Frenchie Pin Cushion

I think I mentioned a while back that the Frenchie is having issues with her little hind legs.  She is DEFINITELY more neuralgic than P ever was, but still, we're trying to manage it as best we can.

The real devastation is that most of the damage seems to have occurred when she went under anesthesia for the MRI to find out what was wrong... she woke up 10x worse than she had been and we've been scrapping and yelling to get her back to at least where she was. 

(Note to self, anesthesia has not helped ONE of your animals. Ever.  Not once.)

Anyway, Maisy-dog comes with me every time I go see P and she gets to play around the farm and get some Class IV laser and usually some acupuncture thrown in for good measure.  I had to snap a few shots on Tuesday when I was there.  The puppy was too cute.  She was obsessed with the daffodils and kept sticking her nose on their vase.  No idea what that was about but she's adorable.

flower, flower, flower, flower...

Also, this was the first time we did electric stim with the needles.  I know I love it when I get stim, but Maisy was confused as to why the needles were buzzing. 

still seems normal...

(confused/concerned  ears)

Good little dog.  And she always moves so much better after a treatment... P's spa really does work wonders...

Happy Friday!

P update (hula hoops, thermal imaging and new boyfriends)

I'm woefully behind on my horsey updates, but I'm going to try to catch up.  Last week was packed with Visiting P, visiting Prairie and continuing our trailer hunt.  Lots of updates on all fronts, but first things first - the main mare, Miss P:

Wednesday was a pretty lovely day.  The weather called for predictable February drizzle, but by the time Maisy and I pulled in to the farm, it was warming up and the sun was breaking through. 

the herd in the morning gray..

I scampered out to visit the yak-mare who was hanging out by her new boyfriend (she broke up with the gelding across the street apparently).  After the obligatory hugs and pats I headed back tot he barn to finish my coffee and figure out our plan for the day.

yak-mare

yak-mare hunting for treats

Our agenda included:
An arena play day for P. Followed by cold laser and adjustments for the little dog, then lunch, then a trail ride, then watching a new horse get let out with the herd for the first time, and finally - some thermal imaging of P with our vet's fancy new thermal camera. 

Pretty good Wednesday, especially with the sun appearing to shine for the day...

Cowboy Man went to fetch the mare, and while she was very friendly and willing toward him, the appearance of a human, or rather her human, makes her rather disagreeable towards other ponies, as evidenced here:



But, the P walked nicely (sans halter) to the barn and has grown up enough to have her snack and groom session without a halter.  (what a mature P).  Also of note was the fact that P now stands quietly and happily for her feet to be trimmed.  Cowboy Man pulled her front shoes to help her heels expand a bit and her feet look fabulous for it.  They've come a long way in the last 9 months.

Good P eats snacks, not farriers.

Here's a shot of how well P does at the barn now.  I know she has snacks in front of her, but still.  Not running to the hay, not running to the herd, not meandering around like she owns the place.  Such, dare I say it, manners? The other mare is China, a CUTE little Holsteiner who moves like a cloud and had really similar social issues as P when she first got to the farm.. they are peas in pods.



and P... standing happily while her toes get done...



Bear in mind she used to have to be held for the farrier.. and at the height of her shoulder discomfort, a little sedation was necessary to work on that left front properly...  but this - this is a happy horse.

After her toes were touched up, we headed to the ring.  P did a great job of showing us just exactly how you stick with your join up work.  About halfway to the arena, she decided that walking with Cowboy Man was nice, but maybe she wanted to go somewhere else.  She bolted (bad mare), but notice that immediately Cowboy Man is after her, and P even comes back to him as he gets close.  It's sorta cool.
This is where it might take an hour to get the horse following you all the way to wherever it is that you're going, but when they do, it's entirely free choice and you have that connection established.  Not always the fastest way to do something, but I like it.




Once she actually made it to the ring, it was time for the stuff that she's good at.  Running around, playing tag and targeting with some toys (ball, hula hoop, sticks, barrels..).  I took lots of short clips of that stuff, but I got bored of uploading to youtube, so I'll spare you the 42,000 mini videos.

I will share this one of P in the backing chute again.  You might not be able to tell on the (iphone) video, but her back is way looser and she's able to rotate her hips much better than last summer.  Small, small victory, but I am really feeling like this mare is getting more comfortable and happier by the day.




