thanks for updating
again, you rock, Scott K, may all the good karma come back to you
thanks for updating
again, you rock, Scott K, may all the good karma come back to you
[QUOTE=scottk;8080029]
Today is Tempe’s birthday. He shares birthdays with his great great grandfather Secretariat. Good for him. 9 years young.[/QUOTE]
What’s his pedigree?
[QUOTE=WhiteCamry;8098281]
What’s his pedigree?[/QUOTE]
Well done scottk and mrs. scottk. So glad there are good people in the world (and ones that are willing to share their story! what a good read) and what a happy herd you have there.
I am not in horse rescue (though I have owned horses for over 30 yrs) but am in dog/cat rescue. It is horrifying what so called humans can do to helpless creatures.
H![]( Everyone. It has been a while since I last posted. Been very busy. The snow has cleared and I have been able to finally get back to work. It was kind of nice being off most of the winter. Plenty of time to spend spoiling our horses LOL.
Last Friday April 24 was Ashton’s birthday. He turned 12. Our little guy. He is so cool. Lots of things have happened since my last long post. Back in the end of March, we saw a cut on Jim’s eyelid. I put some medicine on it. The next morning my wife went to the barn to feed the guys and she called me. His eyelid looked like it had a golf ball under it.
It can be seen here.
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150317_094610_zpsqltuttik.jpg)
I immediately called the Vet. My regular Vet Lyndsey was on leave but Doctor Talia Lin was in the area and could stop over. She stopped and looked Jim over and said that he would need to be sedated for her to clean and inspect the wound. The problem was it wasn’t just a cut but a flap that had gotten dirt under it. I’m glad we called. Now a couple of times the Vet had mentioned that they have an Equine wellness program. If you sign the horse up you save about 20% on shots teeth floating bi yearly fecal work ups and 5% off of any other Vet bills or medications. Well seeing as Ashton loves having the Vet to the farm it was a great deal. But back to the story…
I asked her if the same sedation would be used for the eye cleaning and the teeth floating. She said if we just did the eye then no. if I wanted to do both she would use something that would carry Jim through both procedures. I asked Dr. Lin how booked she was for the day and she said her afternoon was open. My wife and I decided to enroll all 3 in the wellness program and have all 3 floats, Jim’s eye, and all 3 sheaths cleaned in one shot.
You can see Ashton getting his teeth floated here…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/2015031795130100_zpstez35sfp.jpg)
Dr. Lin is very professional and has a great, easy to talk to personality and takes the time to answer all of your questions in a complete and easy to understand manner.
So then it came time to talk about antibiotics for Jim. She gave me a bottle of pills and told me I had to give him SEVENTEEN twice a day. I was thinking this will be a disaster. Well we have one of those magic bullet miniature blenders and we just put the pills in there and blended them until they were a fine powder. Then we sprinkled it on his food. Worked like a charm and his eye healed perfectly.
So the following week it was time for Ashton to get new front shoes and the other guys to get a trim. I called to make an appointment but Lyndsey was still on leave and Dr. Lin returned with Challen. Things were going well and she blocked his ankles so Challen could go to work. The thing is Ashton didn’t really seem as relaxed as usual. Not too bad but something was amiss. I personally figured that it was Spring was here and the last place he wanted to be was in the barn isle getting another set of shoes. The right foot was done and as Challen was getting ready to shoe the foundered foot disaster struck. Ashton took about 5 hops backwards on his right foot. I was holding the lead and just couldn’t stop him. You know, the leg with the bad ankle that caused the other foot to founder. If that wasn’t bad enough, Challen just couldn’t hold the foot up any longer after riding it backwards down the isle. It slammed down on the concrete floor un shod. Yep the foot that had been shod and hoof packed for the last 8 months slams the floor barefoot. We all looked at each other like Ut Oh. Challen did finally get that shoe on and I placed Ashton back in his stall for a couple of hours to let the block wear off. I hoped that nothing bad would result from what happened.
But…
You know…
This is Ashton we’re talking about…
So I turn him out in a couple of hours and of course he is limping. He is babying the bad ankle. I give him some Bute and hope he will shake it off in a few days. Of course every time I have given him Bute I just about give myself an ulcer worrying that the Bute may trigger an ulcer in him.
So in a couple of days a transition takes place. He is no longer babying the ankle however he is now ouchy on the foundered foot. Here we go again.
Every year we host an Easter Egg hunt.
