Good for you particular pony parent and good for your vet for listening to your mother’s intuition. Being in MA Tick or maybe spider bite? If not for high for him temp i would think out of wack chiro. Hoping it gets figured out and he is backnto himself soon
I wouldn’t be surprised if he develops an abscess. I hope that is all it is. Best to you and your fellow!
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8870512]
I wouldn’t be surprised if he develops an abscess. I hope that is all it is. Best to you and your fellow![/QUOTE]
I really hope that is what it is. It doesn’t look like his last one but they present in such weird ways.
I hate how stoic this horse is, I almost would rather a Hot House flower. It really makes me second guess everything and I always have to push people (not vets) to see what I am seeing.
Here is a really short, blurry video - I didn’t have time to change so still was in work attire. Realized too late I should have grabbed a whip to lunge him because he would not get out of the circle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH9kznOgx1U
I think it’s LH.
Well, I sure hope that whatever this is it’s straightforward to treat and have it behind him ( and you ) soon. These quiet ones can make you damn near crazy with worry sometimes.
Please update after the weekend!!
Sending Jingles & AO ~
Beowulf, sending jingles you figure this out quickly have a healthy horse soon. Thankfully he’s got a good mom 
How’s Mr. Stoic today; did you meet with the vet?
[QUOTE=Cayusepapoose;8873527]
How’s Mr. Stoic today; did you meet with the vet?[/QUOTE]
Vet is coming today at 4 PM to perform lameness evaluation, bloodwork/titer, and chiropract him if she thinks he can handle it… Mr. Stoic will be held by Mr.B because I will not be able to make it… He was back to normal yesterday but I still want the vet to go over him. I will let you know guys know what she says/sees.
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Hoping for a good report!!
Very interested. I’m always the one calling the vet saying, “they’re NQR, but…” lol
Vet Update!
So, vet came out and definitely agrees a lyme titer is warranted, as I suspected - she lunged him and watched him go and could see that he was still a little stiff but he looked sound - whatever lameness was there on Thurs/Fri seemed completely resolved by Sunday so I am not surprised.
She pulled blood but doesn’t think he is neuro(EPM) after she performed a neuro-exam. She chiropracted him and noticed that he was extremely sore around his back - especially his RH hamstring (which I guess makes sense, that’s what I felt under-saddle) and she noticed he seemed inordinately body-sore, which is not at all like him. She knows him pretty well as she is his primary vet & chiro and remarked that it was very unusual for him. I looked through all of his past work-ups (she sends me a body chart w/ notes and areas of adjustment) and he has never had tightness in many of the areas he was tight/out yesterday. She is interested to get the lyme results back. The other thing she thinks it could have been is a too-hard play session with his rambunctious herdmates.
She did note some soreness around his stomach as well - I asked if we should scope and she said to wait until the lyme results are back, because if he’s positive that would explain the sensitivity.
I had just gotten to the barn when she was finishing up so I don’t have the full work up details - she squeezed me in before her last appt which was really nice, but she was rushed and couldn’t stay to give me the in-depth assessment – I will update when she sends me the work-up via email.
She is coming back next week and should have the results of the lyme pull by then.
Until then she recommended riding to get him out and moving but keeping it light and easy.
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I have zero experience as far as Lyme disease is concerned thank goodness even though we have the vector here and LOTS of deer. And it’s good to hear that she recommends conservative riding in the meantime. I sure hope the test comes back negative.
Something I was thinking about yesterday - with the seasons changing and the heavy dew on the ground in the wee hours; the game has changed a bit for horses who are playing around in the colder air and are shod in the back. I’ve seen a few barefoot goofballs misstep on slippery grass.
Glad he is doing a bit better and jingles for continued improvement.
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8874803]
Glad he is doing a bit better and jingles for continued improvement.[/QUOTE]
Thank you!
I still haven’t heard back about the Titer but would appreciate any other thoughts anyone has. Horse has been sound but mentally unrideable and intractable, and HYPER reactive the last two weeks.
