Jewels is home.

Posted on January 17, 2017 by highonhorses — 2 Comments

I picked up Jewels a week ago last Friday. She was a hot mess. She’d been sick for days. The trainer called me on Sunday prior to me picking her up. He was concerned about diarrhea. A couple of days before (Friday) she had an allergic reaction to something. They went out to the stall and Jewels face was swelled up. They gave her Benadryl for the swelling. The swelling went away soon after. Her diarrhea got worse over the afternoon, she was lethargic and laying down excessively. He immediately called a vet. The Dr. advised them to give her worm medicine for diarrhea and some Banamine for the pain. Jewels had been due for another seasonal worming. All this might have parasite related. Later that day she swelled up and was covered in hives, again. More Benadryl was administered. She was worse the next day. At that point they thought it might be gastric ulcers. The vet prescribed Bio-Sponge over the phone to absorb anything that might be causing her stomach upset.

I drove up to their place to see for myself. She looked pitiful. Her stools were sloppy and runny. She was standing when I got there. Soon after, she laid down to rest. I could tell she wasn’t normal. She let the trainer walk up to her while she was laying down. So, not normal! Jewels was actually calm and compliant. Definitely out of the ordinary for her. She hadn’t been eating or drinking normally either. She didn’t look dehydrated at all. I was pleasantly surprised at that. The vet had told the trainer to wait and see how she felt, so I was confident at that point it was going to be okay and her training would resume shortly there after. The trainer and I talked at great length about her prognosis. He thought some of the problems could be related to her teeth. He wasn’t sure. He also mentioned the possibility of gastric ulcers once again. After all, this was a nervous horse that had confidence issues. The stress of hauling her there, the stress of training or could have been a combination of it all. Which in fact may have brought on the episodes of diarrhea to, though she had already been there a month. So we ruled that out. I stayed around there for several hours observing her habits. She wasn’t normal, but she wasn’t right.

That evening I felt confident enough in Jake to leave her there. I left him a check so he could call the vet out. The next day when the vet arrived she was still having diarrhea. She still wasn’t eating good, but was drinking water. He gave her some electrolytes and Bio-Sponge. The vet called me with his diagnosis. He preferred I didn’t move her for 3 days though I hadn’t planned on moving her unless she got worse. He told me moving her would add to the stress she was already under. He then said he didn’t want me to move her because of the suspicion of colitis-X. Facts are colitis-X is known for its exceptionally high rate of mortality; 90-100 percent of horses affected by this condition will die. Needless to say, I was frantic. He also mentioned it may be salmonella or gastric ulcers. And hope for the latter. It’s treatable. The vet also said she needed her teeth floated. My whole mind and body was numb from the diagnosis. The next stage in the game was waiting for her to get worse or get better.

I hoped for the best. I called the next morning to see how she was doing. The trainer said she was doing okay. She still wasn’t eating and drinking like she should, but she wasn’t dehydrated. They put her in a paddock area where she could graze. The vet wanted her in a stress free environment while she was there. If she got better, I was going to get her and have her treated by my own vet. Mean while on the home front. I called my vet and told him what was going on. He didn’t think it was colitis-X or she wouldn’t still be alive. I was relieved. He did mention salmonella was a possibility or maybe even e coli. A nasty little bacterial infection. I was still in relief mode. I’d much rather have to have her treated for bacterial infections than the worse case scenario. I asked him about ulcers. He said it was another possibility. The Dr. told me to get her there as soon as I picked her up. He needed to do blood work to see what the problem was. I made arrangements the next day to go get her after the 3 days were up. The trainer was most likely relieved. I’m sure the stress of the situation didn’t set well with him.

I took Jerzey with me so Jewels would have a buddy to trailer with. I figured less stress the better. When I got there, I walked up to the paddock area and she nickered at me. That was a good sign. She looked very good considering what she’s been through. I chatted for a short time, loaded her up and off we went. When I unloaded her off the trailer, I could tell she was glad to be home. She fell right back in to place. Jewels checked her stall out. No doubt looking for food and hay. After she discovered there wasn’t any food in the manger, she started following me around. By the way, that is not normal for her. She prefers to pin her ears and walk away from people. Jewels would much rather be with the other horses. She started nuzzling me and pushing me around until I offered her some treats, knowing I always carry a pocket full of goodies. We stayed out at the barn for close to an hour. She followed me the whole time. I was literally shocked by her behavior.

