Just Another Blip In The Road

So a few days ago, Tucker was diagnosed with arthritis in his left front ankle, and I have been wracked with guilt and frustration ever since.
You see, last fall, when he had an issue with the same leg, which was the result of striking the stall wall in retaliation of a new stall mate, the vet told me then that she saw a bit of arthritis in the ankle and suggested I put him on Cosequin. Which I did.
I also started him on Hilton Herb's Multi Flex, but in the liquid tincture formula, because he gets so many dry supplements for his EPSM and allergies.
He was on Cosequin for about 3 months but I stopped around the end of January and just kept him on the Multi-Flex. My reasoning was that he was just getting too many supplements and I had read the many arguments against joint supplements because most of the ingredients are not digested, that it is a waste of money. I was a huge fan of the joint supplement Gluquestrian, which does not contain all those wasteful fillers, and I attribute that product to keeping Imp sound when she should not have been, but it is hard to find. I kept telling myself to order it online but in the end, I decided to just go with the Multi-Flex.
But then I entered the recognized event at Rocking Horse, and I stopped the Multi-Flex because it would test for the devils claw (by the way, Hilton Herbs is working on a competition-legal line of products, which are now being tested in the UK.) Honestly, arthritis and unsoundness were not even on my radar when I stopped it.
And then, a few weeks later, he was lame.
Coincidence?
I pride myself in the care that I give my horses and that they are sound and healthy. Tucker has been one of my most challenging horses, between the EPSM, allergies and habronemas. I have to keep him micromanaged.
All I have wanted to do is event Tucker. One of the reasons I adopted him rather than buying another OTTB, was that while the girls were actively showing, I could concentrate on them and not have the show expense of my own horse. Jen would be graduating high school and off to college by the time I was ready to get serious in competing.
But life throws you curve balls. In my case, it was a blood clot in the leg that left me weak for a year,

then unemployment/budget constraints and just as we were ready to finally hit our stride, Tucker is diagnosed with EPSM. The first round, we got it figured out pretty quick, but then summer arrived and I don't do summers. Not in Florida. A quick ride in the morning and I am done for the day. Another round of unemployment, then another round of EPSM, this time more debilitating and once we figured out the missing pieces of his diet, it took nearly a year for Tucker to recover. And now that we are finally ready, we have another setback.

Tucker was all ready for Rocking Horse until he trotted lame on Thursday, with the show on Saturday. Kevin, my farrier, came that afternoon, as he had reset Tucker on Wednesday, but hoof testers revealed nothing.

Over the next few days, Tucker alternated between head bobbing lame on a 10 meter trotting circle, yet almost 100% sound on the 20 meter, to off every 7th or 8th stride on the 20 meter and almost sound on the 10 meter. I fired off an email to Dr. Reilly to ask if he thought it could be EPSM related, and he was pretty sure it wasn't.

The vet arrived Friday and Tucker was a trooper. Trotting him down the driveway, I could hear the uneven foot falls without even looking to see that he was off on the straightway. We decided to nerve block him and while distracted with Hilton Herbs Herballs, Tucker was numbed, first the hoof and then, when he was still lame, the ankle. This time, he was sound when I trotted him around.

The diagnosis is arthritis, and tomorrow we will confirm with x-rays and compare the new ones to the ones taken last fall. The vet was relieved it wasn't anything more serious and I guess I should be as well, but I am still feeling guilty. The vet felt that given his size and being almost a teenager in another month, this is about the time to see something. But should that be normal? It isn't like I am an eventing warrior, taking him cross country every week or even jumping him at home weekly. Quite the opposite. Because of his size, I didn't even start him under saddle until he was 3, and did not jump him until he was almost 6, and yet here we are, still getting arthritis before he is 13. Maybe I should have added a joint supplement all along, and perhaps we would have been able to compete last weekend. I guess we will never know.

I know that this is manageable, and we will start with Adequan,and he is back on the Multi-Flex. But I wonder if I should have taken this a bit more seriously back in November and when I took him off the Multi-Flex, perhaps I should have had a back up plan.

And so once again, another eventing season has come and gone and with us ready to attack it, we have once again been sidelined. Maybe someone is trying to tell me something?

Just Because You Run A Barn Doesn't Make You God..Or A King...

