Tuesday, August 30, 2016

August Update

Blue- " I've had just about enough of this summer!"



There seems to be too many things going on at once around here and so there hasn’t been much time to post anything.

I’ll start with an update on the horses:

Nate (my daughter’s horse) has been suffering with a bad case of Stringhalt.  He’s been dealing with this for over a month.  At one point, it got so bad that he was completely paralyzed in his hind end and was stall bound for a while. His hind legs swelled mildly and he broke out with oozing sores around his coronary bands, front and back. Nate also has a condition called Shivers, which we think exacerbated or probably even predisposed him to the Stringhalt. Between my daughter and the vet they seem to have come up with a successful treatment plan.  The good news is that, after scaring the crap out of us, he seems to be doing much better and can now be turned out with the herd. He’s still walking very slowly, but he seems happy and at least he’s able to be with his buddies.

Shortly after Nate, Grady came down with a milder case of Stringhalt. He also has shivers. He's recovering much faster than Nate and seems to be doing much better now.

Mellon's legs--especially his hind legs--have been swelling, oozing serum, and breaking out in sores. He was also mildly lame behind, though it didn't look anything like the stringhalt in the other two. Mellon doesn't have shivers, though he did have EPM a few years ago, and he's got Cushings. Our vet thought it was cellulitis. My daughter said it reminded her of a milder version of the lymphangitis Nate had when he ate some toxic weeds he shouldn't have in Scotland. The vet prescribed a course of heavy duty antibiotics and topical ointment (which Mel finished and didn't seem to help), so she's been washing with mild antiseptic soap and wrapping with Animalintex which seems to help a lot.

Trying to find the common source for all of these problems might be a waste of time. But the stringhalt, at least, we assume had a common cause once two horses started to show the same symptoms. There is a variety of the disease called "Australian Stringhalt" that has been traced to a particular weed that grows in pastures called flatweed, catsear, or false dandelion. It looks almost identical with ordinary dandelions except the leaves are slightly hairy, the stems are coarser, and they can be branched (there are other small differences if you're into botanical stuff, but for the casual observer, that's enough to identify one in your field.) It's not always dangerous to horses. But under certain soil and weather conditions (i.e. drought) when the plant is stressed, apparently it becomes toxic. We believe that our horses already suffering from neurological conditions were highly susceptible to the effects of this toxin, and so exhibited the worst symptoms. All of the literature we've ever read about it, and all of the vets we've ever spoken to said it doesn't grow in our area. But after speaking to the local Cornell Cooperative Extention expert, my daughter went out looking for it, and it was everywhere. (My daughter is going to post more on what she's found out about the plant and the condition as the horses progress with their treatment.)

We've got probably 25 acres total of pasture, so there was no way we were going to dig it all up by hand. So in the meantime, to be on the safe side, we removed the horses from the pasture for a few weeks while they received their treatment. Then, though we don't like having to do it, we had all the pastures sprayed with a broadleaf herbicide to get rid of the weed suspected of causing Nate, Grady (and possibly Mellon) their various ailments.  We can't be sure if it was the flatweed or any other weed that caused their illnesses. But why take that chance?  They seem to be improving already... We will reseed in the fall.

Blue looks a lot better to me and I plan on starting back riding him this weekend.  He got a thorough grooming and bath over the past weekend.

Sami and Donnie are just fine. So there are a few bright spots here, too.

The Dogs:
Ginger the pup is doing fine. She was spayed two weeks ago and is as feisty as ever.

Gunnar has started having seizures.  He’s had three this month and so my daughter took him to his vet who referred him to a dog neurologist.  I didn’t know there was such a specialty, but apparently there is.  All of his tests came back normal. and they have no answers.  Every vet we use is on vacation so it’s been like pulling teeth to get him some anti-seizure medication.  Normally, they would use phenobarbital but since he has a liver shunt he can’t take that because it compromises the liver.  There is another medication that they are prescribing so hopefully we’ll be able to get that soon and help him.

We have what looks like green slime on the top of the pond so we called in a pond expert.  He says it’s called watermeal. And there is a spray that will kill it, but he can’t spray because the oxygen level in the pond is below normal (because of the watermeal) and it will kill the fish.  So we need to replace the broken aerator with a new one, which requires getting an electrician to run a line from the garage to the pond.  I’m hoping this can be done soon.  We may not be able to treat the pond this year, but at least we can get the oxygen levels back up to normal to help the fish out until the weather cools off and the watermeal dies off.

So, it's been a rough summer, and we're looking forward to fall! That’s about it for now.

Until next time
 

Quote for Today
 “ It just goes to show you, it’s always something.”
    -Gilda Radner-

28 comments:

  1. Good heavens. I thought having to keep my Tucker in for 6-8 months because of a hock injury was hard to deal with. Sounds as if you are having an even worse vet summer than I am. Sending healing vibes to all your animals, and a special wish for you to find some time to enjoy the coming months.

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    1. Thanks Jean. Hope Tucker continues to do well with his rehab.

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  2. I've heard that barley straw will help keep ponds clear. I have used it in my water tanks and it does help. What it can do with more water-don't know. At least you could throw it in and it would not be toxic. Sounds like a rough summer.

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    1. We have tried bales of barley straw in the past but it didn't help. This whitemeal needs to be sprayed to get rid of it. Once it's gone it stays gone or so they say.