That Saturday we decided to separate her from the other horses. We have a one acre pasture for her to rest on. I still wanted to follow the advice of both vets and keep her as stress free as possible. She still had diarrhea, but started eating and drinking normally. Jewels was fine on Sunday. The vet previously prescribed Bio-Sponge for the problem and we tubed her twice daily until her appointment the following Saturday 8/23. Mean while I called Lone Star Park Veterinary Clinic on Monday 8/18. My vet didn’t have a tube long enough to do a scope on her stomach for ulcers. The original vet that treated her said she probably had gastric ulcers. I didn’t want to take a chance they might be missed. They put me down for an appointment for 8/25 at 10:30AM. She was doing good up until Wednesday. All off the sudden she took a turn for the worse. She had projectile diarrhea and quit eating again. I panicked and called the vet. He asked what she was doing. I told him she was laying down continuously, then get up and lay back down again. He asked if she was still drinking. I told him, yes. She drank a lot of water. He said it sounded normal under the circumstances. Her lying down was giving her some relief from the stomach pain. I was to observe her and make sure she drank plenty of water. He told me not to worry. Yeah, right! Like that was going to happen.

The day finally came. I took her to the vet. He took blood samples and run several tests on her, ruling out bacterial infections of any kind. Jewels didn’t need antibiotics. Her white blood cell counts were all with-in the normal range. His only Teeth concern was her protein levels were below normal. He advised me on what to feed her. Then he looked at her mouth and saw she needed her teeth floated. He thought at that point all this could be related to her teeth needing to be floated. I asked him, ‘you mean her teeth caused this whole fiasco’? He laughed and replied, “it’s a combination of several things. It could have been the trailering, her new environment, the training etc…Horses are funny creatures”. I had to laugh. I had her teeth floated that day. We chatted about what to do next. He advised me to keep her in a small pasture until she was having normal stools. He also wanted me to keep her on the feed I was giving her, and as a supplement to her coastal hay, I am to give her alfalfa to. He wants to see her again in two weeks for more blood work. He also mentioned cancelling the endoscopy until further notice. I didn’t mind cancelling since he ruled out ulcers at this point. This entire fiasco cost us a whopping $700.

Today Jewels is much better. She had an almost normal stool. Still cow patty like, but it’s firming up. The great thing about all this is, Jewels has become docile. She follows me around everywhere. She doesn’t pin her ears, run from me, and she isn’t screaming for the other horses when she can’t see them. I won’t hold my breath though. I’m going to give her a week and then I’ll determine whether or not she learned something from this. I know I did. Things do happen for a reason.

Tagged with: Be thankful to God., Horse, Horse Health, Horses
Posted in Daily Rambling

Jewels: And The Box

Posted on November 9, 2015 by highonhorses — 5 Comments

Jewels goes along for days, even weeks without an upset. The normal humdrum of life. Grazing on hay in her stall. Having a conversation with the tenant beside her. Being turned out to romp and roll. Enjoying the cool crisp air and the warmth of a late fall sun. A nibble and pull of the tender green grasses after a rain. Her desire is nothing more than the simple pleasures in her life. Then, I ask her to step out of her comfort zone. I tie her up and dust off the caked on mud. Brush her mane and tail. Saddle and bridle her and take her to the arena for a schooling session. All of this, for the simple pleasures in my life. I didn’t think about her feelings prior. Or, how she might respond to the coming events. Jewels always tries. She never resists and she never gets disagreeable about my need to ride any longer. We’ve found some sort of common ground. A meeting of the minds going in the same direction.

During my lesson last week, my trainer sat astride Jewels. I was having a little difficulty getting her to be patient and wait on my cues for a cross over on her front legs. Jewels thinks she needs to over think the process and quickly push on to next thing. We’ve been working on crossing over without moving her hind-quarters. She has a problem moving her shoulders away from pressure. After a short lesson from the trainer, Jewels got the message. It helped me grasp the position in which I needed to be in order to get the same results. I learn much better when someone shows me verses someone telling me. Now Jewels and I are moving on to side passing. Something I’ve noticed during training is: as long as Jewels understands what you’re asking, she never forgets. She can then repeat the exercise over again with no resistance. She’s truly a very smart individual. One of the unfortunate things. She also remembers her old bad habits. Those are few and far between now.

