I'm going to use my health records for my animals to form this entry, and you'll get a feel for the timeline.
January - Mag moves in with an abscess on his LF which grew down and never caused pain. Body condition 4. Odd (symmetrical) scars all over. Long toes, low heels. Coughing.
February - Auscultated by vet, prescribed Sputolysin. Professional trim.
March, April - Coughing. Vet checks vitals and isn't worried.
May - Plantagines-C. It works - NO MORE COUGHING! Massage session exposed a slight favoring of his RF. Not lame, just less likely to load it during body work.
July - Choke. 37.5C, 37.2C, 37.5C...
July 19 - Injured LH on Tpost, oddly lame on LF. Vet again, he found the old abscess. Recommends shoes. Bandage and Rivanol prescribed. 37.2C.
July 22 - Professional trim, and she rebandaged LF with Magic Cushion. Bute.
July 29 - Vet #2 here, bandaged both Mag's fronts. Rivanol.
Aug 1 - Scratches LF and RF (from wet bandages?). RF lame.
15 August - LF lame, much worse. Vet #3 here, found "open white line area" of LF. Shoes recommended. Ichthammol packing twice daily. Says it's a localized inflammation of the laminae, similar in effect to an abscess, local pododermatitis (not canker). Noted long toes, low heels, and said that will delay healing. He also warned that this might take a very long time. He said I have the scratches under control, and recommends that I trim Mag's toes myself.
19 Aug - New abscess bursts at lateral coronary band LF. Ichthammol seeping out of hole.
25 Aug - Professional trim. Trimmer complained about our pasture, all pastures in this area being better suited for cows (and ours was a cow field). She says Mag needs to eat hay, but not to necessarily restrict grass. He needs to stay dry, but movement is more important, so let him out on wet grass 24/7. I should trim his toes, she said.
I start restricting grass in the afternoon and evening, but allowing more early in the morning. Lots of hay bales in my car, repeatedly getting small amounts, including haylage, from whomever we can find.
27 Aug - Took Mag for a walk on pavement, where he walks sound. (I feel so much better....hopeful!)
28 Aug - Three-legged lame RF. (I fell apart - J thought Mag must have died based on how I behaved.) Mag looks like he wishes he were dead, nose on the ground, leg in the air. Bute. 37.2C. Trimmer came out immediately and found pain in the medial hole she'd just cut out days before. Packed with Magic Cushion, bandaged, Easyboot Trail over the top.
Trimmer says it's not metabolic. Body condition is 4. Advises against Bute, just like the vet. The horse needs movement to heal.
29 Aug - Mag can walk on 4 legs again. Won't let me trim him, discomfort in all hooves. One hour walk on pavement and some gravel (oops) but he was fine.
1 Sept - Biotin 20mg/day started. Ichthammol packs daily, covered in cotton. Interestingly, not really though, Bellis also has two tiny holes in her white line areas. She gets the packing too. Mag cantering and trotting mostly sound on the pasture (looking glorious!).
Trimmer #2, photo consultation, mentions white line disease, recommends stalling in deeply bedded stall to keep his hooves dry for 6-9 months, being allowed out only if dry.
That's it for my records. Did you see how often his lame leg switched?
The trimmer insists it's not white line disease. But the documentation on this says it is an American problem, not occurring here. What!?
The problem, she says, is a condition called hollow walls. What what!? That condition is in wikipedia, but with no English entry. So, it doesn't exist back home?
The descriptions of the two problems seem virtually identical to me, separation of the horn from the internal structures. Caused by .....oh, don't we wish we knew. Treated by.....good luck with that. *lol*
I think the difference might be exactly where the stretch is in the hoof. Here is an article that shows a drawing of where exactly the hollow wall issue occurs, compared to an abscess. Take a look at hoof problem #2 and #3 (White line and "hollow walls" (hohle wand). I like to think I know about hoof ailments, but this hollow wall thing is new to me.
We know we have abscesses, local infections moving up and down the hoof. The trimmer and vet say it's his tendency to grow long low feet that is the problem, and that the trim will be the most important correction. I agree but also with Pete Ramey, that the all-grass diet this Summer may have been the catalyst for pain.
I never know what I'll find each morning. I'll try to keep the blog updated but it's hard.
Old pics from July
#14, like all the Michalow Stud horses
Gimped
I don't see any of Baasha in him lately, except the eye itself
J gimped out the lead rope and it made the photo so much nicer - no he's not loose next to the street!
15 comments:
I'm so sorry to hear about all your troubles with Mag. Griffin, my senior boy, was diagnosed with Cushings and then proceeded to give himself 2 major leg injuries for 2 fall seasons in a row (hoping this one goes better). I got very good at cold hosing, applying DMSO, and waiting for things to heal. I know it doesn't compare to what you are going thru, but I totally understand the worry and frustration roller coaster. I also don't like to write much when things aren't going well either, so you are definitely not alone in that. I wish i could offer something that would help....Please know you are both in my thoughts and I hope things look better for Mag soon!