Oh, lordy!
We have all seen the threads online and the blogs. About how people hate boarding and how barn managers/owners, hate boarders. Honestly, it is amazing that there are boarding barns anymore with all the drama.
I have been on both sides of the fence, as a barn manager, who for 6 years, kept the same loyal and sane boarders and as a boarder for more years, at some really good barns and at some really bad barns.
I don't understand the mentality of someone getting into the boarding business only to sacrifice the care of the horse for ego and/or money. My mantra has always been It's All About The Horse and in my world, the horse comes first.
Running a barn is hard work. It is not glamorous, although one girl who ran a barn that I boarded at really did believe that it was....she was out of the business in less than 2 years. I am surprised she lasted that long, although the quality of care began to decline after a few months, which was when I left. You are on call 24/7, 365 days a year and horses do not understand the word Convenience!
I have learned, as a boarder, that you have to chose what is most important to you (besides quality feed, hay and water, not to mention safe and clean, ) because no barn is perfect and everyone who is running a barn thinks that their way is the best. Which is why I keep Tucker nearly an hour away. Each way. Yes, I drive it every day and am thankful that I don't have a 9-5 job and I do wish we would hurry up and sell our house and buy a farm. For Tucker, it is important that he has a turnout schedule to accommodate his allergies (no night time t/o, and in the summer, in his stall, fan on, by noon), he is getting fed what I want him to eat for his EPSM and allergies ( I once spoke with a barn manager who insisted that it was ok for Tucker to eat the same as the other 30 horses in her barn and he would be just fine, EPSM or not!) and when I travel for work, I want to make sure he is getting his supplements. His Vitamin E, magnesium and other supplements are crucial to his well being and quality of life. EPSM is potentially life ending without those supplements. I also want him on grass. I cannot believe how many expensive show barns in Central Florida do not practice pasture management and can't even be bothered to remove the weeds or at least mow them. I refuse to spend my money on a weedy or sandy lot.
As a barn manager, I was lucky to have excellent boarders, who cared for their horses. It was a small barn so there was no drama. I did ask my first boarder to leave because her trainers tactics resulted in a colicing horse every Monday after she would return from the weekend with the trainer. She couldn't make the connection and I asked her to leave. I never had any rules other than to clean up after yourself. Everything else was pretty much common sense, but then my boarders were seasoned equestrians and knew better than to run in a barn, leave gates open or put a hot horse up.
I have heard stories from time to time of people who have had to call the police in order to leave a farm. For one local hunter/eventer trainer, it seems a common occurrence. I had the opportunity to assist in such an extraction this week, when I was called to help some friends remove their horses from a farm where they were no longer wanted, but the barn owner was making it difficult for them to leave.
I will try and be brief, but it is a good story!
A couple started a training and boarding facility. I knew them from my current barn, where they were boarders, and they seemed really, really nice and on the same page as I am about the care of horses. They secured a lease on a local farm and 2 of my friends moved their 3 horses there. The first week was great. Except that the husband, a farrier, changed his mind about allowing their own farrier on the premises, and required them to use him. He agreed to lower his fees, but after getting one friend to sign a TWO PAGE contract (!!) his bill included fees such as a consultation fee and modification fee. Oh, and the horse was lame after he shod him. My friends approached him about his "fees" and he became belligerent, told them that his fees were his fees, and that he could charge what he wanted. He also bad mouthed their old farrier (who has done my horses for 13 years) at which point one of my friends told him that he was out of line and not being professional.
The next day, a set of rules were affixed to the barn walls in several locations. Among the rules,
"It is expected to be polite and respectful at all times and act with professional conduct. Bad attitudes, inappropriate behavior and unfriendliness WILL NOT be tolerated and will result in being asked to leave the facility instantly."
Then the following day, more rules were added! They included (my favorite!):
" When entering/exiting arena, announce GATE for the safety of yourself and other riders" (it is a small facility, a small ring with 3 other horses!)
 "Under No Circumstances what so ever are lessons to be given by no other than...(the trainer) And since one friend was helping the other friend with her riding, it was obvious that this rule was also aimed at them specifically, despite being initially told it would not be a problem.
"No jumping unless during a lesson"
"Immediately after riding, pick up manure from your horse"
"You must pass left to left while riding" (they have to post this?)
It was quite obvious that they were thinking of how they could make my friend's lives miserable. There were now 3 pages of rules, most of which were your basic rules: don't run, turn off lights, close gates, etc. And this fee happy couple would assess you $30 for every infraction!
At the end of the 3rd page of rules, riders were reminded to have fun! Seriously! I would be so worried that I was going to be fined every day for going in another horses stall, leaving a light on or feeding treats to my friend's horse, there would be no way I could have fun.
Yesterday morning, having given notice that they were leaving, they were greeted with a bill for twice what they had initially agreed to and an altered boarding contract, where the barn manager had added that he could place a lien on the horses for unpaid bills. Again, he was quite the pompous ass, and committed battery on one of my friends by slamming a gate into her knee, knocking her to the ground.
I received a phone call shortly after that I was needed that afternoon, with my trailer, to help move the 3 horses.
They were advised by the police to go in only with a police escort, and what a sight it was, one friend in her suburban, followed by the next friend in her truck, 2 deputy cars, myself and our farrier was following, as he came to assist.
I will spare you the 2 hours of total nonsense that ensued, but despite all of his attempts to keep us from loading 3 horses in two trailers and get their personal effects out, we managed. If the deputies were not there, I don't think it would have gone as well, considering he was pretty hostile to them as well as the rest of us. He was ranting and raving the entire time and very disrespectful to the police.
My parting words to him, were that I was disappointed to see that he was not conducting himself with class and integrity and I told him that the horse world was a small community and that if you acted like an ass, everyone would know it and he would not stay in business. I am mad at myself for allowing myself to think that he and his wife were wonderful people. I hope I don't make that mistake again and I hope I am never involved in a police assisted extraction again!
And if you are looking into a boarding facility, do your homework.