After her antics, we threw the mare back out with the herd.  There's a strand of electric fencing that keeps the herd from mingling around the barn when horses are being "worked."  Usually it just gets dropped to the ground when it's not being used, or if a horse needs to walk past, but today P learned how to go under.  Not exactly rocket science, but I just love how calm and willing she is.  a year ago this would have not gone quite as smoothly.  It would have been the sort of question we might have had an argument over.  but now? Now the mare just stares, sniffs then moves forward.



As I have to run to meetings I guess the summary of our Thermal Imaging, Trail ride and lunch (ok

On Our Feet

Well, after a long day, and some semi-panicked phone calls in the evening to the vet in order to find out if my dog "was even still living,"  Miss Maisy is up and in as fine form as ever (minus a patch of hair above her tail, she's so embarrassed..)

Phew.

The neurologist was super friendly, informative and very straight forward.  Maisy apparently has a HUGE amount of fluid around a couple vertebrae that is causing more of a compression on her spine than Miss P has.

(dog - internal view).

No wonder she walks like a walrus!!!

The good news is that apparently  Maisy doesn't display the typical conformation deficiencies that most frenchies do, so that's nice to know.

What we leaned is that the ataxia is being caused by the fluid, but we haven't determined is what exactly is causing the fluid to gather...  Our options are basically one of the following:

1) Trauma (a thwack, smack, or severe twisting of the spine)
2) Infection (meningitis or something similar)
3) Cancer (wah).

In order to rule out #2, I authorized a spinal tap to analyze the fluid, which we should hear back on today or tomorrow.

#3 is unlikely, (and expesive to diagnose) so we're moving forward with treatment for #1 and will circle back to #3 if we don't see any improvement in the rather near term.

So Miss Maisy is on some low dose steroids and seriously restricted movement. No playing, no running, no stairs, no jumping onto the couch, NOTHING. She's to be carried to her lawn, peed, and returned to her bed for the next two weeks.

Enjoying a brief moment of freedom for breakfast, and a chilly back.

 She's going to be so disappointed, especially because frolicking in Christmas wrapping is among her favorite annual joys...

The one thing that I still don't have a lot of clarity on is how this explains both the long-term proprioceptic deficiencies (toe pointing, leg dragging) and the more recent hind end lameness.  The fact that she's always pointed her toes and dragged herself around like a walrus would indicate to me that this fluid has nearly always been there.. but it doesn't indicate why it would now show itself with the progressive lameness in her left hind.

Dr. Neurologist didn't really have an answer for that, though I refer back to P's initial vet who said, "well, if you couldn't tell where your legs were, you'd probably twist your ankle or tweak your back eventually too."

So, until I get more info, I'm not going to worry about it too much.  The one possibility that Dr. Neuro suggested was that the lameness was being caused by increased pressure on the cord (from an increase in the fluid) which is something we would like to be able to eventually explain.

But for now, one step at a time as we isolate the variables and a big sigh of relief for an easy round of anesthesia.

On the Horizon? a few horsey packed days:

Tomorrow is a much needed visit to P
Friday is my first (gasp) Dressage lesson in what feels like forever.
And Sunday is a trip to see that big black mare!  

All very fun and exciting things...

Waiting on the MRI, and more shopping...

Dropped the pup off nice and early this morning for her MRI.   She's so darn cute.  And for the record, this vet facility is TOP NOTCH.  Some small animal vet clinics just give me the heebie-jeebies, but this place is clean, doesn't smell like terrified animal (read: Spit and cat piss) and the whole experience is pro from start to finish... So I'm feeling about as I can when there's a snub nosed doggy under anesthesia....

Clearly needing a distraction, my shopping perusal continues.  Here's another guy I'm liking and might go see in the next few weeks  He's just over the boarder in Canada.. He seems to be a little more over his back than the mare I like - plus he's only 4.  (also he seems to like jumping... always a bonus)

This has to be a joke.

I can't remember if I've blogged about this or not, so in my wedding addled brain, I'll just run the risk of repeating myself..

