# Careful what you say.......



## Bo B Bunny (May 5, 2009)

Well if you read this thread from wabbitmom, you'll see me comment on my horses.... 

I think I jinxed myself. The vet will be out this afternoon. Pokie (who is supposed to be going home to my father inlaw for now) is limping/not using her back left leg. Probably a hoof abscess. :expressionless I'll have to take care of her for now.

Yes, the money part is going to be bad but worse is that she's in pain and I didn't know..... probably for a couple of days cause I hadn't been down to the barn. 

:cry1:


----------



## hartleybun (May 5, 2009)

i shall be very careful in what i say on this thread!!!h34r2 so - i wish you and Pokie well, may the hoof heal quickly.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 5, 2009)

Thank you. Poor cow. She's miserable. Yes, Cow.... She's a big cow, heffer, and other names I cannot say here sometimes...... but we love her.


----------



## hartleybun (May 5, 2009)

please give Pokie my apologies, i was having a senior moment and seemed to think that she was a horse. the bunnies have spoken to me about this....several times...

a good friend of mine has a smallholding - pigs, sheep,birds. hooves seem to be a universal problem as do vet bills...


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 5, 2009)

Oh yuck, hoof abcesses. Did it blow out? If it did usually we can get them to dry out pretty quickly. Of course, it takes abouta year for it to be completely healed. Hope you have a good farrier! If you need any advice I've got lots of different things for hoof abcesses by dealing with different foundered horses- let us know how it all goes.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 6, 2009)

*hartleybun wrote: *


> please give Pokie my apologies, i was having a senior moment and seemed to think that she was a horse. the bunnies have spoken to me about this....several times...
> 
> a good friend of mine has a smallholding - pigs, sheep,birds. hooves seem to be a universal problem as do vet bills...




LOL..... she IS a horse..... we just call her a cow cause she's fat and sassy like a heffer! LOL! Sorry. When someone is being onery and it's female, it's likely to be called a heffer around here. 

DyemondRabbitry* wrote: *


> Oh yuck, hoof abcesses. Did it blow out? If it did usually we can get them to dry out pretty quickly. Of course, it takes abouta year for it to be completely healed. Hope you have a good farrier! If you need any advice I've got lots of different things for hoof abcesses by dealing with different foundered horses- let us know how it all goes.



Not yet. We're doing the soaking thing but I might just have to get a can of bag balm to put in there and wrap it. I hear this works great for them. We have an awesome farrier, but I Think as soon as I can get her a bit better - she's going back to my Father Inlaw. She was headed that way anyhow..... Lexi didn't want to use her....... however, now that we are spending a ton of time with her again we are back to falling in love with her and finding a way to fix her issues with rearing if her hoof heals - or at least use her for showmanship. She's SO pretty right now - her new fur is in and old is almost shed out... 

She's enjoying all the attention too LOL!


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 6, 2009)

That's good news! I've used Furoset (sp- I know is wrong.. brown can, yellow lid, yellow cream) works really well for abcesses for some odd reason. That and soaking. Hmm... last time I used a warm compress but I'm not sure how much that would help... if it's not too bad I wouldn't worry since you trust your farrier (great! No hoof, no horse)


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 6, 2009)

What does she rear at? Is it a temper sort of thing or a flight issue? Flight is usually alot easier for us to fix.. temperment isn't... I had a rearing runaway before.. that was great..Have you tried a lot of flexing exercises? For some reason it really helped mine become not only soft but stop from the rearing


----------



## hartleybun (May 6, 2009)

*Bo B Bunny wrote: *


> *hartleybun wrote: *
> 
> 
> > please give Pokie my apologies, i was having a senior moment and seemed to think that she was a horse. the bunnies have spoken to me about this....several times...
> ...




anic:learn something everyday LOL:rollseyes


----------



## DeniseJP (May 6, 2009)

Poor Pokie!