What's In A Name

So as I have made a return to blogging, with so much to write about, I find myself contemplating the name of my blog.
You see, when I started this, several years ago, I was leasing a farm that I called Calypso Farm. My daughters were heavily involved with horses and both competed actively in eventing and pony club.
But girls grow up and things change. My youngest, Amanda, who was never as passionate about horses as her sister or myself, lost interest when her horse Pilgrim, died. She was 17 and had other interests. She now lives in Manhattan and while she dreams of owning a dog or bunny, horses are not in her future. Jen has never lost her interest, but when Imp died her last semester of college, it was easy for her to focus on her career. An engineer, she now lives in Arlington, Virginia and does a pretty good job of catch riding. She has been foxhunting and riding warmbloods.
I no longer lease the barn, as with just one horse, it didn't make sense but eventually we will buy a farm and it will earn the Calypso Farm moniker.
Where did the name Calypso come from? Well, I am a HUGE fan of John Denver and one of my favorite songs is Calypso, a beautiful tribute to Jacques Cousteau's ship. My husband is passionate about fishing and boating, so I thought the name would be a nod to John Denver and to my husband's hobby.
Hmmm....I guess the name stays. Besides...it is too much trouble to change it!

An Update On Tucker's Skin Issues!

A lot of my blogging in the past has been about Tucker's skin issues. A lot has happened since I last blogged about his skin.
So, when I left off in January of 2014, I was still dealing with Tuckers summer sore from hell, which had reopened in the fall of 2012. Through my research, I found that Dr. Porter of Performance Horse Vet had a cream for treating habronema's. Because I had used him years before for Pilgrim's neurological issues when Dr. Porter was with the U of F mobile unit, he graciously sold me a tub at a cost of about $80. I had strict instructions to keep Tucker bandaged for at least a month, a feat when you are boarding, but thankfully he is a couch potato when he goes outside and he left his stable bandages alone while turned out. The sore did close, but did not give me a 100% success rate that I had hoped for, more about 80%, but that was better than nothing.
So after about 3 months, the sore did close and we were in good shape for the summer heat and flies. The sore stayed pretty much the same through the summers of 2014 and 2015.
Fast forward to this past December. The weather was cooling off and I allowed Tucker to go outside without his fly boot on.
I literally cried one day when I arrived at the barn to find his leg bleeding.
The sore had reopened.
Hilton Herbs had come out with a new product the year before called Mud Defender. Hilary trialled in in the US and the UK with amazing results. The supplement and lotion are designed to treat scratches and rain rot and every horse in the trial had an improvement, in that they either did not come down with a case of scratches or rain rot, whereas in previous years they had, or if they did, their owners reported it was a much milder case.
I was having pretty good luck with the topical Mud Defender, with glowing results from whomever I gave a sample to. Bloody, crusty ears in a fellow boarders boxer: healed after 2 treatments where the vet's steroid medicine had failed. Crud on the front of a horses back legs: healed. Rain rot in another boarders horse: gone in days. The crusty collarettes my male German Shepherd gets: gone. I had given a sample to a friend who had been trying to heal a summer sore on one of her horses, with no luck, despite 6 months under the care of a vet. She called me the next morning, wanting to order a bottle and gushing over the results of just one treatment! The summer sore healed up in 3 weeks on the Mud Defender!
So while I was very bummed about Tucker opening his sore up, I was excited about using the Mud Defender on him and I even put him on the supplement, which is designed to toughen the skin, support the elasticity and integrity of the skin and support the body's overall immune response to infection.
The sore was healed in 3 weeks!
As of now, the sore looks great. It was interesting to photograph the sore on a daily basis while treating with the Mud Defender and to see the changes that occurred almost daily. The skin integrity has definitely changed for the better
and I am hoping it stays closed for good, but of course, I will continue to micro manage the hell out of it.
Meanwhile, the rest of Tucker's skin looks pretty good. Besides starting him on Hilton Herb's Bye Bye Itch, which I after 3 years, I can increase and decrease depending on the pollen, weather and bugs, the best decision I made was to keep Tucker inside at night. It means that I have to drive nearly an hour each way to the barn in order to find a barn that will accommodate his schedule, but it is worth it. When the pollen count is high, usually spring and fall, he does tend to get hives, but overall, his itching has decreased dramatically. He has had a full mane and tail for 3 years, and he no longer has raw, bloody scabs all over his body.

A reminder of what I have been dealing with over the years

I arrived at the barn in January one morning to find this :(

After one application of Mud Defender. The following photos are over the next 3 weeks:

All healed!

A reminder of how Tucker's tail looked 6 months of the year

How Tucker's tail has looked for the past 3 years, 365 days a year, with the use of Bye Bye Itch

This is my medicine cabinet at the barn!