 About two months ago I noticed that Maisy (the beloved frenchie) was favoring her left hind and really protecting it when jumping up and down from her couch.  No issues chasing her Frisbee, but when asked to do something she didn't want to (get in car, go out in rain, etc) the limp became rather pronounced.  It also increased with lengthy walks or extensive playing (not good).

Additionally, I finally picked up on the fact that M-dog was refusing to "trot" choosing instead to perfect her walk/canter transitions (at least one of my animals has??).  I became worried when Maisy flat out REFUSED to trot, regardless of our pace or her energy level.  That's when she hitched a ride to Sequim and talked to our vet about her little ham hock leg.  Vet gave us a referral to her favorite orthopedic vet over here and off we went.

I was lazy, so it took me a few weeks to book the appointment, but we had it today and I am currently still baffled at the current diagnosis.

Anyone want to guess? Bueller??

One word:

Wobblers.

ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME??????

Of course at this point I'm a total skeptic, so I was peppering the orthopedic (and then the Neuro specialist they brought in) with about a ga-zillion questions, but it all came back to neuro.  As it turns out, Maisy's adorable "pointed toes" on her hind legs (she always points them when she sits, or stands.. it's cute) is actually a perfect example of disconnect in her hind end and a comprimised spinal cord.  Since, as we learned in our earlier adventures with Miss P, the bundling of the spinal cord has all the hind end stuff on the outside.  Ergo, it shows symptoms of damage before anything else does.  (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh).

Apparently however, this is common in Frenchies, and (unlike most equine cases) is often the result of something that is degenerative.  Most commonly, cysts in the spinal canal or malformed vertebrae that fall out of alignment are to blame.... WAH.

Either way, Miss Maisy goes in for an MRI tomorrow to see where exactly the spinal cord is damaged and what's causing the symptoms.

Since Maisy has pointed her toes like this since she was a puppy, I'm hoping that the stenosis is just the result of a crumpled bulldog spine and that the increased lameness in her left hind is a simple strain, sprain or slipped disc that can easily be managed.

Things we aren't interested in seeing include: cysts, tumors or turbo-bad arthritis.

You should have seen the look on my face when the neurologist tried to give me the "Wobblers 101" speech.   Thank god I was holding the pup, or I might have involuntarily punched him.

More tomorrow.  Fingers crossed for the puppy please....

Adventures on the Fenceline & in the Creek

I feel like I've been starting every post with a "my how times flies" but it really feels very true.. INSANE.  No idea where my life is going.

But, back to the pony.  My trip out last week was fantastic, as usual.  P looks like a woolly mammoth and autumn at the farm is just stunning.  The air was crisp, colors were gorgeous, the mountains were snow capped and the ponies furry...  Not a bad place to spend the day.  I could do with an extra 10 degrees of warmth, but the weather was nothing that a constant supply of hot chocolate and some hand warmers couldn't contend with.

I mean really, gorgeous. 

Maisy was my trusty co-pilot again, although she acted like I was taking her to a torture chamber and demanded to ride in my lap the entire way, lest she quiver and pant incessantly.  I had visions of a Brittney-style-tabloid-shot... "reckless owner endangers life of puppy.. travels unbuckled in lap!" But Maisy managed to not squirm so I figured she wasn't putting either of us in any increased peril....

stressy face

Carefully avoiding interference with my driving...

M-dog stayed in the car (and her sweater) while we saddled up for our first ride of the day.  I grabbed big 'ol Wendy, Cowboy Man took P and another owner was on her adorable hunter-turned-trail horse who's trot is beyond droolworthy.  

First order of business was to head to the back of the property and work on the fenceline.  Cowboy Man said that he's been working P on the property more and more, which is great (cause it's convenient), but a little tricky since the herd is wandering at large as well - which provides pretty stiff competition for P's attention... He said so far she had been handling it well, and expected her to continue to do so today.  (good for the mare).

we trekked over a bridge and through the fields to the back pasture/woods area.  The herd was at the front of the property grazing, so their impact on the horses was minimal.  I did notice P and Wendy "checking in" a lot more than they do out on the trail... A few whinnies, pricked ears, and attempts to look in the general direction of the group.. but nothing more demanding than that.  Once we got to work we basically asked the ponies to walk, and whoa based on our breath (like I did with P on the ground before) and wait patiently before walking off again.  This was easy as a group, but more challenging as we asked the beasts to walk off or wait away from their buddies.   The old hunter was a very good girl, P was surprisingly responsive and Wendy.  Well, Wendy was not amused.  Wendy did great when we were the first to leave... but did terribly if we were the last to catch back up to the group.