Weatherly had this a few weeks ago - we did the soaking with Epsom salts and water as warm as she would tolerate and the abscess popped on its own and she was sound immediately. The abscess had a bad, bad smell - worse than thrushy feet!

Our veterinarian's office said doing a mix of iodine and sugar into the abscess area would help draw the yuck out but the best remedy I have used came from my farrier - you can use warm water and Polident tablets... the foaming action cleans all the gunk out of a hoof - it is amazing stuff. They suggested I pack her hoof with iodine soaked cotton and wrap it in duct tape... I have done this before with one of my minis.

Weatherly sees her farrier tomorrow so I will have an update on what he finds left behind.

Good luck!

Denise


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 7, 2009)

Well, we had the vet out and he's been the equine vet state official, etc., his son is a vet, his other son (who I went to school with) is an equine chiropractor and his daughter inlaw is our small animal vet...... LOL! I haven't had the farrier out yet but Doc M. trimmed her and told me to soak it. She does have a horrible smell like thrush X10 today. She's been so funny tho! If I turn my back, she raises her foot out and I turn back she stands there and I swear she's whistling as she slips it back in the tub! :whistlingShe did that until finally I gave up cleaning her stall and sat down to brush her legs while she soaked and enjoyed the attention! LOL! 

My sister inlaw saidthe abscess and smell isfrom standing in crap all day (she doesn't think we pick enough.....but we have a run in and the rain comes in and it's been wet... we stripped the stall one day, 3 new bags of shavings and the next day it looked like we hadn't cleaned in months!) I was so mad! I wanted to ask her if that was how her horse got such a bad one a few years ago..... ssd:I take GOOD care of the horses... they have better dental care and checkups than I do!! They have a run out that is dirt - mud right now - and their grass pasture is flooded so they can't be out there at the moment - they go out as much as they can tho! I have even been checking on her horse since he's been sick - and we've done that with ALL of their horses when they were colicy, sore, kidney infections, cancer (my daughter even helped clean the wound/eye socket before he died) and stuff.Her commentreally hurt me as well as made me mad. I just think about things they do or don't do that would make your blood boil - and I know who is wrong!! 

Anyhow, I think I'll try to polident thing... not alkaseltzer? but the polident, right? Thank you for the advice. I've never dealt with an abscess and it's pretty scarey! I've heard horrors! We had her packed in medipack the first night but the vet said she wasn't that bad so try this and then see how she was in a few days. She was standing on it some tonight  I gave her Bute tonight with her feed ..... she probably won't need it anymore.

I've used that Fura... stuff before! we used it on their poa that had cancer.... we've used all the Furazone, etc., it's great stuff. So is SWAT for keeping flies off open wounds.

She and Kota got their shots yesterday also..... so they are good for the year. Glad that's done!


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 7, 2009)

Oh and her rearing started last year.... not sure what caused it. She decided to start doing it if Lexi asked her to lope first. We think it might have been when someone adjusted her curb chain at horse camp... ssd:but we've tried EVERYTHING to stop her.


----------



## NorthernAutumn (May 7, 2009)

Aw Pennie... I'm sorry Pokie's doing poorly at the mo.
I've read a little bit about horse health, and can follow what you're saying a bit....
I was wondering if there is any sort of matting or whatnot that would get her feet off the floor while the drainage is poor ... Y'know, like a floor of milkcrate plastics or something... Maybe shipping pallets cut to fit?

Just speculating... hugs to you and Pokie.


----------



## DeniseJP (May 7, 2009)

Abscesses happen - like poop happens. I pick feet daily - Weatherly has sensitive feet and seems to be prone to them.

Polident or any denture cleaner is what I used. I had two dwarf minis and with their hoof problems, the farrier recommending the denture tablets to get the feet really clean - they were prone to thrush due to the shape of their hooves. It is amazing stuff.

Denise


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 7, 2009)

Just making sure! That's a great idea tho! I think I'll do her one hoof and then do all of his and when she can take it - her other feet...... I think it'd be good for them to clean like that once in awhile.

