Thursday, May 18, 2017

Good News for Jackson

Yesterday, we drove Jackson down to Clements for his visit with Dr. Linda.  The magical wonder vet; sport horse specialist and competitive eventer.  Her husband is a stadium jumper -- you know the ones who jump those wicked high jumps.  The exam room and office are papered with fancy ribbons and pictures.  She isn't a large person; she's a petite bundle of lean muscle and energy.

She liked Jackson.  She thought he was cute.  Everybody loves Jackson.  Especially me.

Jackson got a full work up: x-rays, lab work (some of which she sent to Cornell), and hoof testers.  First, she had him trot walk on the lunge line.  He painfully picked his way around the circle.  When she touched the back of his heel with the tester, not even squeezing yet, he leaned all the way back and pulled. "I believe you." She said.

She blocked the nerve in his navicular to confirm the location of the pain.  And then he trotted sound.

X-rays revealed slight rotation of the coffin bone but nothing horrible.  His navicular are a mess, he has practically no sole and is... complicated.  She injected his coffin bone joint to see if that brings relief.

She can also inject his navicular if this doesn't work, but we are starting conservative.  Injecting the navicular is complicated.  He's on some anti-inflammatory medications and may be put on more meds, pending the results of his metabolic and insulin tests.  He had those panels done a number of years ago, and they were negative, but we are going to see if there are changes.  He might be borderline on the tests; she suspects that he is.

She also gave us very specific directions for shoes on his fronts; to relief the pressure on his heels and navicular.

She believes we can get him comfortable and, if the shoes stay on (he has thin hooves that don't hold a nail well), he might even be sound enough for light work.  All the stars have to align for that: the injections, the medications and the shoeing.




8 comments:

  1. I am so happy to read this post!!!! I have been worried and thinking about you and Jackson for days now hoping for good news. I know that when Gen needed shoes his equine podiatrist used these fancy Sigafoo glue ons. Instead of gluing to the sole or under the foot, there is fabric that is glued along the outside wall. No idea if they are an option with everything else your farrier needs to do, but if you are worried about keeping glue on shoes on those things are magic. Gen lives hard and even he can't destroy them ;)

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  2. He is so adorable. I hope the treatments and advice for shoes will help him.

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  3. That is better news! I hope that the shoes make him more comfortable.

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  4. If nails don't hold - are those new glue on shoes even a remote option for him?

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  5. I have loved this horse a very long time - please be well.

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  6. An American in TokyoMay 18, 2017 at 5:27 PM

    I was wondering about Jackson! So glad to hear that she thinks he can get comfortable! Woo hoo!

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  7. Jackson needs to catch a break. All this sounds good.

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  8. So glad you have a great vet for Jackson. We had a horse with multiple hoof issues. Tried many things as you have. Finally found an excellent farrier. She helped all of our horses transition to barefoot comfortably. We used Renegade boots for riding all but our problem horse. She recommended Soft Wave boots for him. He wore them pretty much 24/7 for several months. They really made him comfortable. He was happy, because he could be turned out with the other horses as long as he was wearing his boots. He did become sound enough for light riding! I really hope things work out for your boy.

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Thanks so much for commenting!