Get him a grazing muzzle, and set up a dry lot where he can move around and eat hay. I would also have that pasture re-seeded with something less rich. I don't know what kind of grasses you can grow in Germany. We have been dealing with this with one of ours for 16 years. Right now, she spends half her time in the dry lot and the other half in a grazing muzzle.
Both of my mates get mild white line disease in their fronts when it's wet out. Neither are lame from it as it's a mild separation. I told my farrier that if it didn't clear up by next trim, I'd like to shoe my riding horse. He told me to give MSM as it supports internal connective tissue and a good hoof supplement to help the bad spot grow out a bit faster.
WOW, your head has to hurt, as I imagine you feel like pounding it against the wall! Sure hope you see some light showing an end to this tunnel soon. Sending cyber hugs your way, along with healing vibes.
that's quite the history. I would lose my mind. You are doing very well I think. Do you know the Dancing Donkey? She's a farrier and is great with problem feet. I would consult with her.
Irish had an inflammation due to a bad trim and then had abscess after abscess for almost a year. Now he gets them now and then but is much better.
I agree with the no bute and letting move around.
What diet is Mags on? Maybe it's contributing.
Sorry it's been a rough go! I went through a minor case of white line with mine...like you mention, frequent trims and very limited pasture helped. I hope you both are feeling better soon.
Karol Aynn, Thanks for understanding. I "got good at" cold hosing too this Summer, I mean, after I realized I was doing it wrong (too long at one time). I caught the Tpost injury right after it happened, and was amazed at how I froze that leg so well it never swelled up. Magic water! I didn't hose the fronts cuz I'm trying to keep him dry. Until the day he wouldn't use one leg at all. I said screw it, he's in so much pain I have to numb it.
My trimmer gave me these little cold packs you velcro onto the pasterns that have been soaked in cold water. I decided to try them out myself. Nothing. Then I froze them in the freezer. They still did so little, not worth even wearing on a hot day. Cold hosing is the way to go, that is cold and stays cold!
Here is the Busse Recool product page so you can picture them: (70E!!) http://www.busse-reitsport.de/produktdetail.php?HA_ArtNr=607402&WGR=BRL
Redhorse, It's in my mind constantly that I may need to do that. None of the vets nor trimmers helping me have mentioned restricting grass. (None of the five of them.) The trimmer said that our pasture is a mix of only three types of grass (timothy, orchard, one other) that were designed for cattle not horses. So why is a donkey ok?
Stephanie, that explains why I kept running into MSM in hoof care product lines!
Camryn, cyber hugs! How sweet: )
Teresa, I'll contact the dancing donkey lady, or at least research her blog. I had to smile when you asked about diet cuz I know it's hard to find information in my blog simply because I type too much and it gets lost. He was on grass only all Summer because of the region's worst hay shortage in history. We are finally able to get hay again (or haylage, but I'm not being picky). Mag and Bellis get nothing else, except in the Winter, vitamins. And now Mag gets Biotin.
T, Thanks for sharing your experience.
I'm sorry that I missed the diet!
Your grass sounds a lot like mine- timothy, orchard and other stuff. But perhaps ours is not as rich as in Europe?
Lytha, we find that White Line Disease thrives on icthamol. We treat it by packing with copper sulfate crystals and bandaging. Good luck!
Marty in NC
I am really sorry to hear that Mag is struggling. It can be so frustrating to deal with an illness or injury that is at least partially related to their living environment. It's not like you can just pack up and move. I hope you can find a lasting solution and a treatment that works quickly. Having had my share of long term healing issues (Izzy's leg for one), I've found that focusing on what you CAN do with him (lots of ground work, grooming, tricks, etc.) makes the time go by faster. :0)
I'm no expert, but from what I've been able to dig up hollow wall and white line disease are the same thing. With hollow wall being what it used to be known as.
Oh no. I wont say know how you feel cause I haven't ever had a horse lame for any length of time. I can only imagine your frustration. And so many different ideas and suggestions. Poor Mag (and you :( )
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know you just want him better. So much advice, read mine or skip it, you might be full and I'm probably repeating some other more qualified person.
Hollow walls and white line sure sound similar to me. And not something I've had to deal with, though I've gotten great thrush advice from this site: http://www.healthyhoof.com/articles/Thrush/ThrushWhiteLightning.html. Once I balanced minerals I have had very little reoccurrence of hoof issues. Except in Spring, when I see thrush developing and we mow the pasture really short. I'd muzzle if I needed to. I think body condition scoring doesn't account for the amount of sugar Mag is ingesting.
I'll hope for a better update. In the meantime, if he feels up to it, movement, even if it means in padded boots, will help those hooves grow better!
Agree with irish horse. Muzzle + movement.
Have you ever visited the Rockley Farm blog? They're barefoot proponents for sure, but aside form that she has tons of great information on the effect of metabolic issues on horses' feet. She's based in England where the moist climate and lush grazing often plays into the problems she encounters in her rehab horses.
Good luck!
Yikes I'm so sorry you've been going through this with Mag. It sounds horrible. I'm so hopeful that he's all better now. Well keep reading to see.
Did you ever get him tested for Lyme? It causes lameness that switches feet and it causes full body inflammation, joint pain, etc.
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