Did I mention that Wendy found herself at the farm after she taught herself to rear in order to get her way?  Well she did.

Something Miss Big Mare was keen to try again rather than stand calmly for 30 seconds away from her friends.  I must say, as much as I've enjoyed my nice long uneventful trail rides with W, it was nice to have to work a little and really feather her lightly with the exercise (however simple).

W tried a few little crow hops, and we backed all over the field in an attempt to not stand still, but eventually we got to a nice calm place where she was willing to indulge my requests of wretched stillness.  Cowboy Man had a good go with P, she was a little jiggy, and backed herself into the fence a few times, but no explosions (yay) and good progress as we worked longer.  Also, I know I mentioned it in my last (mini) post, but CM was riding Miss P in a rope halter.  with a leadrope tied to it.  Uh yeah.  NO THANKS.  but in all honestly, she was good.  I guess I'd probably be more comfortable than I give myself credit for with the halter, since P doesn't exactly "bolt".  The issue with her isn't sensitivity, it's being able to accept "pressure" from her rider.  SO the halter thing kinda makes sense I guess.  Keeps her form feeling boxed in, but still allows some nose control... something to think about going forward...


Anyway, after mastering the walk, we moved on to some trot work, still asking to go, then whoa and wait a bit.  Wendy was fussy, but we worked through it :)  P was a star and was more than happy to move forward a bit...

After about 40 minutes, the beasts got a break and we got to warm up a bit over lunch (which was an absurdly delicious pulled pork sandwich... )

P wondering where her sandwich is...

 When we finished with lunch, the beasts got pulled back in so we could load up and head to another piece of property to play in a creek.  We had four horses going.. 3 of them large, wide-butted things that take up half of CM's stock trailer.  BUT since P is starting to work with the herd more and is accepting of them moving in on her at meal time, CM decided to see how she would do in a tight trailer.  Big boy number one, and medium boy number two loaded up front in the trailer, while Wendy loaded in the back, leaving a shred of space for P to work herself into.

Uh, where am I supposed to go?

Oh.  In here...

Smooshed

The second Property was just around the corner and consisted of a gorgeous giant meadow along with some nice woods heading down to a creek.  The creek was not... roaring, but there was a good couple feet of water which was more than enough to make all the ponies leery of putting their toes in.  (rightfully so, it was FREEZING).

Wendy wanted to investigate a bit before sliding her giant self down the bank and into the river.  She was not pleased with the rocks, or the wet, or the cold.  But she went and stood semi-happily while the rest of us waited for P to get it together and get in.

P was, to put it nicely, not interested.  I can't tell if I blame her or not.  I cant think of an intelligent creature that would have looked at the steep muddy bank, cold rushing water and big slippery rocks and though "OOOH, me! Choose me to get in that!!"  So, I give her a little credit for her skepticism, but then she lost some points for style.

Especially because this was not P's first trip to this creek.  Apparently upon her first visit she plodded right into the water and started playing with it.  This time, she was wise to the situation and refused to approach the bank.  Cowboy Man kept her nose to the water, which meant P could back up all day long, but under no circumstance could she turn.

I finally wrestled my phone out of my pocket to take a few pics, but by the time my numb fingers could take pictures, I got one, blurry picture of the creek, and one shot of P after she backed halfway home from the creek.

blurry creek, but pretty! (and cold)

P, making a break for it.

A few minutes later, P gave up and hopped in.  She immediately set to drinking/splashing/playing with the water and insisted on getting me wet (grrrr).  We were starting to lose sunlight so we rode up the creek a bit, splashed in different parts of it, then made our way back to the trailers.

Cowboy Man did make a point of commenting on how sure-footed P felt on the rocks, which just continues to call into question how much Wobblers this mare actually has... but that is a philosophical question for another day.

Today is a day for hugging ponies, being thankful for their many lessons and throwing some elbows at the grocery store in order to get my hands on some basic Thanksgiving Day supplies.

