I went out to check on Rusty and his poor little eyes last night - hoping to see some improvement. Turns out his left eye is still very irritated and sore. He is on 2-3g of bute, 2x a day, but it isn't really helping that much. He stands in the shelter with his eyes closed when it is bright and sunny out. He isn't rubbing his eyes as much, which is good, but the left eye is still giving him some grief.
I had hoped that over the past 2 weeks his eyes would be much improved - but it doesn't seem like that is the case. I guess I need to be more patient, but I hate thinking that he is in pain and I can't do anything about it. The eyedrops aren't helping either. We also can't give him any steriods until the eye ulcers heal, as steriods can irritate the ulcers and cause more pain.
I was going to try and lunge him last night - or at least just do a bit of ground work in the arena - to give us something to do. But, by the time I got to the barn at 6pm, it was -25C with howling winds. The barn door blew closed on me as I went in and I almost got my leg caught. Imagine trying to lead a horse out through that - not worth the risk of having someone get caught! So, I just put him in the cross ties and gave him a good grooming and lots of treats. His puppy dog personality hasn't changed, so that is good. He enjoyed his grooming with a stretched out neck and lots of funny lip faces. He doesn't usually respond that much, so I knew he enjoyed it.
I was feeling very guilty for not even trying to work him, but the temperatures are just too cold at night, even with an indoor arena. It would probably be tolerable on a sunny day, but I'm stuck at work 99% of the time when the sun is out, so that won't be happening. I know that none of this is my fault - his illnesses, my lack of riding - but I still feel terrible about it all. Rusty wasn't sick (so they said) before I bought him and now that I own him, all sorts of thing are going wrong. My BO tried to make me feel better saying that this particular eye condition could have been easily missed in it's early stages, especially since his owner was just a kid.
I need to have the vet out in a week or so, to re-check his eyes to see if the ulcers are healing. His condition is a bit confusing to the vets, because they know a bunch of things that it probably isn't - ie - glaucoma, leptospirosis, uveitis, etc., but they also don't know what it is or how to treat it.
Sorry for the "bummer" post - I'm just feeling discouraged about riding/not riding, horse health and all of the money that I'm spending and not getting anywhere with any of it. My budget allows for boarding, lessons and some extra for vet bills, but I'm right up against my maximum. It can be challenging owning and boarding one horse, because all of your hopes and fun are tied up in one animal.
Here's hoping Rusty's eyes clear up and I'll look back at this post and see what a Whiney McComplainsalot I've been!
I'm going to try and post something less gloomy over the weekend - maybe some pretend retail therapy will cheer me up!
Name That....
2 days ago
11 comments:
Laura, I am sorry that Rusty is still so sore. Do you have a fly mask for him? What I found with my old Appy gelding (who had chronic uveitis) the fly mask helped block some of the bright light, and made him more comfortable.
Kinda looked funny out in belly deep snow with a mask on, but he was happy!
Look at it this way- at least you have Rusty to love on. I know riding is a priority, but even just being able to go to the barn, and groom him and spend time with him is important. You two are working on a good bond there, and I am betting he will remember how your sessions together helped him forget some of the pain and discomfort.
Hope you warm up soon there!!!
Thanks Mrs. Mom. We've tried a few fly masks and he is still rubbing with them on. Once, the BO noticed that he was a little upset in the paddock - turns out he had rubbed his eye, got gunk on the inside of the flymask and couldn't see! Silly horse.
I think once the irritation lessens, we will be able to keep a fly mask on without him rubbing it too much.
Courage !
Don't worry about riding. He will remember his lessons. The most important is that he sees you do not give him up.
Hope he'll be better soon.
Aw Laura I'm sorry. I know it can get discouraging but Mrs Mom & Cheval are right, consider this bonding time. BECG wrote a post recently pointing out that when we're kids we seem to have much more connection with our horses. The big difference is that when we're kids we tend to spend more time just being with them.
-23 here right now, haven't looked to see what the windchill changes that to. Soooo sick of windchill temps :( Not really believing the weather people that its supposed to be in single digits Saturday & Sunday.
I hope his eye clears up, too. And I too sometimes feel like all I do is whine and complain on my blog sometimes. But you'll be fine! I hope things look up asap.
Hey there - sorry things are not getting better in the eyes department. Maybe just spend some good time with him. Don't stress about your lessons, they are right he won't forget, he's too broke for that. If anything at least you have him, a break like that would be hard on a younger horse trying to learn things...
I got my fingers crossed for you!
Sorry to hear about Rusty. The winter just sucks, enjoy spending non riding time while still getting your horse time in.
I can so relate to your woes about the riding. I haven't ridden in a month. I'm lucky to get my horse longed these days! But I know he has a big pasture to hang out in. He's fairly content. And there is just no other option with our weather lately.
My Boy had some eye issues last spring. I had put a fly mask on him (before the issue) and that seemed to cause him to have a strange reaction. He'd put his head in his shed, shake his head, turn it sideways, itchy, he was VERY irritated. Something was not right. It happened twice, both times I'd put a fly mask on him! Once I took it off, it took a day or two for the issues to "go away." I finally had the vet check his eyes the next time she was out and he was fine. No idea what the exact issue was. She really thought that something about the fly mask made him irritated or claustraphobic. It also could have been an allergy, something (molds) in the spring pasture mud....who knows. But I know what you are going through because I was really scared he had an Appy eye issue and was going blind. Hang in there!
Aww! Laura I am sorry. I would be bumed out too! It sucks when things are not getting better and I know what you mean about having everything tied up in one animal and not getting anywhere. It is also hard to watch any animal that is in pain and be unable to help him... So you shouldnt feel bad about feeling bad!! lol I hope that things get better really quickly. Take care.
I'm sorry to hear that Rusty's eye is still bothering him. Maybe it will clear up soon and you will be able to ride him. I wouldn't have ridden or worked a horse in that cold and wind either. Don't get discouraged, things usually work out, it's the wait that's a killer.
Good luck with the vet visit.
So sorry Laura. This time of year is tough on anyone because it's sort of like 'hump day' or the middle of the week.
We've moved past the holidays and now start looking forward to Spring and warmer temps, even though we still have several more months of winter to endure.
Don't feel guilty about riding at all. Even with an indoor arena it' still going to be beastly cold, unless it's a heated arena. I've been told that sometimes it feels like the indoor arena feels like a fridge because there is no sunlight or warmth at all. Brr!
You're spending time with him when you can and that's all that matters. That's basically all he needs right now anyway.
I sure hope that Rusty's peplexing eye problems get figured out soon, or hopefully even go away on their own.
Be gentle and kind with yourself. You're being a wonderful horse Mom and Rusty knows that.
(((HUGS)))
~Lisa~aka~Rapunzle
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