derby so it was nice to have a chance to school beforehand.  

Isabel and Martini, Shelby and Sailor, Erin and Spider and Melinda and Ducky

I really need to work on not having a moment of hesitation.  All it takes is a split second and the mare will take advantage of it.  She's more than capable of jumping everything I point her at and I need to ride her like she's going to jump it or die rather than giving her the opportunity to make her own decision.  Especially since her decisions can include rearing and spinning.  Not fun :( I also need to remember to bring my corks.  We had a couple of slips that shook the mare up a little.  I have the holes drilled in so I can use them (when I don't forget my kit in the car).  

Straightness is also a new goal, especially on the banks.  She seems to have developed a wiggle and a preference for angles.  I need to be a better driver so that I don't set her up for a run-out, not after all our work to kill the run-out.  

All things considered for her second time on a cross-country course I was super impressed.  She's gong to make an eventer yet!

My favourite view.

Monday I had the osteopath out since her back has been bugging her quite a bit.  I've been putting her Back on Track sheet on every chance I get but she obviously needs some help.  I was running behind so they got started without me (he works with my mom so zero trust issues here).  They found quite a bit in her back related to that awful hematoma she had in March.  Also found some new stress in her jaw.  I hoped up on her to take her through her paces and see and even after two days of hard riding she WAS NOT TIRED.  She was spooky, reactive and just generally up.  I'd been on for 5-10 min and she took a misstep and was 3 legged lame.  I guess it's better for it to happen when the osteopath is there but I wish it hadn't happened at all.  Seems like she twisted her knee quite good.  After taking the stress out of she was no longer dead lame but she was short on it.  He figured it could take a few days for the tissue to recover.  Thankfully she gets Tuesdays off while I go to yoga anyways.  Fingers crossed!

Mom hopped up to she what she could feel

Overall it was a great weekend.  It was also my last free weekend until August so I managed to devour 5 books, hang out with the non-horsey bestie, and play the dog out completely.

Being a barn dog is sooo exhausting