Pokie is deep near her frog so it's hard to get in there with a pick sometimes.

Thanks again - I'll let you know how it goes!


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 7, 2009)

When it blows out I also like to use a warm mixture of betadine and water into the hole to flush it out and help it dry.. you'll get more puss than you could have possibly thought was in that tiny hole


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 7, 2009)

Oh yeah, we have betadine - we had the sheep get cut the other day *sigh*.... I'll definitely do that. I have some syringes here and they should work really well to flush it.

She's actually inside now - she gets a good stall while she's healing - since she's my father inlaw's horse and he paid for their barn among other things. :twitch: So she's dry. Kota isn't happy being alone but he better get used to it...... she's probably going home.

There are 2 new horses coming in tonight as well..... my niece adopted them from her college equestrian team (they're trimming down) and they are going to build stalls for them inside......


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 7, 2009)

Trust me, the betadine works. On my foundered Morgan he had an abscess that blew out actually so there was a hole in the heal and one in the toe- you could squirt the betadine right through and drain out the other side. When we finally had it dry and needed to trim it- the WHOLE sole came off with an entirely new one below, that's how big the abcess was.. the great thing is that he wasn't even sore when we revealed the new sole. 

Best of luck with yours, abcesses are so hard sometimes.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 7, 2009)

WOW! Now, Pokie has a hole but it's small.... I will definitely do those things... I appreciate your help so much! The vet we use is good as I said, but he's old and not as good about suggestions on some things..... and likes to have to come back to check on them..... :rollseyesI wish it had been his son or new assistant. I like hearing from someone with good results.....


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 8, 2009)

We have a lot of "Old Timers" around here along with a lot of Amish- I actually understudied an Amish Blacksmith/Farrier for an entire summer... very fun


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 8, 2009)

They are sort of like "do what minimal you can and let the animal heal" sort of thing, aren't they.

Are you a farrier then? or just have a lot of experience?


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 8, 2009)

Oh no, I couldn't take being a farrier. There are too many people out there who simply refuse to handle their horses while you are down there with their feet. Believe it or not, a lot of people think it's acceptable for their horse to kick out or turn around and bite the farrier. I couldn't take that without correcting the horse and then you'd end up fired. I just do what I can for my horses, my families horses and people who have a problem and can't get to the vet immediately. 

There are different groups for the Amish. Actually, the one I understudied was one of the few who helped in the beginning with developing the Natural Balance shoe (I'm not sure if you're familiar with this shoe but I really love it). Some Amish are not very good horsemen, others are wonderful- just like with the English. Fortunately, though, when you get one who knows what he's doing he usually is very good at it because they use it all the time.

Did you have any luck flushing it out? Doesn't it just smell lovely?? Yuck.. abcesses... Have you ever seen one once it has healed and trimmed? If you haven't.. it's probably one of the coolest things!


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 8, 2009)

OMG! I use Natural Balance on Pokie all the time! We're thinking of putting them on Kota this time as well! He seemed to do better with them!

No I haven't seen a healed one...... I hope I get to soon LOL! 

I didn't do her hoof yesterday. Lexi did it. I was pretty sick with a stomach virus and did very little! I'm heading down there soon tho.

People are idiots..... my farrier is a sweetheart and he knows that if the horses are being brats - he can smack them or whatever...... he'sactually verygentle and knows that mine are sore or something if they act like they might cow kick. Both have one leg they seem funny about....... If they bit the farrier I'd kick their butts.... However, Pokie likes to smell him and rub her face on him - and Kota likes to lick him. I asked him if he wanted me to try to keep them from doing that and he said no. LOL! They love him.

Kota's trainer guy was working with him one day.... and he was being really good and the trainer guy was good with him but he tried to cow kick Don when he was using a shedding blade on him...... (kota is sensitive on his belly cause of ulcers when he was younger) and Don flipped that blade back and smacked him... he never did it again and I was VERY OK with it. I won't put up with them kicking at people......... too dangerous.