Here is Ashton and the Easter Bunny…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/ashton%20easter%20bunny_zpshtn8bmzj.jpg)
This year it was the Saturday before Easter. We have it for our friends, family and some of my business clients families. We only had 70 people this year LOL. Challen was coming to the hunt with his daughter so when he arrived I mentioned to him Ashton’s limp and we went to look at him. Nothing worse than being in the pasture with your farrier and his hoof testers while your guests are wondering and asking what is wrong with Ashton. After examining him he said that he probably bruised his heel and be prepared as it might be a bit of a process if it abscesses and has to blow out somewhere. Not good news but Challen is the man. Always right on top of Ashton’s care. He told me to soak the foot in Epsom salts twice a day and put Epsom poultice on his heel. He then showed me how to make a boot out of a baby diaper and duct tape. Challen told me that 3 inch wide gorilla tape works best. They stock it at Home Depot.
Here are some pics of that process. My wife is always by my side for all of this and she is a big help.
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150409_223447_zpsckj2balo.jpg)
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150409_223531_zpsbtr4czjs.jpg)
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150409_2237140_zpsaqgdevwx.jpg)
Here he is clowning around while soaking his foot. He loves nickermakers LOL…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/th_20150409_221913_zpstk6hqngm.mp4)
So this goes on for about ten days but he doesn’t seem to be getting much better. Challen is stopping in at least every other day to look at him. He really cares in a way that is not found too often. We then decide it’s time to pull the shoe and take some radiographs. I call up to the vet office and Lyndsey is back. I make an appointment and we meet at the barn later that week. We all learned a lot on that visit. First off the rad showed he had abscesses in his heel and toe. When he had the shoe on and the packing in Challen couldn’t squeeze the toe hard enough to get a reaction. It was plain as day on the rad. But what thrilled us all was the fact that our boy had grown an incredible amount of sole. I do have him on Animed Remission to help grow foot. 2 scoops twice a day.
Here is a pic from last September…
And here it is now…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/Ashton%20Killiam%204-17-15_2_zpsh1vw7luf.jpg)
After reviewing the rads Lyndsey and Challen decided to remove a good portion of the toe. He now has so much foot to work with it was time to start re shaping the hoof. Also opening the toe up gave the abscess another place to exit. I was advised to stop soaking the foot but continue to put the poultice on his heel and now his sole by the toe. Lyndsey and Challen wanted no pressure on the toe so he turned the heart bar shoe in to a w bar shoe as can be seen here…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150417_134153_zps6ykokesx.jpg)
That was on a Friday and by Sunday here is what I saw. The toe abscess came through his sole as seen here…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150425_101715_zpsilgmsain.jpg)
and that little bugger was jogging around by that afternoon…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/th_20150419_183208_zpsrvfkzkcq.mp4)
I continued to wrap it for a few more days and then Challen stopped by to look at him and said I could just turn him out without the diaper. Yes no more daily diaper duty LOL. So now he is starting to be his old bucking, rearing, running all over nutty self again. We were grateful to see that sight. I few days later while cleaning his feet i noticed a crack had developed in his sole from the unsupported end of the foot to the hole where the abscess came through. I called Challen and told him I felt we needed to close the end of the shoe in with some flat stock to protect his toe. Another concern of mine was if the open ended w bar shoe was flexing apart as Ashton was getting more aggressive on it I did not want the hoof to split from lack of support. Challen agreed so i contacted Lyndsey and set up an appointment. This appointment took place Wednesday of this week. Things went smooth as silk. We were only one week early for the reshoe and trims for the other 2 guys so we went ahead and did it all. If all goes well we should be back on our normal 5 week schedule.
Here is a pic of the modified shoe. I got to weld the bar in myself. LOL. Made me feel good to participate in the making of my buddy’s shoe.
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150429_131507_zpscpvikmzg.jpg)
Here it is on his foot…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150429_132234_zpsvjbuepdh.jpg)
And here is a pic of the protection on the ground…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150429_171525_zpsixbjeytd.jpg)
So he is now back to his silly self. What a journey. Thank God for miracles.
Some other pics…
The guys helping to open the seed bags LOL…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150419_175443_zps5iuibahp.jpg)
snoozing…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150425_123811_zpsnuelfcei.jpg)
They all have stall plates now. Starfish Farms made these for us…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150324_215527_zpsxou09ohw.jpg)
Will try to write more later. Thanks for all the kind words and interest in our horses’ stories.
