Our horses had their bi-annual Wellness Spring Vet visit this week. Yes, it is that time of year. Most everything was good news, except for Koda's ongoing lameness. We are all well aware, as I mention it frequently. I have to be the voice for Koda. I will keep asking/sharing/looking for ways to make him more comfortable.
My Spring review starts with my complicated boy:
Koda: 1279 lbs (+ 22 lbs) Fecal Egg Count: Low Shedder
It took little to no time for Koda to walk down the barn aisle for our vet to say "I don't like the way Koda is walking". I thought he was moving stiff, but fairly well compared to how Koda walks most days.
The plan of action (all things we've tried in the past) is to take him off Equioxx (no longer seems to be effective) and try the low dose Bute method. For those who may not know, it like an aspirin. He asked us to give it 2-3 weeks. From what I saw day one, Koda looked worse. Perhaps Equioxx is somewhat helping? He doesn't like the taste of Bute. We are trying a flavored powder form.
If that doesn't help, plan B is to try padded Navicular shoeing again. Last time we tried, in less than 24 hours Koda was unable to walk - at all. Broke my heart. Shoes were instantly pulled and he was back to usual. We use a different Farrier now and are willing to try corrective shoes again. Koda did show improvement for a day and a half with a shorter toe trim = less nerve pressure. However, it was very short lived. Nice to see his brightness and spirited "not in pain" eyes.
There have been no known advancements in Navicular lameness. One thing neither of us are willing to do is "cut the nerve" treatment. I guess it works for some horses, but if it doesn't that horses life is over.
We discussed trying a shot of Osphos again, although it didn't seem to help the first time. Also, our vet felt we would not gain anything by stalling Koda even part days. We completely agree. No clue what plan C might be. Pretty sure we will need one.
Koda getting his teeth done
3.26.25
(Brad & our son in distance)
Nemo: 1217 lbs (+ 60 lbs) Fecal Egg Count: High Shedder
All is well with our big guy! It never ceases to amaze me how soft Nemo becomes around our vet. He stands like a rock. I swear he remembers how much relief he felt when our vet helped him with alllll those bladder flushes over the years.
He also got his toofers floated and continues with maintenance allergy shots
Cierra: 1183 lbs (+ 26 lbs) Fecal Egg Count: Moderate Shedder.
Cierra is also doing well! Brad started Spring riding her (and Nemo). So far her allergies/breathing has been okay. She also continues with maintenance allergy shots. I think it will be a different story when bugs start biting. I would like to look into some kind of protective neck guard or more effective bug repellent for Brad's girl. Neck guards I've seen need to be attached to a full sheet. Guessing Nemo would render a sheet useless.
Harmony: 1132 (- 5 lbs) Fecal Egg Count: Low Shedder
She is holding her own for a 25 year old. I have noticed the start of visible aging changes this Winter. Harmony (and Koda) are our gassy sloppy ploppers. We discussed adding Senior feed or beet pulp for both. Pasture grass should help, of course that requires having some :))
Any thoughts on adding Beet Pulp vs Senior Feed?
Hope: 821 lbs (+ 112 lbs) Fecal Egg Count: High Shedder
Our almost two year old had a touch of "stranger danger" going on this visit. Nothing terrible, just a couple scoots when the vet approached. I am fairly certain she remembered the guy that poked her with needles last October! Interestingly, once again she did not mind the two nasal "shots" at all. Most horses do, and make funny faces afterwards. Overall, Hope was a really good girl and super interested on the vet hoof testing & floating Koda lol. It was cute!
Hope did not have any Wolf Teeth. I learned about 50% of mares do not get them. We opted to wait until Fall to float her teeth. We don't plan to introduce her to bits until then. She will be about 2.5 years old. Lots of other things to work on! Our three girls at home will get teeth done (if needed) in the Fall.
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Hope
I told our vet the Barn Feeding Manager can keep his job for another season :)
6 comments:
That was a busy day for you! I feel so sorry for Koda...pain is so hard to get through.
I've used senior feed with beet pulp and alfalfa pellets while feeding old Fred his last year of life at 38 yrs old. I mixed the beet pulp and the alfalfa pellets an hour before feeding with water.
I had to feed it mushy with Senior Feed for top dressing.
The trick is to make sure [my thoughts] that the food is thoroughly soaked.
In Fred's case it was the only thing left for his aged mouth to be able to feed. Baby food consistency for him.
Sounds like your animals are doing so well!
I hope they can find something for Koda to ease his pain.
It must be good to have this check-up complete. I hope Koda can get some relief. You take such good care of these beauties!
I wish I could say something helpful about Koda :o( but I am sure you have good vet advice for him. Hopefully between the vet and the farrier he can get some pain relief. A side note- Equioxx and Previcox are the exact same thing, only Previcox is much cheaper as it is marketed for dogs. Beamer was getting a quarter of a pill of Previcox a day. If you decide to go that route again for him it may be worth looking into. Seems anything marketed for equines the price goes up.
As far as beet pulp vs. senior feed- beet pulp is not a balanced feed, whereas senior feed usually is. I only use beet pulp if a horse is underweight and discontinue it once the horse is back at a normal weight. Beet pulp should definitely be soaked, as it can cause choke otherwise. If Harmony still has good teeth, a good balanced senior feed would be enough, but if her teeth are iffy, then a cup of beet pulp soaked in plenty of water would be helpful if she is getting a balanced ration also.
Harmony is the same age as Velvet, who gets alfalfa mix hay and a product called Cool Care which was developed here in Alberta.
Good feed/pulp advice. Nice to know what others are doing/did for their oldies. Harmony & Koda both have good teeth, so we are not at the food soaking stage yet. We are leaning towards adding Senior feed (per our vet, 1 lb added to their regular feed) for at least Harmony. We don't grow any Alfalfa/mix as both Nemo and Cierra are allergic to it. Pellets or feeding different hay mix would be something else to consider for ours who can eat it.
Pasture grass is much harder to grow in our sandy soil. At least this year we have one rotation pasture :)
Thanks for all the good wishes for Koda <3
Down here we have a local company that makes a great senior feed that has a beet pulp base. It is what I used for my oldies who were sensitive to alfalfa. You’re such a loving horse mama to do everything you can for him.
Our property used to be a dairy farm and the owner grew alfalfa in our pastures. No matter what we do, it manages to come up in small amounts in places, and the horses find it fast. That means a couple of ours can’t be on the pasture. It’s not much of a life for them for half of the year, but we do it. Winter is, oddly enough, much easier for them.
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