Gobble Gobble everyone! Enjoy your holidays!!

On the Trail

Finally, some pics from our adventure last week! Maisy was a wonderful co-pilot and aside from sleeping almost the entire way (bad passenger), she help to assure a safe trip.

This was my first "weekday" trip out to the farm, so it was interesting to see it on a slightly busier, more bustling day.  I met a couple other owners out visiting their ponies and a very polite farm hand, who had a very wicked bruise on his shoulder where P attempted to bite a chunk of flesh out.  (bad mare, no treats)

Cowboy Man's arrival was announced by two very happy labs, who Maisy fell in full on love with after approximately three minutes.  P was second in line for the day, so after lots of hugs and pats and kisses, I watched her get turned out with the herd and for the first time she immediately followed the group down into the back pasture where she is totally out of sight from her stall/safety place.  Cowboy Man was very  pleased, although he did seem to question P's taste in men, since her new found bravery has come from an intense passion for a one-eyed, neurologic, ratty old gelding.... sigh.

kisses go here

After P ran off with the herd, I turned my attention to Sunny, an adorable little QH who's owner is frustrated with Sunny's apparent fear of  nearly everything, including her own shadow (and tail).  Sunny warmed up with some liberty work, then started into her desensitization exercises which included a lot of tarps, treats and random blankets, bumpers and bags.

I really enjoyed the chance to watch Cowboy Man work with another horse and pick another owner's brain a bit.  So far she was thrilled with how far Sunny had come (eating her grain off a tarp! No longer bucking her saddle off!).  It was entertaining, and I realized that I'm not sure I have the patience, or the balls to really work with a horse with Sunny's sensitivity.  It was the first time in a while that I've legitimately watch a horse get worked and thought "wooo boy, I sure am glad that one's not mine!"  Not to be holier than thou, but at least I know P isn't the craziest cat out there... :)

After our adventures with Sunny, it was time for a quick lunch, then we had to hit the trail.  I had the pleasure of riding Wendy, a ginormous dutch mare who was a Big Eq horse in her previous life. Now her only responsibilities are lazing about on trails, grazing and flopping her gigantic mule sized ears around.  (what a cutie).

We started off by scampering about the property, up and down banks, testing brakes and steering.  P was a champ and showed non of her initial skepticism about being ponied.  Instead she seemed more than game to bounce along behind Cowboy Man and his beast.  So we hit the trail.  It started out wide and open which allowed me to really check out P's movement and footfalls.  She's definitely landing more heel first now than she was (yay) and seems to be wearing her hinds (now barefoot) really well.  Her feet are definitely expanding again in response to their freedom and even her front toes (in their natural balance shoes) look like they are making progress.

The trail walked us past wolves (huskies), monsters (llamas) and several very-angry-machines (lawnmowers).  None of the horses batted an eye and I was thrilled to see P so comfortable off the property.

Eventually, we peeled off the main trunk and headed for what Cowboy Man said was a "little tighter" of a path.  Then he started rattling on about how he likes to find trails that are a bit grown over so the horses get used to brush on their bellies, sticks, twigs, logs and whatever else comes with a slightly more confined walking area.

Sounded good to me, certainly more entertaining than our basic 'road' that we had followed thus far, so I didn't even register a response, instead I just followed P's cute butt.

But then, as I watched my horse disappear into the brush, I realized that not only was this not really a trail, but a sleeveless top was a terrible decision.

Uh, seriously? that's NOT a trail.  and I am NOT a pioneer.  I distinctly lack the explorer spirit and find "trail blazing" not only uncomfortable, but downright inconvenient.  But, seeing as how I didn't know how to get back to the farm on my own, I simply hugged Wendy's neck and started dodging and weaving the collection of branches, spiders and leaves that began to assault my arms and drop down into my shirt (shuuudder).

Aside from a bit of prissiness, I really did enjoy myself.  P was a champ, and didn't balk once at logs, or puddles or streams or mud flats as we encountered them.  once we had a bit more breathing room we ventured up into some trot work, and eventually even some hand gallops (though Wendy's trot kept pace with everyone's canter just fine).