H![]( Everyone. It has been a while since I last posted. Been very busy. The snow has cleared and I have been able to finally get back to work. It was kind of nice being off most of the winter. Plenty of time to spend spoiling our horses LOL.
Last Friday April 24 was Ashton’s birthday. He turned 12. My little guy. He is so cool. Lots of things have happened since my last long post. Back in the end of March, I saw a cut on Jim’s eyelid. I put some medicine on it. The next morning my wife went to the barn to feed the guys and she called me. His eyelid looked like it had a golf ball under it.
It can be seen here.
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150317_094610_zpsqltuttik.jpg)
I immediately called the Vet. My regular Vet Lyndsey was on leave but Doctor Talia Lin was in the area and could stop over. She stopped and looked Jim over and said that he would need to be sedated for her to clean and inspect the wound. The problem was it wasn’t just a cut but a flap that had gotten dirt under it. I’m glad we called. Now a couple of times the Vet had mentioned that they have an Equine wellness program. If you sign the horse up you save about 20% on shots teeth floating bi yearly fecal work ups and 5% off of any other Vet bills or medications. Well seeing as Ashton loves having the Vet to the farm it was a great deal. But back to the story…
I asked her if the same sedation would be used for the eye cleaning and the teeth floating. She said if we just did the eye then no. if I wanted to do both she would use something that would carry Jim through both procedures. I asked Dr. Lin how booked she was for the day and she said her afternoon was open. My wife and I decided to enroll all 3 in the wellness program and have all 3 floats, Jim’s eye, and all 3 sheaths cleaned in one shot.
You can see Ashton getting his teeth floated here…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/2015031795130100_zpstez35sfp.jpg)
Dr. Lin is very professional and has a great, easy to talk to personality and takes the time to answer all of your questions in a complete and easy to understand manner.
So then it came time to talk about antibiotics for Jim. She gave me a bottle of pills and told me I had to give him SEVENTEEN twice a day. I was thinking this will be a disaster. Well we have one of those magic bullet miniature blenders and we just put the pills in there and blended them until they were a fine powder. Then we sprinkled it on his food. Worked like a charm and his eye healed perfectly.
So the following week it was time for Ashton to get new front shoes and the other guys to get a trim. I called to make an appointment but Lyndsey was still on leave and Dr. Lin returned with Challen. Things were going well and she blocked his ankles so Challen could go to work. The thing is Ashton didn’t really seem as relaxed as usual. Not too bad but something was amiss. I personally figured that it was Spring was here and the last place he wanted to be was in the barn isle getting another set of shoes. The right foot was done and as Challen was getting ready to shoe the foundered foot disaster struck. Ashton took about 5 hops backwards on his right foot. I was holding the lead and just couldn’t stop him. You know, the leg with the bad ankle that caused the other foot to founder. If that wasn’t bad enough, Challen just couldn’t hold the foot up any longer after riding it backwards down the isle. It slammed down on the concrete floor un shod. Yep the foot that had been shod and hoof packed for the last 8 months slams the floor barefoot. We all looked at each other like Ut Oh. Challen did finally get that shoe on and I placed Ashton back in his stall for a couple of hours to let the block wear off. I hoped that nothing bad would result from what happened.
But…
You know…
This is Ashton we’re talking about…
So I turn him out in a couple of hours and of course he is limping. He is babying the bad ankle. I give him some Bute and hope he will shake it off in a few days. Of course every time I have given him Bute I just about give myself an ulcer worrying that the Bute may trigger an ulcer in him.
So in a couple of days a transition takes place. He is no longer babying the ankle however he is now ouchy on the foundered foot. Here we go again.
Every year we host an Easter Egg Hunt.
Here is Ashton and the Easter Bunny…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/ashton%20easter%20bunny_zpshtn8bmzj.jpg)
This year it was the Saturday before Easter. We have it for our friends and some of my business clients families. We only had 70 people this year LOL. Challen was coming to the hunt with his daughter so when he arrived I mentioned to him Ashton’s limp and we went to look at him. Nothing worse than being in the pasture with your farrier and his hoof testers while your guests are wondering and asking what is wrong with Ashton. After examining him he said that he probably bruised his heel and be prepared as it might be a bit of a process if it abscesses and has to blow out somewhere. Not good news but Challen is the man. Always right on top of Ashton’s care. He told me to soak the foot in Epsom salts twice a day and put Epsom poultice on his heel. He then showed me how to make a boot out of a baby diaper and duct tape. I found that 3 inch wide gorilla tape works best.
Here are some pics of that process. My wife is always by my side for all of this and she is a big help.