He pulled a first on me last night and bolted on the lunge (I wanted to stay off his back because he’s been so reactive) and dragged me to the point I had to let go or get hurt. He took off at a headlong gallop and pulled a shoe in the process. So abnormal and so not like him. I don’t think it’s fall friskies - this is a horse that never puts a foot wrong. Starting to sound like ulcers too.
The only other thing I can think of is his turnout situation changed; Horse was separated from the herd about two weeks ago because he won’t share the run-in shed. I was against the change (family barn) but there is a geriatric in the herd that isn’t spry enough to defend himself when Horse gets rowdy. He is still out 24/7 and on a roundbale, just in a different paddock. He has a buddy in his new T/O arrangement but is not interested in grazing when the grass field is open and instead chooses to stand at the gate/fence-line to his ‘old’ paddock. Unfortunately I don’t think I can put him back with the herd as he really has been rough on the Old Man.
I’m really hoping whatever it is, the titer can shed some light on his erratic behavior. I do think it’s physical, whatever it is. I am not going to continue to ride/work him until the vet gets back to me about the Titer and possible scope. I don’t think it’s behavioral/training at this point, there’s too much of a personality change.
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Hyperreactivity to touch is often an indicator of lyme disease. Did the vet say anything about starting the horse on treatment even before the results of the titer come back? (And are they doing the Cornell test?)
[QUOTE=Posting Trot;8889856]
Hyperreactivity to touch is often an indicator of lyme disease. Did the vet say anything about starting the horse on treatment even before the results of the titer come back? (And are they doing the Cornell test?)[/QUOTE]
Yes, it is definitely sounding like lyme. He is not a reactive horse, normally. Cornell test. She did not want to treat before diagnosis, I imagine probably from a resistance standpoint and from a protecting the stomach standpoint. I sent her a text this AM asking for any update, and will discuss possibly starting a round if she thinks it’s appropriate.
Having just gone through the lyme process with my guy I would say the hyper-reactivity on an otherwise sane horse is totally a symptom. I had to give my horse a month off when he started rearing. He spooked at everything, real or imaginary, to the point where if we walked past the back of his shed he would run out the front.
After 8 weeks of minocycline his symptoms- all over body sore, hyper-reactive to sound and sight, photosensitivity, have all gone away! Unfortunately for us this was a long process as he was new to me last fall so I missed a lot of the warning signs. So we are now starting a PT type riding program to get him strong (hills, poles, some lunging in side reins). It is so nice to have a sane minded horse again!
It sounds so much like Lyme to me. Have seen the hypersensitivity and reactiveness before.
The turnout could play a role. My little dude was SO quiet when he was in group turnout. I had to move him to his own field because he kept getting kicked (he is a pest/wants to play hard and annoys everyone else…after he fractured his skull getting kicked in the face I said enough is enough!). Now he has energy to burn and it shows occasionally when I ride, usually when he has had a few days off. He still gallops a few times a day but his energy level is endless and that doesn’t take the edge off. I have taken to doing a think I have long loathed…free longeing. Because on a rope he’ll be very naughty until he’s done working out the excess energy. I used to hate it but really, it makes my rides better if he has time off. If I have ridden for a day or two in a row I just get right on and he will be fine.
He is generally kick along quiet under saddle…it is funny how much more of a quiet gentleman he is with a rider up. Still, after a few random blowups I figured out the turnout change was definitely a factor.
I hope you get the Lyme results soon and can get him turned around!
FT… I am thinking turnout may be a factor as well, especially with the newest update.
Got the lyme test back: Negative. Not entirely ruling out the possibility of some other tickborne disease and will discuss antibiotic course with vet when she comes out tomorrow.
She will also be x-raying and ultrasounding his RH. It’s been huge since Friday, after the farrier came to reshoe his pulled shoe. Lame RH (3/5) and swollen up front too. Think the swollen front might be because of the pulled front shoe but who knows. No change after bute, poultice/wrap but it did go down ever so slightly when I moved him to the grass paddock. No heat on outside but definite sensitivity and heat on inside, midway down cannon. I am wondering if he got a hoof stuck in a gate, or god knows what, and made whatever was bothering his RH even worse. Still pretty swollen this AM. I can snap a picture this afternoon.
I could use some jingles. My poor guy has not caught a break in the last three weeks.
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