So, I had the vet pull bloodwork to check his metabolic levels...his odd behavior, etc has us puzzled. The list of oddness - not shedding out like the other horses (he is determined to keep his flanks and butt warm, apparently), not eating hay at all (used to hoover like other horses), drooling after eating, coughing at times after/while eating, not putting on weight even though he's getting a good deal of food and tons of spring grass, and just generally cranky and upset under saddle. My theory is ulcers, but I wanted to make sure he's not deficient in something or showing signs of having eaten something toxic.
Anyway, the results showed his metabolic levels to be ok - no deficiencies. But, he's got elevated muscle enzymes. Odd. The vet has no clue what that means other than he may have eaten something funky in the pasture. He's never shown signs of tying up or anything. We're going to recheck in 3 weeks to see if they've gone down. In the meantime, he's getting a maintenance dose of Ulcerguard for 8 days to see if he'll start eating hay and/or settle down undersaddle.
I rode for the first time in a week last night. Of course, he didn't go out the night before and all his friends had already been turned out (the BO knew I was coming so she left him in for me), so I was expecting some stupidity. He didn't let me down when I put him on the lunge to warm up (ha, really it was to get the bucks out). He acted the fool for a good 10 minutes and then settled down. When I hopped on he was relaxed and forward (not rushy, though) . He didn't pin his ears when I asked him to canter! The biggest thing was that he didn't get progressively worse as the ride went on, as he's been doing lately. He got more relaxed and better.
Thank goodness. I'm going to ride him every day for the next few days and see how it goes. I'm praying that he's just beginning to show signs of ulcers and we can get it under control. His blood panel didn't show signs of severe ulcers (I didn't even know that could be seen in a CBC, honestly). If he is consistently better during this trial of Ulcerguard, I'll probably have him scoped and we'll go from there.
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4 comments:
Well it sounds like you are on the right path to finding out what is wrong with him.
Let us know how the future rides go and what the vet says!
Oh goodness, poor Skate!! It sounds like you and the vet are being very thorough though, so hopefully the problem reveals itself more clearly soon. That's good that he was behaved during the ride and made sure to buck at the appropriate time!
Keep us updated. :)
Oh, I'm sorry he's having so many problems (or rather so many strange and puzzling problems). I didn't realize he was acting quite so strange. I hope he's feeling better soon, it sounds like he's at least making some progress.
As for the shedding, Pro is distinctly shiny on 'both ends' as Kate said and still pretty fluffy over his barrel and back.
Oh, I hope Skate is all figured out and feeling better soon! I'm glad your ride went well, and he got better during it. That is a good sign, of course. Those mystery problems are the worst. I know you are in good hands, though...is your vet actually Dr. M, or one of his associates?
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