That makes sense. Interesting!
I groomed him last night and he actually leaned into it a bit - but we will see how he does in general. He’s ceased to be such a tyrant in the pasture as well. He’s still The Boss, but he isn’t being unreasonable.
If it is the OSPHOS working, I still wonder what exactly hurts him so bad. Not that it matters, but I wonder. Poor guy.
ECVM has been around for a long long time, including being noted in 1901.
And… fortunately, ECVM does show up on radiographs if taken correctly, btw,
see here:
And…
for anyone interested in an overview of what’s
known about C6/C7/T1/T2 malformations:
Update again: horse is off/strange once more. The attitude difference between him on gabapentin and off is severe. He’s also intermittently gimpy up front, but it moves and isn’t consistent. I think it’s worse when it’s chilly at night. Or muddy.
Ugh. I may try adding an NSAID to his ration but I’m wondering if the attitude improvement is actually sedation vs pain relief, in which case I don’t know how fair it is to continue with him. I sat on him a few weeks back for 20 minutes at the walk, just puttering, when he was feeling fabulous. He absolutely LOVED it, and was raring to go for longer. However, he was incredibly backsore as soon as I got off, which tells me there is something still bothering him a lot. Then he came up gimpy and cranky again and I’ve left him alone except to hose off the dirt.
Sigh. It’s so hard with him - some days he looks fabulous and I think we are improving and then he regresses entirely. I’m thinking of adding some NSAIDs and seeing how he handles this winter, but if mud and cold make him that uncomfortable I don’t know what I can do for him. Poor handsome guy…
I’ve posted all of these pics before but… I don’t know. He’s just a handsome horse and I want him to be happy and healthy even if he’s just a pet. It’s hard to reconcile what I think he feels like vs what he looks like.
Nothing but jingles for both of you. I’m so sorry you’re having to weigh these options. We love them so much which is part or what makes it hurt so badly.
Forgive me if this is a repeat question, but is it possible to keep him on the gaba through the winter? Or are there other concerns related to the sustained use?
Oh, he’s on gabapentin. And stays on it unless my shipment is delayed - I forgot to mention that a delay was the reason he went off for a couple days. He can live on it! But it’s not keeping him 100% comfortable and apparently can be significantly sedating, so there’s some question over whether he still hurts but is too sleepy to care.
He gets sharky off of it - or if we reduce the dose at all. The back pain after 20 minutes happened on gabapentin as well as the front end lameness.
Gotcha! That makes sense. Unfortunate that he’s still showing such discomfort through it. I’d inclined to think it may be the sedation. I’ve also experienced some animals developing a tolerance to it–my kitty who was on gabapentin for 18 months definitely needed his dose increased a few times before I ultimately said goodbye.
Has the weather made a marked turn for the colder where you are? Do you notice a difference if you use things like BOT products on him?
In your shoes, I would be very seriously exploring end of life before it gets truly cold and muddy. Load him up on NSAIDS, spoil him rotten, and let him go. But I know that is much easier said than done, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea to try and nurse him through the winter and give him a good summer next year.
He’s gorgeous! Are you comfortable sharing his JC name?
Plum Island! He’s a 2012
Yes. Dropping into the 40s/50s at night, though still 80s during the day.
I’ve considered BOT turnouts, actually. They just don’t fit well 
Just out of curiosity because of stories of an old vet - Have you ever had him tested for Lymes? A key symptom, according to this vet, of long standing lymes was on/off lameness.
He is one beautiful horse
Thank you, I’m biased but I think he’s nice to look at. Yes, neg on Lyme and nothing remarkable for EPM titer. EPM is one we haven’t pursued, because the kissing spines and bone spur and suspensory are more concrete…
I wish EPM treatment wasn’t so expensive, I’d do a round to see.
Ask for a quote on compounded toltrazuril, it’s pretty cheap and I think it’s more effective.
I was going to suggest this. @fivestrideline, your lovely horse reminds me of mine. They are related through In Reality. Supershorty’s lovely mare, Nikki, is also related. Even though he’s far back, I nearly can always see his “look”.