*kota had ulcers before I got him. He would bite his sides at the flank and got sores from it.... *


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 8, 2009)

WOW! Aren't Natural Balance amazing? I just love them. We do alot barefoot though too so sometimes we just trim for natural balance and leave the shoes off. 

Our farrier is amazing- couldn't ask for a better one. He is "as gentle as possible but as firm as necessary". Though, he doesn't take being beat up by a horse. While working with the other farrier owners seemed to think it was ok for the horses to pin me up in the mangers or try to kick out for no reason. Now, I can see if there are flies or something bugging them but aggression doesn't sit well with me. It's amazing how it usually only takes one time of correction and they won't do it again. 

You REALLY need to post some pics of your horses on here! I will if you do! LOL! 

Oh yeah, I have an aussie cattle dog named Lakota Sioux- Kota for short... small world isn't it?


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 8, 2009)

Oh this is great... I just got a call from my hubby and he thinks he broke his hand.. from the horse. Guess we're off to get x-rays tonight.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 8, 2009)

OH NO!!! I hope he's ok!

Pokie has the snots, SIL's horse has a huge swollen gland under his chin - Strangles? he's been about a zillion places this spring so who knows? We had thought Kota had that back a couple of months ago but it was just a cold. 

Pokie's hoof still was not showing signs of blowing the abscess so we (SIL and I) decided to put magnapaste on it and wrap it for now. Magnapaste, cotton paddding, then vetwrap then duct tape. I hope it works. She's feels awful from the snots.... and I hope that's not going to turn into Strangles..... *sigh*


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 8, 2009)

Here are a couple pix of Pokie. She's a red dun Quarter Horse. She has a dorsal stripe and zebra stripes on her legs (that's a red dun thing) and she's very pretty.







She likes to drink from the hose, and Disani water bottles.... spoiled? yes very!


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 9, 2009)

Gorgeous! his hnd is broke and guess what? We have a mother's day baby on the way. trying to keep walking-contractions every 3 minutes


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 9, 2009)

OMG! That's awful and Terrific! Poor hubby and YIPPEE A BABY! Good luck, hugs, kisses, all that stuff!


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 12, 2009)

Yup- he made it! We just got home today. 7 pound 5 oz, 21 inches. Went into labor Friday night and he made it at two minutes past midnight on the 10th.. c-section in the end.. I'll post pictures soon.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 13, 2009)

OMG! you had a long labor! Congrats on the little guy! I can't wait to see him! :hug:


----------



## Jenson (May 13, 2009)

*DyemondRabbitry wrote: *


> Did you have any luck flushing it out? Doesn't it just smell lovely?? Yuck.. abcesses... Have you ever seen one once it has healed and trimmed? If you haven't.. it's probably one of the coolest things!


I helped clean up abscesses on two horses last summer at the equine centre where I was working...I've never smelled anything like it! The poor boys looked so relieved to get all the muck out. I don't know much about abscesses but I know those two were kept on rubber mats, we feet picked twice a day and mucked out twice a day and we hosed the mats down twice a week. The stables were clean enough to sleep in so I'm sure it's obviously not always bad care that causes them, and we all know you love your horses to bits Pennie! 

I hope Pokie gets better soon!


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 14, 2009)

Ok- I promised pictures of our boys and realized that only have their yearling pictures (last year). They've grown quite a bit but I'll still post these. Jack is the bay roan and TJ is..well... as best I can describe is a dark chestnut turning gray- He'll definately be a gray.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 14, 2009)

They're GORGEOUS!

I've heard of chestnuts and sorrels turning to another color before. Dakota's half sister is a palomino (the ownerscall it copper palomino but it's just a coppery color).... she was a sorrel until she was like 3! Weird huh?


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 14, 2009)

Yup, usually don't know what color they'll really be 
until then. Now Appy's change some each year.