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150409_223447_zpsckj2balo.jpg)
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150409_223531_zpsbtr4czjs.jpg)
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150409_2237140_zpsaqgdevwx.jpg)
So this goes on for about ten days but he doesn’t seem to be getting much better. Challen is stopping in at least every other day to look at him. He really cares in a way that is not found too often. We then decide it’s time to pull the shoe and take some radiographs. I call up to the vet office and Lyndsey is back. I make an appointment and we meet at the barn later that week. We all learned a lot on that visit. First off the rad showed he had abscesses in his heel and toe. When he had the shoe on and the packing in Challen couldn’t squeeze the toe hard enough to get a reaction. It was plain as day on the rad. But what thrilled us all was the fact that our boy had grown an incredible amount of sole.
Here is a pic from last September…
And here it is now…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/Ashton%20Killiam%204-17-15_2_zpsh1vw7luf.jpg)
After reviewing the rads Lyndsey had Challen remove a good portion of the toe. He now has so much foot to work with it was time to start re shaping the hoof. Also opening the toe up gave the abscess another place to exit. I was advised to stop soaking the foot but continue to put the poultice on his heel and now his sole by the toe. Lyndsey and Challen wanted no pressure on the toe so he turned the heart bar shoe in to a w bar shoe as can be seen here…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150417_134153_zps6ykokesx.jpg)
That was on a Friday and by Sunday here is what I saw. The toe abscess came through his sole as seen here…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150425_101715_zpsilgmsain.jpg)
and that little bugger was jogging around by that afternoon…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/th_20150419_183208_zpsrvfkzkcq.mp4)
I continued to wrap it for a few more days and then Challen stopped by to look at him and said I could just turn him out without the diaper. Yes no more daily diaper duty LOL. So now he is starting to be his old bucking, rearing, running all over nutty self again. We were grateful to see that sight. I few days later while cleaning his feet i noticed a crack had developed in his sole from the unsupported end of the foot to the hole where the abscess came through. I called Challen and told him I felt we needed to close the end of the shoe in with some flat stock to protect his toe. Another concern of mine was if the open ended w bar shoe was flexing apart as Ashton was getting more aggressive on it I did not want the hoof to split from lack of support. Challen agreed so i contacted Lyndsey and set up an appointment. This took place this Tuesday. Things went smooth as silk. We were only one week early for the reshoe and trims for the other 2 guys that we went ahead and did it all. If all goes well we should be back on our normal 5 week schedule.
Here is a pic of the modified shoe. I got to weld the bar in myself. LOL. Made me feel good to participate in the making of my buddy’s shoe.
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150429_131507_zpscpvikmzg.jpg)
Here it is on his foot…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150429_132234_zpsvjbuepdh.jpg)
And here is a pic of the protection on the ground…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150429_171525_zpsixbjeytd.jpg)
So he is now back to his silly self. What a journey. Thank God for miracles.
Some other pics…
The guys helping to open the seed bags LOL…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150419_175443_zps5iuibahp.jpg)
snoozing…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150425_123811_zpsnuelfcei.jpg)
They all have an official address now. Starfish Farms made these for us…
[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/skilliam/20150324_215527_zpsxou09ohw.jpg)
Will try to write more later. Thanks for all the kind words and interest in my horses’ stories.
Hi everyone. Haven’t written about Ashton in awhile. All has been well for the last 3 years. Unfortunately he came down with a bad leg infection in mid February. We are not sure if it was cellulitis that really flared up or maybe a puncture wound that introduced a bad bug to his system. He has been in NJEC since then. He was infected all the way up through his hock. Had 2 surgeries to clean his leg out. Luckily as of yesterday the hock wounds including the bursa have closed. Still have some drainage from the opening where the tendon sheath was accessed for cleaning. Fighting some adhesions now. I was warned that this would be a slow process. We hoped he would be home for our Easter Egg Hunt. That came and went. We were hoping he would be home for his birthday but that is the 24th of this month and that date is not looking to good either. My wife has set up a youcaring page trying to get help for him. Please share this with any animal lovers that you know. Thanks. Scott and Diane.
Sending good thoughts to Ashton and will try to help as well.
Thank you very much.
This is so strange Scott, I have not been on the Chronicle Forum for almost the time period when I was following your journey. Living in Italy for now and thought to look at your story. Blessings to all, and especially for Ashton. I will share your page. Be well. Amber
I read this thread years ago and skimmed it again, but I didn’t see anything more about Sly Diamond Jim. Is he still with you Scott?
