6.02.2010

what’s going on back there?

Before we rode last night, our vet Dave did an ultrasound of Nemo’s bladder to check things out. The ultrasound is done rectally. He wasn’t sure how Nemo would deal with the procedure. Amazingly he stood for the whole exam without fussing. Altho you could tell by the look on Nemo’s face he really wanted to see what was going on behind him. I think he found out, without looking.

We watched the ultrasound screen with Dave, and learned that Nemo doesn’t have any stones. It’s a good thing. Stones must be removed surgically. However he does have a build-up of crystals in his bladder. He shared every horse forms calcium carbonate crystals, but they usually go unnoticed and are deposited naturally. In Nemo’s case they are building up, and may have been for a while. As you can imagine complications can occur if the crystals are left to continue to build up. We didn’t get into those details, not sure I want to know. Dave recommended a funnel procedure to try and flush the crystals out. Hopefully it will work, and they won’t reoccur. Unfortunately the reality is that Nemo will be more susceptible to a reoccurrence. There is medicine to help control the build up, but we’ll stay away from that unless needed. It’s hard to pick up on the problem, and we are thankful to the Farrier at Iron Horse, and Assistant Trainer Shauna who noticed Nemo’s odd tinkling behavior on separate occasions.

It doesn’t seem to bother him, and he rode fine. Patty couldn’t be available for our ride, so Shauna took her place. She did a nice job. Brad got a few new pointers on working with Nemo, and helped me with my lope too. She’s awesome. At one point I was on the wrong lead. I couldn’t tell. If that was Koda’s wrong lead I’m in trouble, it was pretty smooth. Other then that, it went even better then last time. I think Fern Valley was right, perhaps we turned a corner.

7 comments:

Sherry Sikstrom said...

The crystals sound uncomfortable for him , hope you can get it resolved without a reccurrence . Glad the rides are going so well

Leah Fry said...

Is there a feed treatment for the crystals? I have a cat that does that and she's fine as long as we keep her on Science Diet CD. Odd tinkling behavior - she used to pee in every sink in the house.

Anonymous said...

Glad you figured that out - good noticing by all concerned - and hope the treatments are helpful.

aurora said...

Good question Leah. Why didn't I think of that - duh?! We'll add feed/supplement to our growing list for the vet.

Having crystals does sound uncomfortable. I always relate things to how I would feel - but Nemo really is acting normal, other then short bursts of pee (vs a stream) when he has to go. He is likely trying to push the crystals out, but doesn't seem to have the strength in his bladder. The vet doesn't think it's a big deal, other then allowing build up. Time will tell. Thanks everyone.

Terri said...

What causes this? Does anyone know? Found more in geldings than mares? Glad u caught this. Hope treatment clears this issue up.

aurora said...

I would love to learn more about this as well Terri. More posts to follow, might shed some light? If I remember correctly the vet did say it is more common in geldings, not sure tho. My hubby had feed questions on his list of Q's, and the vet said the best thing for Nemo would be to grass feed. Horses produce a lot of calcium crystals, so supplements wouldn't be very effective. He also mentioned Alfalfa has a lot of calcium in it.

allhorsestuff said...

Huh...My BO's gelding has been doing an odd peeing thing...very creamy and short busts...he then had an episode of fever last mo...106.5 really had him down, litter ally. We had the urine tested and there was no abnormalities found in it.
It is still a mystery.
I am so glad you have found an answer..now to find a solution... yea Alfalfa makes horses urinate the HIGH protein content out..a hind gut thing, that sometimes is hard on them. Lots of Calcium.
Hope all goes better soon...I love your header too!
KK