I hope someone can help you.
Have you tried the new version of the BOT sheet that came out last year? I feel like they FINALLY figured out a better cut.
Trust yourself. You do know your horse. If your gut says he’s hurting, then he’s hurting. Your heart is hurting at the thought of losing him, and at the thought of keeping him alive and in pain. Your head is trying to reason the way out of the conflict.
Trust yourself.
Realize that when a horse looks like they’re struggling, when they lose the weight, lose the shine on their coat, lose the light in their eye… they’ve been in a lot of unbearable pain for a long time before reaching that point. You don’t have to wait until Joe Anyone walking by the paddock can see your horse is struggling.
You do know your horse. Try the options you have, and trust yourself to know if anything is helping.
(((hugs)))
Good point. My Wobblers horse looked fantastic when I euthanized him. But there was evidence of him falling very hard in pasture, he suddenly was struggling with the farrier and then he fell at the hospital during a lunge. But just looking at him on a good day no one would have suspected anything (Even the hospital almost missed the diagnosis.)
I was happy that he went out looking so well cared for despite what he was going through.
Update because spelling this out helps me.
This horse is still on gabapentin, but is “blowing through” it most days. Angry, sore etc. I see him slip a bit in the turnout mud (it’s unavoidable here, but I’m talking just a slight loss of traction behind) and can see his back spasm. Not to mention that slipping makes him pin his ears and toss his head. I imagine it hurts.
Some days I go to pick his feet and he’s biting at the walls because he knows he can’t bite me. Blanketing causes an angry fuss (he’s always been a bit snarky about that, but this is extreme). He’s worse if he gets cold though, so he wears more blankets than anyone.
Just running your hand down his back or lightly pressing on either side of his withers prompts a buckling response and/or spasms. KT tape helps a bit, but he HATES when you go to take it off.
I ran E/Se as a last ditch Hail Mary - he came back as the high side of normal. So far, none of my vets will treat for EPM based on his titers and behavior (I use 3 vets, 2 practices). We have had EPM in the barn (way before I got here, same vet though) and they treated based on symptoms and titer. This makes me think they’re not just blowing me off for asking about the issue.
Some days this horse is “fine”. Some days he’s a rage monster. I can’t find the common denominator. He does have a bone spur in addition to all this that clearly bothers him a bit - sometimes he will cross canter to get weight off it, rests that leg a bit more, and it flexes 3/5 lame. I haven’t even touched that because my vet said “we’d go after that if it wasn’t for everything else he has going on”. I haven’t done bute or equioxx in a while, but in the past I saw 0 improvement.
I’m at a loss. I’ve discussed QOL with my BO and they’re supportive on whatever choice I make - I just want to make sure I haven’t left any stone unturned. I can’t afford KS surgery, and I can’t afford some of the monthly maintenance routines I see people doing. Plus, the horse isn’t in work and we don’t have an arena where he’s at - it’s retirement board. Locally, most barns are full or require more training/showing than I can afford to burn for a horse that would need to start with ground work. Keeping him fit year round (a common solution to KS) is just not in the cards for him.
My last inspiration is to try a round of sucralfate (I have some) and see what happens. If that doesn’t seem to help, I’m probably going to make a tough call. Realistically, I cannot maintain this horse to be pasture sound as it is - and I have tried.
(As a reminder, we have pulled for Lyme and EPM multiple times, normal/insignificant. Horse has KS, hock arthritis, popped a suspensory, has a bone spur, likely has arthritis in the neck and spine. E/Se came back high-normal. Horse hasn’t been sound to ride in years, we’ve done extensive PT trying to get him there. He’s had fancy shoes, bare trimmed, tried all kinds of farrier work.)
Anyway. Spelling all that out is a bit rough for me to re-read, but it is helpful. He’s only 12.
QOL feels like a real consideration. You’ve done a lot here.
So sorry to hear that he is still so painful and you are facing this decision. I agree - QOL is important. IMHO - you have gone above and beyond for your boy. Fingers crossed for the sucralfate.
Just <> to both of you.
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