Posts Tagged ‘chincoteague minnow
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow gets new X-rays
Those of you that have followed our ponies’ journey from the beginning may remember that our little Minnow has battled with Ringbone since 2008. Ringbone is essentially a form of equine arthritis, a bone growth in the pastern or coffin joint of a horse. And because in a lot of cases people choose to euthanize a horse with Ringbone (because there is no cure), I have decided to document Minnow’s journey in pain management in the hopes that it might help someone else battling Ringbone in their horse.
Earlier this year we noticed that he seemed to be more lame on his right front (his initial diagnosis and treatment has always been for his left front), so we decided to have him re-xrayed since it’s been 2 years since we last had him checked. We made sure that we used barrier technologies radiation gloves and other safety measurements before the procedure.
Here’s the shot of his left front, 2 years after being injected with Ethyl Alcohol to help the joint fuse faster:
Here’s what it looked like the day we had it injected:
As you can see the joint still is not completely fused, but it’s a lot closer, and it’s actually straightened out some. Which I think has attributed to him being more comfortable on it.
So let’s take a look at the right front, the one that has started to bother him more recently:
It’s hard to tell, but there is some white shading around the pastern joint, and indication that Minnow is at the beginning stages of high ringbone in his right front pastern as well. Our vet consulted with New Bolton Animal Hospital, and determined it’s still too early to inject with Ethyl Alcohol for it to be effective. The fact that he’s also developing this in his other leg further proves that in his particular case it was more genetic than anything. It makes me feel better to know, no matter what I would have done, he would have developed ringbone anyway due to his confirmation.
But not to worry, Minnow is still doing well (he’s super Minnow after all)! And here’s how we’re managing pain today for him:
Minnow is currently taking 1/2 a pill of 57mg of Previcox daily as well as a scoop of GLS joint supplement. Once starting the Previcox we noticed an improvement in Minnow’s pain. He seems much more comfortable and we even noticed an improvement in his limp (on both legs).
If you’d like to check out our previous attempts to help Minnow with his Ringbone diagnosis, you can read more here:
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow’s Trip to New Bolton
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow tries Ground Control Shoes
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow gets injected with Ethyl Alcohol
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow tries GLS
If you have a story to share about your horse and Ringbone, we’d love to hear about it! Post a comment on this blog post, or share it on our Facebook wall.
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow tries GLS
If you have followed along at all with Minnow’s journey with high ringbone, then you know over the years we have tried many different things to manage his pain. His diagnosis back in 2008 was career ending for him, but he’s gone on to have a full and loved life as a trick pony. He’s very special to me and I would do anything to make sure he’s comfortable and happy for as long as I can.
Our previous attempts to help Minnow can be read about here:
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow’s Trip to New Bolton
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow tries Ground Control Shoes
Maintaining Ringbone: Minnow gets injected with Ethyl Alcohol
Since it’s been nearly 2 years since Minnow was injected with Ethyl Alcohol to help fuse his joint I thought it was time for a little update on him. Recently we decided to put him on the supplement, GLS Powder.
We had noticed some improvement in a few other horses with arthritis on our farm and decided to give it a try. And after a few weeks of being on it we did notice he was walking much better than he had been.
Here is a few old videos of Minnow before he was injected with the Ethyl Alcohol, and after his injection:
And here he is just a few weeks ago after being on GLS for a few weeks:
It’s a small change, but he does seem to be more comfortable and we’ve even seen him bucking and running more in the pasture. So for now we will continue to keep him on the GLS Powder and hopefully in time his joint will fuse completely and we can only hope he can then be pain free!
P.S. Minnow has turned 20 this year…here’s to another 10 years with him!
Chincoteague Ponies Play in the Snow
We haven’t gotten near as much snow this year as we did last year, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t gotten any. On March 1st we got a little bit of snow, and I took the opportunity to take some photos of the dogs and the ponies playing in the snow.
And this last shot is my very favorite shot of the day, Minnow’s super sweet eye. He’s just so special. The snow is beautiful, but hopefully spring is just around the corner, because we can’t wait to get out and ride more!
P.S. want to see more photos of the dogs in the snow, be sure to head on over to Ammo’s Blog!
How to REALLY Keep a Muzzle on your Horse
So you might remember that a few weeks ago I wrote a post on how I updated the ponies’ muzzles with a simple DIY Method to keep them from slipping them in the pasture. Well since it’s been well over a month since we initiated “operation keep the pony muzzles on” I thought I’d write a little update on how it’s going.
You can now also buy a horse online very easily as there are many great marketplaces where excellent horses are listed for sale.
Well since the upgrade I’m happy to report that Mr. Boomerang hasn’t slipped his muzzle once! Now Mr. Minnow on the other hand is quite the crafty fellow! After a little over a week of wearing his new configuration he figured out a new method to get it off – by rubbing his face on the ground when he rolls he was able to pop his nose out of the top. That pony is super smart! Then another brilliant idea is to get some pet style homewares as these just look amazing and on some you can even use a photo of your own pet!
So I decided to do another simple upgrade to Minnow’s muzzle to make sure it stays put, especially since we are entering into the most dangerous time for the ponies on the grass. Using a Horse Fly Spray can repel flies, gnats, mosquitoes, ticks etc. and provide complete protection too.
The result:
It’s been a week now and Minnow hasn’t lost his muzzle yet…..only time will tell if I’ve finally outsmarted him!
Here’s How to DIY:
After following the steps on our first post, I added an additional leather strap to the front attaching the brow band and nose of the muzzle. I used an old leather drop nose band strap. On one end I buckled it through the muzzle and added a small fleece to keep it from rubbing. Then at the browband I attached it with a small piece of balers twine (through the holes in the leather – or you could punch your own hole) and padded it with some vet wrap and duct tape. I also duct taped the browband from sliding around any too. I could’ve just bought one from a store that sells western tack.
Hoping this does the trick! It’s funny to note that Blitz also wears a muzzle in the pasture but he has NEVER gotten it off, I don’t think it even crosses his mind that he might be able to do so. So he’s the only one that doesn’t have to wear his snugged as tight as it will go, or any of the contraptions I’ve had to put on Minnow & Boomer’s muzzles. So funny!
If you have any DIY methods of your own for keeping your ponies’ muzzle on leave them in the comment section!
Minnow’s Adventures at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show
Well it took me long enough to get an update on the blog about our Labor Day Weekend Adventures at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show, but better late than never!
And it’s now so easy to buy a horse as there are lots of horses for sale online so you can have a good look through all of them and choose the best one.
Minnow “kicked” off his first performance of the day by showing off some of his favorite tricks.
He’s never shy about telling me how he feels in my choice of wardrobe.
Or that he’s quite happy being retired from riding.
Minnow even posed for photographs from the paparazzi.
And he signed some autographs.
Minnow then painted some fabulous works of art, you can see them all in our shop!
“Horse Show Glimmer” by Minnow [shop this painting]
After taking his bow it was time for Ammo to show off some of his “super” tricks.
Always the showmen, Ammo and Minnow put on a great show! And all just before a nasty thunder and lightning storm rolled through the grounds. Minnow made it safely onto the horse trailer to wait out the storm while the rest of us rode it out under our tent. But once it passed Minnow came out to paint a bit more.
“Storm Cloud” by Minnow [shop this painting]
“Summers End” by Minnow [shop this painting]
“Wet Paint” by Minnow [shop this painting]
At 20 years old Minnow is still just as fabulous as ever!
Thanks to all who came out to meet Minnow and Ammo over Labor Day Weekend!