----------



## DeniseJP (May 14, 2009)

Oh my - haven't followed this thread and the surprises you get - hope the hubby's hand is OK and can't wait to hear about the baby.

Bo - Pokie is even more beautiful now that I know she has those beautiful red dun markings - there is a farm I drive by that has a yellow dun mare that is another head turner.

Denise


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 14, 2009)

Thanks! Pokie got her trim today and Travis, our awesome farrier, found a small spot where there had been an abscess, it's blown, healed and now trimmed down. She's fine!! YAY!

Kota fell asleep while he was trimmed.... it was early but I went ahead and got him on schedule again. Plus, we love Travis so we didn't want to call him over for just one trim! 

SIL took her sick horse to the vet... not sure yet what he has. Probably Strangles.... *sigh*


----------



## DeniseJP (May 15, 2009)

Good luck with SIL's horse... a coworker of mine has a horse with a teratoma and on another area of his head swelled and burst - they have cultured many kinds of bacteria from the wound but they don't know what caused it and she is wondering if she has to take him to Cornell U (great equine hospital there!) for further testing.

Did Pokie and Dakota show any signs of strangles? Maybe they have natural immunity? Is SIL's horse young?

Denise


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 15, 2009)

Kota was at a trainer's barn for a while from March to mid April. He had a snotty nose for a couple of days and worried me sick but he's fine - nothing ever came of it. Pokie was in the barn with SIL's horse and now has had a slight snotty nose. That's it, nothing more. 

I think SIL thinks Kota brought it home, but he wasn't sick for 2 weeks before I even got him home and he's on a different part of the barn and everything..... no shared water, etc. I think Pokie would have gotten sick from him before SIL's horse.... and yes, her horse is 4 and he's not been anywhere until she took him to Illinois, Southern Indiana twice, and who knows all where since March. I certainly hope I didn't bring something back, but I did try to keep Kota away until I knew he wasn't sick. The guy who had him has race horses and I hear they are notorious for strangles.

Poor guy has two holes where they lanced his lumps.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 18, 2009)

Bad news. SIL's horse has Strangles. It was confirmed today. Which means Pokie has them since her nose is snotty. She might not get as sick but that means she's contagious and cannot leave. Kota has a slight runny nose.... I'm really worried cause if he gets them, Lexi's basically S.O.L. for 4H. Luke is also for his horse showmanship and it's his 10th and final year. *sigh*


----------



## DyemondRabbitry (May 19, 2009)

Oh no... that's horrible. How long is the quarantine? My spelling is horrible.. sorry.


----------



## Bo B Bunny (May 19, 2009)

Well, the vet told her that until they were free of open wounds from the abscesses (they lanced one and one broke open on its own) and the snots are gone (and fever)..... but I've heard they are contagious for 6 weeks, 2 years and some even for life (carriers/shedders)..... but a shedder has to be around horses who haven't been exposed (usually young horses) and during a shedding of the bacteria. He has a bad case so he might be a carrier for awhile.

SIL had given him something (maybe an antibiotic) that the other vet thought would be ok. Well, most everyone believes and has experienced that giving them something like that can caused [email protected] strangles which are abscesses anyplace in the body and can kill them. So, it's best to let it go on its own.

Pokie will most likely be ok in about 6 weeks since she only has the snots and no fever. 

It's hard to know how he got it. Pokie didn't get it until she had contact with him and was with Dakota for 2 or 3 weeks and drinking from the same water and stealing food from each others buckets. That's why I don't think it's what Kota had and that worries me. Kota never had the snots like these guys. However, that barn he was in DID have strangles there last year from what I know now.

Good news? they'll be immune for a long time now and if they ever get it again they'll not get as sick.

BUT Harley was gone several times with her to different riding trails/barns/trainer/areas/states. He's only 4 so he's not had a lot of exposure that the others have had. He might have gotten them anywhere..... 

:tears2:


----------