Horses, Humility and Disappointments

It has been over 2 years since I last blogged...issues with this site and uploading photos led me to try and find a different blogging site, but none felt as comfortable as this site and I gave up on each site that I tried. Maybe that is a sign of my age, that I don't like change and find it harder to adapt to new situations.
Anyhow, I have had the yearning to blog again and thought it was time to revisit this site and voila, the issue with uploading pictures seems to be resolved. I have lots to write about to, but I don't want to bore what few readers of this blog there may be, so I will go slowly!
This weekend I had entered the spring Rocking Horse recognized horse trials. I have missed several seasons due to Tucker's EPSM, being unemployed, no money, you know, life.
I have been regularly taking dressage lessons with the great Bill Woods (www.woodsdressage.com), R judge, clinician and author of the book "Dressage Unscrambled," who has a background in eventing and thus has an understanding of what an eventer needs to accomplish in dressage. He is the first dressage instructor who has managed to get me excited and wanting more of dressage, even if I sometimes feel like a pathetic beginner. I thought I knew how to do leg yields. I thought  I knew how to do turns on haunches. I thought I knew how to do reinbacks. Boy, was I wrong!
I also began taking lessons on a somewhat regular basis with eventer Marcea Funk, who is now based out of Rocking Horse. I first met Marcea in a clinic and was impressed by her quiet demeanor and her attention to detail. When she relocated from Jacksonville to Rocking Horse, I was thrilled.
Last November Tucker injured himself. I came home from Equine Affaire in New England to discover he was lame on the front left. A visit from the vet and some x-rays revealed nothing major and I discovered that he was striking the stall wall in retaliation of a new stable mate. I was advised to ride him at the walk for a few weeks and that he should be fine. I entered him in a schooling show at Rocking Horse in early December, confident that he would be fine to do a dressage test and a 2'6 jumper class.
We arrived late and missed our jumper class so I entered in the 2'11 class. The first 3 jumps were lovely and looking at photos confirmed that he was much nicer over the bigger jumps...he is bored with small fences and doesn't use himself as well. But when we landed after the 3rd jump, I didn't like how he felt and so I pulled him up and excused ourselves. I scratched the dressage class and we went home. I babied his leg for the rest of December and by January, he was sound and fit and we picked up with our dressage and jumping lessons.
In early March, I realized that once again the eventing season was about over and once again, I was going to miss it. We had a lovely dressage lesson, which followed a lesson where Bill pretty much asked if I was going to get my shit together and ride this horse like I should. He didn't yell and he wasn't mean about it, but I wanted to cry. Instead, I sucked it up and resolved to make the most of our lessons and actually accomplish something. The following week, Bill was pretty pleased with our lesson and I decided that it was time to enter a show. The problem was, I had a conflict with the schooling shows and that left the recognized event at Rocking Horse. So I entered.
I spent the last few weeks preparing for the show, while trying not to think too much about it, or else my nerves would get the better of me.
I renewed my USEA and USEF memberships, did some shopping to replace missing items (number pinney, helmet cover), bought some items I didn't need (another saddle pad) and purchased some things that I did need, like a new saddle rack and cart on wheels. Without Jen along to help me, I realized at the show in December that I have a lot of stuff to schlep from the trailer to the barn, and I could really, really use a rolling cart!
