|
Post by cardicorgi on Feb 10, 2006 13:41:50 GMT -5
Me too. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for working with her, CE - and Cassie and Bruce too.
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 10, 2006 22:54:25 GMT -5
Well, as with Delaney, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that Rainbow is not pregnant. The vet also checked her milk (she shot out quite the stream...Rain was too dopey to care but I wasn't expecting it & had to jump out of the way ) and the milk is a watery but healthy milk; no signs of mastitis which is good. Rainbow's uterus is a little funky...it has some scarring, adhesions, thickening, and appears to have a fatty tumor (thoug the last would need a more thorough exam to verify) NONE of which are of any health concern...they just mean that Rain would be unlikely to be able to conceive, or to carry a foal to term if she did conceive. All this makes sense when the vet checked her teeth. Holy Smokes! Rain's teeth weren't broken off; she's just that old! The vet estimates her age at roughly 27! The vet is very confident of that age estimate, give or take a year. Rain needs a major visit with an equine dentist to get her back teeth cleaned up (talk about wave!) and she will definitely never be able to be turned out on pasture. Rain really is going to need a chopped forage and senior feed diet, preferrably with soaked beet pulp and probiotics in order for her to get both the calories and nutrition she needs out of her food. The vet also looked at her legs and feet. She said that the suspensories are definitely going. With a special senior diet, Adequan, and the regular attentions of a skilled farrier (she recommended a shoe with a small trailer; she's had good luck with that method in the past.) Rain could probably be made comfortable, though it's iffy on whether she could handle even light riding. Rain also appears to have a major worm load, so she also got her first dose tonight and was a champ about it. The thing that is fairly amazing about this old gal is that her eyes are actually in excellent shape. So many appys develop vision problems when they're half her age. She has a scar on one eye, but it doesn't seem tender and doesn't appear to interfere with her vision.
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 10, 2006 22:55:42 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by schwung on Feb 10, 2006 23:51:00 GMT -5
Did Rainbow get her feet done???
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 11, 2006 10:45:04 GMT -5
No, Rain needs more than what I can do...she's going to need very regular (monthly? 3 weeks?) trimming by a farrier experienced in corrective trimming. James would be a good farrier for her, but he comes every other week & hasn't been down since she's been here
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 15, 2006 21:41:36 GMT -5
James (farrier who is not only very, very skilled as a farrier is also a very good horseman), was able to do Rain's feet today. He took roughly an inch off her heels, and 1/4" off of her toes (her toes have been wearing, but not her heels, and no one has been able to do her feet for a long time). That should make her a little more comfortable. He said, however, that it was very uncomfortable for her both physically AND mentally to be trimmed. Cassie helped him, and it sounds like Rain will always need a very soft touch from a farrier who is as much a trainer as trimmer to be done. Her suspensories and general health conditions also make it difficult for her to balance on 3 legs and hold her legs in the postions necessary for the farrier. Poor ol' gal. We're all feeling pretty awful for her at the moment...but assauging our sorrow with limitless hay (soaked for easier chewing), tasty dinners & breakfasts of Equine Senior and alfalfa pellets, and lots of petting & treats. I'll be out at the barn to see her tomorrow (wasn't able to make it tonight) and will try to get pictures of her new feet for everyone.
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 17, 2006 11:04:16 GMT -5
I was pleased to see last night that when Rain and Azalea saw me walking out toward the gate of their pasture, they both trotted up to meet me (yes, this is big improvement for Rain) and were quite happy to be haltered. (the treats always found in my pockets I'm sure have absolutely nothing to do with it! ) I'm not really asking Rain to do much these days. I just hang out with her, brush her, pick her rainrot scabs, etc. She really likes the attention, but is pretty quiet most of the time. Rain does NOT approve of having Azalea removed from her sight, no matter what other horses are still with her. This is a little quirky on her part since they pretty much stay well away from each other in the pasture (other than when Azalea decides to bully Rain around for a bit). But I guess when you get to be her age, you're allowed to be a bit quirky! (and her blanket is purple...maybe I should get her a red halter and she can join the Red Hat society? ;D) Rain is only wearing two blankets to Azalea's three as she's in better weight & has a thicker coat...she looks quite smashing in her purple & black blankets! The swelling in Rain's fetlocks seems to be going down a bit since she's been trimmed, though it is still there (and probably always will be). Having her feet kept up with is definitely going to be key in keeping her comfortable. It's unfortunate that the farrier felt that it would be really difficult to get shoes on her hinds since she is both very afraid of having them worked on and it's quite physically difficult/painful for her to hold the legs up; small trailers on the hind shoes can help with suspensory problems.
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 19, 2006 15:01:09 GMT -5
I haven’t been doing much with Rain other than loving on her and giving her treats (an arrangement that she thinks is just fine!) Like Azalea, I’ve been forced to keep her blanketed 24/7 as she starts shivering even during short grooming sessions. I’m concerned that this is giving the rainrot a chance to flare up again, but don’t really see an alternative until this cold lets up. The cold is definitely hard on her various aches & pains too...we’ve been giving her as much turnout as possible as keeping her moving around is beneficial. We’ve also started her on Special Joint Blend from Equine Science, a product we’ve had good luck with on other horses with similar (though not as severe) health problems & similar age. Hopefully that will kick in soon, and the warm weather (everyone do your warm weather dance!) Will come back so some of creakiness will let up for awhile.
