Yesterday the vet finally gave the OK to bring Cadence home. She made the trip safe and sound, and is now enjoying chilling in her stall.... for the next two weeks. You heard me right, two weeks. She'll have the drain taken out Friday, and until then her bandages have to be changed daily. After Friday, they need to be done every other day. She's on 15 minutes of hand walking/day, and stall rest until the wound heals. Additionally, she gets 38cc of antibiotics 1x/day.
Last time we were in a similar situation (when we put her on stall rest till the vet could check out her leg) she managed to break out of her stall and gallop into the arena, tear a metal ring out of its concrete base, kick another horse in the chest (although he DID stick his nose in her butt) and just be a general pain in the arse. I love her dearly, but if she was that bonkers after 4 days, I have no idea how we're going to get through 15 :( The poor thing, she's going to be bored to tears. Anyone have good suggestions for mental stimulation whilst on stall rest?
Oh, and while at the vets they noticed her manure was dry, so they gave her 2L of oil via a gastronasal tube to prevent colic. Yet another thing to worry about. Please send the Mare your love and positive thoughts... and perhaps send me some of those positive vibes while your at it. I think I may need it more than her if either of us want to make it to christmas!
My suggestions: Give her soggy beet pulp to get water in her. Take away grain and alfalfa, pour the grass hay to her. You might want to try a non-prescription sedative like Vita-Calm which has magnesium, B vitamins and tryptophan, all take some of the nervous edge off.
ReplyDeleteI feel for ya. I had Scotty on stall rest for 4 months with an injured tendon. We didn't make it to 4 months, he was dangerous at 2 months. With a little luck she will not be feeling her normal self at least for a few days.
I love the jolly balls, stall lickers, etc for stall entertainment. Also - I totally agree with Barbara - as much hay as she could possibly want - no sweet feed, grain or alfalfa, natural sedative and soggy beat pulp!!! Maybe to keep her entertained with her hay you could hide tiny apple and carrot chunks in her hay...
ReplyDeleteShe gets a wet meal instead of commercial grains, and is generally quite good about drinking so I'm not too worried about the whole colic side of things. The lack of mental stimulation combined with pent up energy worries me a little more
ReplyDeleteI agree with Barbara - beet pulp is the best! Endurance riders use it over here in a mash during holds at rides.
ReplyDeleteAs for boredom busters - milk bottles strung from the ceiling with pellets or carrot pieces in them (and small holes for the pellets to fall out of), a radio playing, having a stall in the busiest part of the barn, and LOTS of grass hay to munch on. Soak it if she starts to get fat, soaking for 12 - 24 hours removed A LOT of the sugars.
Wow 2 weeks is a long time. I remember the vet told me to keep Jack in the roundyard for a month when he misdiagnosed him with sacroiliac ligament damage.
ReplyDeleteI guess if it's an option you could give her a little turn out into a roundyard or just hand walk her for 5 minutes a day or something.
I've heard good things about 'uncle Jimmy's hanging balls' (who calls a products that? lol) and if you put her hay in 2 hay nets, it takes longer for them to eat, so that might help occupy her time.
Glad to here she is back home =)