Ultimately we had a blast.  P seemed excited and happy to be out and she was much more obedient than I was expecting.   Hopefully our next trip is this Sunday, which should see the mare under saddle!!!!

Maisy, was thoroughly unimpressed and fully out of love with the labs by the time we returned.  It seems that she is less enthused with the prospect of adapting to ranch life.  What a goober.

Two if by Sea..

Finally. Headed to see the mare again. It's been more than two weeks and I'm itching for some quality pony time.

Between weddings and vendor trips and life, weekends have proven harder to carve out than I was hoping, so I'm finally just sucking it up and taking a day away from the office. (yahoo)

The Boy wasn't so lucky (in fact his pre-4am wake up call probably indicates he's off to someplace far less desirable..) so Miss Maisy is sitting in the right seat as my trusty co pilot.

Even more exciting?

I'M WEARING BREECHES.

I spent about 20 minutes last night pawing through boxes trying to find horsey gear, since apparently I haven't ridden since we finally got into the new house. But I finally found all my crap in a giant box and spent about eight solid minutes with my head jammed in said box filling my lungs with every bit of hay, barn, leather and horse smell that I could.

I'm not riding P today, but we are heading out on the trail and I think she's getting ponied. I don't know for sure, but frankly I'm not going to be picky at this point. Just give me a horse, any horse - hell, I'd probably even throw my leg over Obama the Llama at this point....

Also, Maisy is in her her own little session with Dr. Finn since she's been favoring her left hind quite a bit up and down stairs recently

Can't wait to have an update!




(my trusty navigator)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I rode!

Ok, well Thursday's Dressage is over at Rolex, so I guess I can post now...

Yesterday, I actually managed to get ON the horse.  (cue trumpets) So I'm feeling good.  We didn't accomplish much else, aside from getting SOAKED by the torrential rain on our (rather) short walk from the barn to the ring.

One other boarder was still riding so I threw P on the lunge instead of letting her scamper around at liberty.  I was expecting the extended vacation to result in P being a total hellcat, but she was remarkably calm.  Her canter was measured, but forward - and the only hint that her blood was boiling came from a few squealing head shakes.

I realized that P's calm was a direct result of having a friend in the ring, so I started my mental debate as to whether I wanted to stay the course with my lunging and let her get her kicks out, or take advantage of the calm and get on while we still had a buddy to work with.

I think I debated for another 10 minutes and when I finally decided to just screw it and get on, boarder #2 dropped to a walk, let her reins out and gave her pony a big, I'm-done-riding pat.  (crappers).

I politely asked if she would mind sticking around while I attempted our first ride in weeks, and god bless her for saying that she'd be happy to.

So.. I popped on the mare, who was definitely hot to trot, but not full on crazytown.

Suspicious mare doesn't understand why I'm getting ready to get on...

She was sadly... still sticky.  But when we did get moving (mostly down the longsides), she was cruising.  Her back felt great, she was really through my aids, and felt decent.  Her barrel was tight, and didn't have the soft, squishy "marshmallow" feel that I like, but that's ok.  We popped into a quick canter (no disaster!), then switched directions.  a few mediums, a few sticky spots, and a few transitions later and we were done.  I intended to get back to work when our buddy left, but P immediately started shooting sideways and freaking out when she realized we were alone.  In fairness, the wind was blowing, the rain was THUNDEROUS on the roof and it was dinnertime.  If we had been back to work for a bit, I probably would have pushed through it, but given her energy, the time off, and the weather - I just wasn't up for for the fight.

I didn't want her to think that she got off that easy, so I threw her back on the lunge and worked up and down the ring, making her move out whenever she tried to GLUE her ears to the barn.  After about 5 minutes she was back to being relaxed and mostly focused on yours truly.

I called that a win. and we cooled out together sans halter.  (good mare).

Not exactly a strenuous day back under saddle but, a) we worked, b) I got ON, c) I didn't get thrown off and d) everyone felt better.

well, mostly better.  I apparently am getting sick. but that's neither here nor there...

Also, got to sprinkle more vets monies because apparently the Frenchie has developed allergies.  They don't seem to be tragically bad, but her little face looks hivey and swollen and my parents guilted me into paying for a vet to tell me "Benadryl.  Give her benadryl."  Thanks mom!

How sad is that puffy face!?