A couple of days before my lesson. It was late in the evening and all the other horses were up for the night. I wasn’t going to ride. Instead, we went to the arena and worked on liberty training. She’s getting real good at staying close, listening and watching for my hand signals. I’m impressed with her every time we work on those seemingly small steps. We were done for the night. I tied her up, brushed and curried her off. I untied her and started walking towards the stall. All of the sudden she saw a box, jumped straight up in the air and ran backwards like a freight train. Snorting and carrying on like someone lit her tail on fire. I grabbed the box on the run and threw it at her. She was beside herself. It was the perfect opportunity to educate her on another inanimate object, that she thought, was going to kill her!

After Jewels calmed down. I rubbed the box all over her. I dropped it in front of her and rubbed her again. Before to long, she was standing with her head down and had all fours planted on the ground. There was no doubt, Jewels thought I was nuts. Quite frankly, I get tired of her silly reactions to simple things. I know they’re not silly to her, but she needs to react with a little less drama! LOL It wasn’t to long before the box was riding her. She was still suspicious and a tad bit reluctant. You can see it in her eyes. Never the less. I rewarded her with a lot of verbal praise.

Tagged with: Be thankful to God., Horse, Horses, Second Chances, Training
Posted in Daily Rambling, Horse Training

Jewels: Has A New Trick Up Her Sleeve

Posted on October 27, 2015 by highonhorses — 4 Comments

I started working Jewels at “Liberty” sometime back. My goal was to better educate her on ‘wanting to be closer to me’ without forcing her. It took a lot of hours to gain her trust. Most of my time was spent handling her and making it worth, her time, to get to know me better. Without making her feel cagey or confined in a small area. I let it be her idea. Not so much lately. I’ve not had the time or capabilities to stand on my feet for long. Sometimes, it can take an hour or so to get her to send off and return off lead. Just getting her to stay with me for long periods of time was quite a challenging experience. Hence, standing on my feet, with my previous physical limitations, was difficult for me. The Arabs, I use to own, we’re a snap in that department. They always thought I was their best friend right from the beginning. Jewels? Not much!

It has been several days since I’ve been out to the barn. I felt the need to put everything else on the back burner and spend some quality time with Jewels. No one was at the barn. I took advantage of the quiet. Today, ‘I thought’. I’ll give her a little refresher course on “Liberty” training and see what she remembers. Normally, I’d have schooled her in a small area at first. Then, on to a larger space. It was a tad chilly and windy this afternoon. We had a lot of rain the past few days, also. I opted to use the arena instead of the round pen. I gathered her from the stall, took her to the arena and let her go. I barely got her halter off before she took off. Jewels leaped in the air like a jack rabbit several times before she landed a ground covering walk. I enjoyed watching her unravel all that energy she had bottled up.

I left her in the arena for a few minutes while making a phone call and filling my pockets full of horse treats. Jewels loves peppermint snacks. Returning to the scene. I noticed she was having a conversation with the big appaloosa gelding in the outside paddock. Since I was too lazy to walk all the way across the arena. I called her, hoping, she’d come to me without much hesitation. Surprisingly enough. She came right to me after calling her a couple of times.

Jewels has gotten better and better about coming when she’s called. This only took me 3 years to achieve. Good things come to those who wait? Nope! It takes persistence and determination. Or, in my case. All it took, and “God” love him. I know he was always worried about me. Was my husband relentlessly chanting in my ear. She’s to crazy! She’s to far beyond repair. You need to get rid of her. You’ll never gain her respect. In his defense. He loved me and didn’t want to see me get hurt. I’m so glad, I’m a thick-headed ol broad and wish he was here today. He’d see how wonderful she’s become. I can even get her to kiss me! How cute is this?

Moving right along. We started doing some sending exercises in both directions. She did splendidly!

This exercise is a prelude to the next step. Ultimately, my goal is to do some sort of choreographed routine with her someday. I’ll figure out our capabilities as we move along. Until next time. Happy horsing around!