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 23, 2006 10:16:04 GMT -5
Rain is gaining weight nicely and it doesn't appear that her rainrot made much of a comeback at all, which made us both very happy! ;D A little worrisome news from Cassie is that Rain had a choke episode this week. Rain was able to clear it on her own in about 10 minutes with Cassie standing by her talkin soothingly & petting her to keep her relaxed. Cassie said the blockage appeared to be entirely hay. We had hoped (and the vet had thought) that Rain would probably be able to continue eating some hay in addition to her senior feed & soaked pellets. However, if she suffers another episode (and everyone in the barn is watching her very closely), we may have to reconsider and switch her entirely to a mush diet. She's not one to bolt her hay (especially since we keep it in front of her 24/7) and the hay she was eating was a very fine-textured hay. So we'll see. She's still very stiff & doesn't move around much. We turned her & Laney out in a paddock together yesterday for several hours, hoping Laney would encourage Rain to move around. Instead, Rain remained standing by the gate pretty much the entire time. Amazingly, Rocket Girl Laney stood with her the entire time, occassionally reaching out to touch her muzzle to Rain's shoulder or face. It was actually very touching to watch. (of course, I sortof wish that Laney would have blasted around a little bit...all that pent-up energy made the first few minutes of our training session a little wild! )
|
|
|
Post by schwung on Feb 23, 2006 10:29:32 GMT -5
I have quite a bit of experience with choke - my little filly choked 3 times.
She would choke only on very fine orchard grass hay. I switched her to a stemmier hay which forced her to have to chew it more, and she stopped choking. Also, can we get your vet back out to get her teeth done? That really should be made a priority right now.
|
|
|
Post by cardicorgi on Feb 23, 2006 12:34:10 GMT -5
CE thanks for the update. I'm so glad she's getting some groceries and the rain rot is at bay. Best of all, it's great to know Rain has so many caring people watching over her. I bet she loves the attention, too! Sweet old girl...and sweet Delaney.
Let me know if you need me to bring anything on Saturday for Rainbow...
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 23, 2006 12:45:38 GMT -5
Thanks Cardi! I think we're good right now... However, Rain and Laney were quite adamant that I pass on 1 little request last night. They would really, really appreciate it if everyone visiting on Sat could please make sure that their pockets were well-stocked with easily-chewed goodies. ;D I told them I'd see what I could do on that front! LOL Serioulsy, the only thing that we could use is some more probiotics. I've been using a daily one in her feed and it makes a HUGE difference (without it, her manure is basically indistinguishable from cow patties; with it, it's just juicy). But I'm pretty confident that when we're up at the show Fri/Sat we'll be stopping by a horse store or two and I'll be able to pick some up then so don't worry about those unless you have a brand you particularly like for these oldies.
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 25, 2006 22:24:12 GMT -5
Weds was a pretty awful night with Rain. In fact, it was far and away the worse I’ve ever seen her. When I asked her to take a step over in the aisle, she came very close to falling over when she shifted her weight onto her right hind, it collapsed out. For most of the time I was grooming her, she had to stand with her legs all splayed out or she would sway. It was awful. That night was the first time I have cried over her, but I stood petting her in the aisle and then in her stall for the longest time with the tears just streaming down my face. She pretty much ignored everything going on and just stood with her head down. Thursday, I couldn’t go out to the barn. I felt like I should go and see her, but I just couldn’t force myself to do it. I spent some time with Azalea and the other horses I have at home instead. Friday, I went in to the barn before leaving for a horse show and decided to turn her and Laney out in the arena together. I put Laney out first. To my surprise, when I went to halter Rain she actually looked perkier than I have ever seen her. I led her out toward the arena, and she could actually move at a semi-normal walking pace instead of the painfully slow crawl that I’ve seen up until now. And when I turned her loose, I got a small miracle. She trotted! Not far, but she did trot of her own free will! And she actually wandered around watching Laney tear the place apart (Laney likes to rearrange anything that may be set up in the arena ) Today, I got back from the show and she was still feeling okay! ;D The only thing I can think of is that her improved nutrition and the joint supplement have finally kicked in. (The alternative, that this is just one of the ups that go along with the downs of an elderly horse, I don’t like nearly as well) I’m taking tomorrow (Sun) off from the barn to hang out with my long-suffering & neglected husband, but will be out Monday to see her again. Everyone please do your jingles for Rain that she’s fighting her way back to comfort!
|
|
|
Post by jaybird on Feb 25, 2006 23:05:00 GMT -5
Poor Rain.
There must be somebody out there who has a place for this lovely old girl to spend her remaining days. She's been through so much, and she really deserves to have a home that is safe, comfortable and permanent, with her very own person to watch over her and love her and help her through all this. Rainbow is being offered free to a good home, but to be perfectly clear, the person who adopts her will have to be able to afford the vet and farrier care that she will need to make her comfortable. Her adopter must also be prepared for the fact that it may not be possible to keep her comfortable for long, given her age and her physical condition. A time will come that the people who love Rainbow may have to make the decision to let her go, and to provide her with a peaceful and dignified ending. This will be very difficult, but we can all feel better knowing that Rainbow was spared the trip to the slaughterhouse. And when she goes, it will be in the company of people who loved her.
As you've read here, we have Rainbow in a boarding facility where she is being cared for and looked after by people like Critters and Cassie and I'm sure many other of the boarders at Misty Valley Stable. But it is only a temporary solution. It would be such a good thing to not have to worry about where Rain is going to end up next month; to know that she was safe and in a place she could really truly call home. There must be someone out there who could provide this for her. Maybe someone you know?
|
|
|
Post by critterseverywhere on Feb 27, 2006 13:47:56 GMT -5
I just got a message from Cassie, and it is appearing more likely that this may have just been one of those random things that keeps you in torment because apparently Rain is back to being very sore & depressed today. Yesterday, the girls working said she wouldn't come up to the front of her stall for treats. There's no heat or swellling in her legs, which I would expect if she was just sore from overdoing it on Thurs/Fri. <sigh> I guess I'll see what I see when I go out there tonight....
|
|