We have a new boarder at the barn who has moved here from England, a fellow eventer, and Tuesday (yes, that is her name!) volunteered to groom for me!
Tuesday and I hauled to Rocking Horse last week for a jumping lesson, me on Tucker and she on her lovely gray warmblood, Opie. We practiced our show jumping. This past Tuesday, Bill came and we practiced our dressage test.
Yesterday came and we rehearsed our test, but first Tucker got a trim and reset (he is now wearing shoes, this was his 3rd reset. It is not permanent but after his injury, I felt that he needed shoes...more of an intuitive things more than anything else.)
And then today came. And Tucker was lame at the trot.
Enter humility and disappointment.
Kevin, my farrier came out this evening and I hoped that for the first time in 13 years that he had somehow screwed up and that he would be able to fix it. Except that the hoof testers revealed nothing and while Tucker is off at the trot, he is sound at the walk and canter.
Oh, Tucker, why can't you tell me what is going on?
So I spent this evening letting Marcea and Bill know that I would not be showing. I emailed the show secretary and I hope that I get a refund. I emailed the photographer and videographer, because I had paid them upfront since they had specials for early birds. And I made an appointment with Dr. Porter for next week. I am hoping we find out what is wrong and that there is nothing major and just some rest will fix it.
As my mother used to always tell me, "there will be another show."

Tucker at Rocking Horse in December, before we pulled up

Tucker in our lesson a few weeks ago, looking like a dressage horse!

Yes, we can do dressage!

Our lesson a few weeks ago, ready to go to a show!

Tucker's EPSM Update

Well, it has taken roughly 3 months, but I think we have this last episode of Tucker's EPSM under control, and I hope it is our last!
This post refers to our initial relapse in the fall and the first changes that I made:
http://calypsofarmeventers.blogspot.com/2013/10/why-does-my-horse-choose-to-be-off-when.html


When I first realized Tucker was having a relapse, at the suggestion of Dr. Reilly of Equine Medical and Surgical Associates, I started him on high doses of Vitamin E, and then leveled him off to 8700 IU daily. He improved, but it took about 3 weeks to see changes and he still wasn't 100%.
I next added electrolytes. He was still sluggish, had a hard time maintaining his canter and was still stiff at the canter. Again, marginal improvement.
I was spending extra time warming Tucker up, doing lots of walking and trotting, and going up and down our hills around the barn (remember, this is Florida. But I am lucky to keep Tucker in Apopka, which is somewhat hilly! Hey, I will take what I can get!) After riding, I was massaging Hilton Herbs Muscle Magic into his back.
I had met a local woman who has an EPSM horse. In fact, this is her second one. At her urging, instead of trying the ALCAR, I instead started him on Magnesium Oxide.
BINGO!
Could it really be as simple as adding magnesium oxide to his diet to make him....99.9%??? In less than a week?
With the exception of a still somewhat stiff canter, he is pretty much back to his old normal self. His endurance level is back, we can canter more than just once around the field without him breaking into a walk. Other than the stiffness, there is nothing else out of whack and it is really minor. I can live with it!
We are back to jumping small courses and working on building his endurance level. We might be able to salvage this winter season after all.
Magnesium oxide...who knew?