I’m jingling the curb chain for Ashton. He looks good in the pictures even with that big bandage!
Thank you
Yes…we still have Jim. He does his job of mowing the lawn very well. He is good friends with Ashton. Whenever I get back from visiting Ashton I go see Jim so he can smell his buddy on me. He will usually give me a chomp on my arm. Guess he is frustrated.
On another note. It appears that Ashton’s infection may be clearing up. We re going to try a higher wedge shoe tomorrow. If that does not get him comfy then we will go ahead and de nerve him. The surgeon thinks that a combination of adhesions and scar tissue is causing his pain and this is probably the last option. Please wish him luck. He needs to get home. 9 weeks in the hospital is crazy. When I first saw him 4 years ago I told him he would be ok and I have got this from here. Just sticking by my boy.
This is so heart warming to read. I wish there were more people out there like you Scott! The world would be a much better place. And all the Ashtons and Jim’s would get the lives they have earned.
Sorry about the long delay between updates. Ashton made it home on August 4 of last year. He is in a wedge shoe with a quarter inch heel lift on the leg that had the infection. Then last December he was off on the other rear leg. Turns out he had Lyme disease that manifested mostly in that leg. So back to NJEC for 12 days of IV antibiotics. So that made it an even 6 months that he spent there last year LOL. He is doing well now and running around with his buddies.
My wife Diane and I would like to thank the following people:
Doctor Jennifer Smith at the New Jersey Equine Clinic. Dr. Smith went above and beyond to give our Ashton back to us. Yeah, I know it’s money and that is business but she gave us and him things that money can’t buy. She either called or texted us every day to give us a status update even if there was really nothing new to report. And sometimes I would have her on the phone for 20 minutes just questioning her on what was going on basically out of nerves on my part. She never lost her patience once with me or at least she didn’t show it LOL. She gave us her cell phone number so we could reach her easier. She always texted us a photo if there was any progress in the healing process which was very comforting. She was relentless in her treatments of his infection constantly trying various combinations of things including hyperbolic chamber, direct antibiotic infusions into his ankle, cold laser therapy, and anything else to get the wound on the back of his ankle where she went in to the tendon sheath to flush him out to heal. Even one of her techs collected placental tissue from a foaling to put across the wound to form a bridge for the skin to cross. Believe me she left no stone unturned. She treated our free throw away broken thoroughbred as good as any high dollar horse in her barn. She gave us free run of the place and we could come and go as we pleased and let us stay with our baby as long as we liked. She treated us like family more than customers. The rest of her staff is wonderful also. If you horse needs a surgeon I would highly recommend that you seek her out. We truly believe our experience with her could not have been better in any way Oh, and by the way we had an Easter Egg hunt a few weeks ago and she came to our farm to spend the day with us and her favorite patient. There is no one better out there.
Doctor Lynsey Makkreel at Foundation Equine. Doctor Makkreel has been our Vet since shortly after we adopted our horses. She always has had a special interest in Ashton. I can call her cell anytime and she always is patient with me. She has nursed our boy through many problems. She is the one that after our first vet told us to put him down she came out, took her own rads and said nah…we can fix this. And things have been great ever since. She speaks with a calm confidence that is very reassuring. She is the one that spotted the Lyme disease last December and again we got him straightened out. She is the best. And she was at the Easter Egg Hunt too.
Farrier Challen Ingraham. Where do I start. Challen has a special bond with Ashton and it shows. The different shoes that he has come up with over the years to nurse Ashton through different problems is phenomenal. If he looks a little off all I have to do is call and he will swing by on his way home to take a look. If something needs to be changed mid cycle no problem. We just change it. He is kind to the horses even when they sometimes try to drag him backwards down the aisle. When Ashton was at Doctor Smith’s Challen would drive up there to do the shoeing. Nothing is ever a problem. We are so blessed to have him.
In summation it is but by the Grace of God and the team above that Ashton still walks this earth. No doubt about it. We and he would be lost without any one of them. They are the team that keeps him powering through any obstacle. Period. I usually get nervous about giving recommendations because if things go right that is how it is supposed to go. But if things go wrong you look like an idiot. But let me assure you that the three professionals named above we heartily endorse and recommend. I would stake my life on it. Ashton already has. What a blessing that we have such great people to rely on.
I will try to get more detailed on the process that saved Ashton’s life in a future post and will post pictures too. It has just been too long and i wanted to let folks know how our boy is doing.