Brandy's Diagnosis And Other News.....

I was hoping to get this post up sooner then this, but with work and the home remodel going on, things haven't gone as planned. I work 9 hour days then I come straight home to take care of all the animals. After that I am up until around 11:00 p.m. painting. We have the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway finished as of tonight. We only need to do some touch ups in the living area and we still need to paint the hall ceiling, as well as the laundry room and all of the bedrooms.

The design consultant from the floor covering store was out the other day and took all the measurements for the new flooring. We should get the estimate on flooring and countertops tomorrow. The tile guy is booked through August so our new floors will not get installed until around the first week of September. But at least that gives us time to finish painting! My next post will be of pictures of what I have been dealing with during this remodel as well as tell you what we are doing for the floors and kitchen counters.

My Bailey is doing a lot better!! Since the vet had us switch his medication, he has quit licking at his sores and they are starting to scab over. His hair is growing back and he doesn't look like a baboon quite so much!

Now on to Brandy. I had my vet out last week because I was not getting anywhere treating her for an abscess. I just had this gut feeling that she didn't have an abscess. So when my vet came, she started out by flexing all fours. The only thing that she found in the flexion tests was that Brandy is stiff in her right hind. I then put her on the lunge line. She was definitely off on her left front, but it didn't seem quite as bad as it was before she had shoes (I just had shoes put on her a week before the vet came out.)

Brandy does have a conformational fault. Her left front toes in. It has never affected her before. But I have noticed in the last year that it seems to be getting worse. And I have noticed since she has been lame that when she trots on the lunge line going to the left that her left hoof swings in and almost clips her right front. My vet couldn't believe how awkward it looked and we discussed her movement from it quite a bit. I have also noticed in the last 2 years when we are trail riding that Brandy's left leg would buckle and then she would recover, but then in a little while it would do the same thing. I mentioned this to my vet also. And then I actually noticed it on the lunge line for the first time ever. As she was trotting around, her knee would buckle and her leg would give out. Then she would go around fine, and all of a sudden her knee would buckle and her leg would give out. I told my vet that is exactly what happens when I am riding.

My vet did nerve blocks on her left front starting down low. We waited 5 minutes to make sure she was numb, then I sent her back out on the lunge line. She was still lame. So my vet did another nerve block up a little higher. This also did not change anything. My vet decided she knew what was going on and this is what she said:

Brandy's lameness is a grade 1 to 1 1/2 out of 5. She said from what I has told her, that Brandy's lameness was probably a 2 out of 5 before the shoes. Since Brandy is stiff on the right hind, it is causing her to compensate with her left front, which is the leg that has a conformational fault. She said that shoes are probably helping in some way with her lameness and she recommends me to keep shoes on her all the time (Brandy's left hoof does flare a lot when she is barefoot.) She basically says that Brandy has Carpal (knee) arthritis/synovitis +/- fetlock synovitis. She said we could do x-rays, or we could try treating it with Adequan and joint supplements to see what happens. If we need to we can x-ray her later if the Adequan isn't working. So she gave Brandy an Adequan shot and I ordered more Adequan to get her going on the series. I have to give her a shot every 4-7 days for approximately 5 weeks to see where she is at.

My vet told me I could still ride her and I can still take her on the Pony Cousin trip, but she wants me to give her Bute before and after every ride. She also doesn't want me to do any tight circles, which means I can't do barrel racing or pole bending with her (I guess I could do the walking category!) So that is where we are at, for now. We will see how she does on the Adequan and joint supplement. If we need to have x-rays done, I will do that.

Brandy is 15 years old now. I knew sooner or later that she could start having problems with arthritis or other issues with her conformational fault. But that's okay. I will do what I can to make her comfortable and I am planning on Brandy being my trail horse for many more years to come, as long as it doesn't cause her too much pain. I do have my future trail horse in a pasture right now. And down the road, when Brandy can't do anymore trail rides, she will be retired in MY pasture for the rest of her life!! Have I ever mentioned how much I love that horse?