Now, if I can get the habronema under control......
(actually, I came across Dr. Porter's website. He was the consulting vet I used on Pilgrim in 2007 when he was associated with U of F's mobile unit. He is now on his own and has developed a cream for habronema's. He is shipping me a tube and it should arrive any day. I am excited to try it. Will keep you posted!)

Enjoying the Ride!

So, in November, I moved Tucker.
>sigh<
Yes, again.
You see, while I was happy to be back in Chuluota, he was not. The turnout schedule of the barn was not a good match for Tucker and he was back on night turnout. Not good for a horse who suffers from sweet itch.
Within days of going back out at night, he was itchy and miserable. His hair was falling out, his coat raw and crusty with sores. He was a mess.
I knew within a few weeks of moving back to Chuluota, that it wasn't going to work, and began the task of finding a new facility.
I don't know about the rest of the country, but around here, Craigslist has the most current boarding offerings.
It went something like this:
Barn # 1: Great amenities. XC jumps, good location. Everything sounded perfect. Except that they would not reply to my emails. Hmmmm.....is my name on some list of potential boarders to ignore? A list of boarders from hell? Or am I paranoid?
Barn #2. Barn full of eventers. They can accommodate Tucker's turnout schedule. Take care of him when I travel. Except that the barn manager lit up a cigarette in the middle of the barn as we were talking. And the barn was in a flood zone and I could not bring my barn cat.
Barn # 3. Everything was wonderful. I know the owners. Barn is immaculate. But, turnout schedule is not what will work for us. Horses out all day long, even in the summer heat and storms. And I can't bring Hobbs, the best barn cat in the world.
And so it went.
For months.
I was obsessed with Craigslist and other sites, but nothing was popping up that would work.
I was on a mission.
In October, I realized that the answer was right in front of me all along. I just had to take the long path to get there. The answer was to move him back to Apopka, where I had leased a barn a few years earlier. Except that I would return as a boarder, in the main barn (well, I refer to it as the main barn. A former standardbred training facility, this is the largest barn of the 6 on the property.)
As several friends reminded me, Apopka was the one place that Tucker was not plagued with his allergies. And, he could be on a day time schedule, and come summer, he will be brought in at noon...after being rinsed off (you have no idea what a foreign concept it is for many barn managers, to rinse off a hot and sweaty horse!)
I could partial board him, which with his EPSM, it is important that I maintain control of his diet. And Hobbs was welcome, too.
So in November, we bid farewell, loaded the truck and trailer, and with Hobbs on my lap, we headed west, for Apopka.
Tucker went back into the same paddock he had before, only this time, with a buckskin pony for a companion. He settled right into his large, roomy stall in the main barn.
Within a week, of no more night turnout, his coat was healing. The scabs were gone, the hair growing in, and the itching was noticeably less.
He was happy.
And something was happening to me, too.
This has been the first time in years, that I have not had a barn of boarders to take care, or take care of my daughter's horses, or work in exchange for board.
I only have Tucker to tend to.
And I realized, that for the first time, I was not rushing to get from one task to another.
You see, as the mother of 3, all I have done for the last 20 plus years, was rush from soccer practice to riding lessons to the car pool line, and so on and so on. I have never been one to enjoy the journey, rather, getting to the destination was the goal.
The story of any stay at home mother's life.
But now, with 2 kids out of college and gainfully employed, as my husband likes to point out, and the 3rd child in her junior year of college, away from home, I finally have time to stop and smell the roses.
Or rather, spend more time grooming Tucker. Taking longer warm ups and cool downs with leisurely walks around the farm. Or taking silly videos of him smacking his lips as he realizes there is another carrot for him. Spending more time grooming him after our daily rides.
I am enjoying the journey, for once in my life!
His relapse of EPSM has been frustrating as hell, as I try and figure out what will work for him and keep him healthy and sound.
This has meant longer warm ups at the walk and longer cool downs. I find myself, as we walk around the farm, not wanting to hurry and get off so I can get to the next task, but rather, wishing that the walks didn't have to end. Content to just walk and take in the scenery.
Yesterday, with the temps falling 50 degrees in just a few hours, I was able to enjoy the different birds as they prepared themselves for the cold weather, darting here and there, gathering every morsel of food they could. I have always enjoyed, always noticed nature, but it was sweet to take it all in and not be in a rush.