Where Have All the Drugs Gone?

Okay that sounds bad, but seriously, where have they gone?!? I put Kwik on Pentosan for several reasons:

1. My vet uses it A LOT and has had A LOT of success with it

2. It's cheaper than Adequan

3. Adequan's manufacturing facility is closed for renovations to address FDA observations (what exactly did the FDA observe?!?!) and to meet enhanced quality standards. This means there is an Adequan shortage and I couldn't get it right now even if I wanted it.

I called my vet's office to pay my bill and asked about ordering another bottle of Pentosan since I'm about 2 doses away from empty, and apparently there is now a Pentosan shortage as well. I'm thinking many people couldn't get their Adequan and decided to switch over to Pentosan. I'm waiting to hear more about this new shortage from my vet, but if I can't get Pentosan (which really seems to be working for Kwik), I'll have to think about trying something else in the meantime. Sigh..

It's good to be back home. Adam and I had a really good time in Florida, but I was ready by the end to get back to my puppies and my pony! I imagined a glorious reunion, but Kwik was eating dinner when I arrived and nothing would divert his attention. I decided to put him on the longe just in case he was a wild child after his 10 day vacay, but it was hot and he was lazy. I did manage to get him to trot a few circles with some energy, and then I asked him to canter. He crow hopped for a few strides, cantered normally for a few strides, and then broke to a trot. Same deal the other direction. Son of a B! While I didn't think the hock injections, Pentosan, and time off would magically cure him, I was hoping to see some improvement at the canter. I have a few thoughts on this:

1. He hadn't been worked for 10 days- don't worry about it.

2. He's been overcompensating for his ouchy hocks and has somehow jacked up his back as a result. Maybe he's due for a chiro sesh.

3. He's still not balanced enough and doesn't have the proper muscling for canter work (although he was going great at the canter in April/May...). More work on the ground on the longe and in side reins to develop balance and muscle will help him figure himself out at the canter.

4. Maybe a combination of all of the above?

I just don't know! On the bright side, he was great on our little trail ride yesterday!




Cantering is hard!

Hock Injections and Insurance

After discussing Kwik's crow hopping issue with my vet, I decided to have her come out to do a lameness evaluation. She did flexions and watched him go on concrete and in the round pen. He started up with the crow hopping right on cue when I asked for the canter, and she saw it all (thank goodness- I'm not crazy afterall!). She thinks his hocks are bothering him, but it does not appear to be severe. We decided to go ahead and inject his hocks, and we discussed joint therapies for maintenance. My farrier happened to be out a day early and was present for the evaluation as well, and we decided to put back shoes on this go around. He had to stay in last night, but he can go back out with Skye tonight. We can start walk work and light trotting on Monday, and we can start working back up to regular work after 7 days. Kwik raced for 5 years and just turned 10 so I fully expected him to need some joint maintenance. Hopefully annual/semi-annual hock injections and a good joint supplement/injectable will fix our problem and we'll be back in business very soon!

I also finally pulled the trigger on an insurance policy. After MUCH deliberation, I decided to go with a $2,500 Mortality + $5,000 Basic Medical/Surgical policy from Hartford. It's not the ideal policy, but I think it gives me the most value for the premium price ($103 + $200 = $303).

The Good:

• The $5,000 limit for Medical/Surgical is not limited to the value of the horse. I insured Kwik for $2,500 but I will get the full $5,000 if I need it. Some policies restrict Major Medical limits to the value of the horse ($2,500 wouldn't get me far at all if he ever needed surgery...).
• The policy includes a $3,000 emergency colic surgery endorsement. Major Medical is my primary coverage, but basically I have $8,000 available for colic surgery which I think is pretty decent.
• The premium is very reasonable. My main concern for purchasing insurace was being able to afford a major surgery in the event of an injury or illness. I really don't care about being reimbursed if he passes away. If you're not concerned about recovering your loss, insuring your horse under value is a good way to make premiums more affordable.
• There are no copayments for X-rays and ultrasound diagnostics.

The Bad:

• There is a 50% copay for other diagnostic imaging (bone scan, MRI, etc.) and shockwave therapy
• Havested tissue treatment isn't covered

Hopefully I won't need any of this, but it's good to know I'm covered and I didn't have to break the bank!

It is Fat Tuesday Afterall...

...so lets talk food. My goal for the next couple of months is to get Kwik settled into a routine- nutritionally and training-wise.

I need to figure out what feed/supplement combinations will best work for him. At the old barn, I opted to keep him on the same program he was on before I arrived on the scene, which from what I understand, was a scoop of a high fat, high fiber texturized custom blend feed, 2 cups Advantage 30 ration balancer, 1 cup rice bran twice daily with 4 oz dac Oil in the AM. My new BO has been great about working with me to design a feed program for Kwik. The goal was to start him on something similar to what he's been eating (mixed with his old feed), and then make changes as needed. As of now, he is receiving a scoop of Seminole Wellness Show and Sport (12% Protein, 12% Fat) since it was the option most similar to his old feed in addition to dac Oil and rice bran. BO and I are a bit worried the Show and Sport will make him hot since he's not in strenuous work, and truth be told, I have noticed he's a bit more up than usual. Granted, he's still settling in, but the plan is to gradually switch him over to Perform Safe (12% Protein, 8% Fat) and keep the rice bran. I'm a little unsure at this point whether or not to keep the fat supplement- Kwik definitely needs to put some weight on, but I don't want to add unnecessary calories. I'd also like to put him on a digestive supplement to see if he can maintain his weight a little better with some probiotic/prebiotic support.

I've also been in a perpetual state of confusion surrounding joint maintenance. My vet strongly recommends injectables for long-term therapy in horses with no to mild joint disease, and many of his clients have seen great results with Acetylglucosamine. I had just about made up my mind to go solely with AGS until SmartPak's lil magazine came in the mail last night. I was intrigued by the two papers Dr. Gray referenced that found that consistent use of oral glucosamine/chondroitin supplements decreased the need for joint injections to maintain soundness in a cohort of show hunters/jumpers and that consistent use of oral MSM may help to protect against oxidative and inflammatory exercise-induced injury (from jumping, etc.). I will pull the papers and read them in their entirety, but it was nice to see some science supporting oral joint supplements. At this point, I'm going to start two doses/month of injectable AGS, and I may add MSM to Kwik's SmartPak.

Yikes, as a nutrition newbie, there are so many options out there, and wading through all of the information is overwhelming. It will take some time, but I'm determined to educate myself so I can get Kwik going as his healthiest self. Any comments, suggestions, advice are welcome and appreciated!

In other news, we went on a trail ride on Saturday with M and Sherlock and two new horses, one of which was a little on edge. Kwik definitely fed off of that energy- he wasn't bad per say, but he definitely wasn't his usual relaxed self on the trail. I'm thinking, at least for these first couple of months, that I need to be careful about only going out with horses who are familiar with the trails and rock steady so each experience is relaxed, fun, and stress-free. We had a wonderful flat school in the arena Sunday morning (no mach 10 trot!) and a beautiful trail ride with J and Annie, the farm's oldest resident (Kwik was great). Let the good times roll!