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  3. That is a basket of troubles. I've dealt with EPM and with Lyme, but stringhalt and shivers I've been spared (so far). It's interesting to see, with the weather changes - we're much hotter and humid than normal, with either periods of drought or periods of torrential rain with flooding - leading to pretty rapid changes in flora and fauna. Hope the rest of the year represents an improvement.

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    1. The temps here have been in the high 90's for most of August with high humidity and virtually no rain. Which only made the situation worse. The last few days have cooled down so I'm hoping for a quick change of seasons. Hope all your horses are doing well.

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  4. Oh my Arliene! There is a lot going on with your animals :( sending healing thoughts!! It's tough on us humans too. We love them so much, and do our best to help them feel better...no wonder you are tired of summer. Who wouldn't be?!! Fall is around the corner, hoping that gives you all a much needed break. Looking forward to seeing those colorful pics of yours & everyone healing!!

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    1. Thanks aurora! I can't wait for Fall,it's my favorite season.

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  5. Gah :/
    What rotten luck - here's hoping things improve!

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  6. Oh my goodness - what a bunch of stuff to manage! I know you and J are experts at figuring things out and doing what needs to be done - so all I will add is to remember to schedule some "treatment" for yourselves! Massages? A few pints of Tallenti ice cream on hand for an end of the very long day treat? Sending good thoughts for getting rid of all the things that need to be gotten rid of. (Oh - one thought on the seizures - homeopathy managed our cat Moomintroll's seizures perfectly for a number of years, which allowed him to be med-free for that long a time. He eventually went on an anti-seizure med and was able to take that successfully for the last year of his life. Let me know or have J email me if she wants more info.) Hugs to you both.

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    1. Thanks billie. I think J has got it all under control for now. She's really on top of things. A massage or ice cream sounds like a great idea! I'll pass this on to J. and see if she wants to try the homeopathy course. I'll let you know either way. Thanks again.

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  7. Dear Lord! You've had your fair share of trials. There are weeds all over our pasture in various locations. It's almost impossible to get it weed-free with all the drought we've had up to now. And the horses sometimes prefer to eat a weed over regular food. Go figure! I sure hope you're out of the woods on that now.

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    1. Thanks Linda, I hope the spray we put down will take care of the problem. We're not supposed to mow until after Labor Day so we'll see how it goes then. We can let them out after this weekend. They have been in the catch pen eating out of the hay nets for a while now.

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  8. Holy Crapola! Talk about one thing after the other! I hope all continue to improve, and am so glad you got confirmation regarding that "weed." May your next post be nothing but positives!

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    1. Thanks Lori. Fingers crossed everything is on the upswing from here on out.

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  9. Oh lordi!!!! It beggars belief the amount of worry and trouble you've had to put up with!! Fingers crossed and sending you heap tons of positive vibes/healing. May September be the turning point of everything going right with everyone healing up well. Especially hope Gunnar reacts well to the alternative meds. Take good care xx

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    1. Thanks for the well wishes Joy. I'm sure September will be better.

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  10. There are some people who get all up in arms at the very thought of weedkillers, but most of them have no concept of how else a person would make safe 25 acres!! We spray when we need to and no apologies to anyone. Thank you for talking about the false dandelion; Farmer's Wife last year wrote a good article about identifying pasture weeds with potential to harm too, which made me take another look at what grows wild in my own pastures and research it more. Thought provoking, for sure. I'm sorry for all the troubles with your horses this summer - I can see why you'd be amped for the arrival of fall! :-(

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    1. While we do try to keep the chemicals to a minimum around here sometimes it's not possible to be completely organic. At this point it's either dead weeds or sick horses. I opt for the dead weeds.

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  11. Wow, lots going on for sure! Glad you've got things (mostly) figured out with your horses. So worrisome! Out here on the West Coast, we have tons of false dandelion that grows everywhere! I think most animals eat it sometimes and it usually doesn't do much, but if they develop a taste for it and eat a lot, or in drought conditions, like you said - it spells trouble at times. It usually resolves without too much trouble though, so hoping it passes quickly.

    It does sound like you're getting your share of troubles, hope those clear out as well. And...like so many of us, hoping that cooler weather brings calm and relief to people and animals alike.

    Have fun with your pup! I hear Aussies have lots of energy...

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    1. Aussie's have a whole lot of energy! I hope she calms down soon but I've had three others and it takes at least a year or more.

      Things seem to be getting better here except Gunnar had two more seizures today. We've finally got some medication for him so hope that helps him. Can't wait for the cooler weather, and I'm sure the horses will enjoy it too.

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  12. YOUCH! You're really getting hit. Astute observation that all the neurological horses might have a common denominator. Hoping the spraying clears it up.
    With our drought last year, and none of our regular irrigation water after July, my pastures really took a hit in the weed department. Plenty of H2O this year, so I'm hoping the grass will overcome all the weeds that had taken over.
    I, too, use the barley in my water troughs, but I can't see it clear up a whole pond after the algae has taken over. Is there any way to "skim" it up/out? Maybe drag chicken wire or something across the pond?

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    1. Glad to hear you got enough rain and hope the grass over runs the weeds for you. Unfortunately, there's nothing but spraying the pond that will help. Just skimming it might help for a while but since it's a living entity it would just come back. Thanks for the input though.

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    2. But maybe it would help until you could spray, especially if you get the aerator fixed, too.

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  13. Wow, that's a lot on your plate! Hope things slow down for you soon :)

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    1. Thanks! It does all seem to be getting better.

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