Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Hock Eyes

I am an inveterate M*A*S*H fan, and have been known to ask "what would Alan Alda do?" in tricky situations. About three weeks ago Raven was finally beginning to look comfortable again after the great hock puncture of 2008. She was getting leaner and stronger, and the SmartFlex Repair seemed to be helping -- I was planning to be back on her in early April. Then we got another snap of cold, wet weather and everything went downhill. The joint looks stiff, the problematic suspensory tendons look painful, and the whole horse looks uncomfortable. She is dead lame on the hind right for a couple of minutes after getting up. She prefers to be on the dirt part of the paddock instead of the crusher dust. She is standing in the corner with her nostrils slightly wrinkled instead of joining Tonka at the feeders -- it is like we have reverted to December.

Now that the weather is warmer and drier she looks a little better again, but still very stiff and jilted on the hinds. Christina was here to trim today, and Raven was dead lame for a few strides after having the hind right on the stand for long enough to get her mustang roll (Christina trimmed the hoof with it resting on her boot). It is time for Kerstin to come out for teeth and vaccinations, and it is time to reassess the long-term plan. I think we have to give Adequan a try. It's what Alan Alda would do.


8 comments:

Black Jack's Carol said...

I feel for your frustration after your carefully worked out plan and such hopeful signs a few weeks ago. Not fun at all, but will hold good thoughts that the Adequan will yield positive results.

Love the title for this post. MASH was one of a small number of television programs that I watched regularly. Thanks for that link. It brought back some memories.

allhorsestuff said...

Maybe so huh...I think Hawk would agree for this hock.
I have seen it work wonderfully for the $

Anonymous said...

Poor Raven! Give her a kiss for me!

Funder said...

So sorry to hear she's uncomfortable again. Hopefully the Adequan will do the trick!

sue said...

Hello, I'm Sue and found your blog via nuzzling muzzles... we have some things in common!!! I have a "tonka" too (percheron x, born in Newfoundland!!!) I also love MASH and my husband's family is all Canadian!!!! so, just thought I would jot a quick post and say hello and invite you to check out our blog.... hope you don't mind me checking in on yours... best wishes

sue said...

OH MY... in checking your older post you do flyball too!!!!! so do I.. or did, my flyball dog actually retired several years ago (and passed away in Feb.) but I still support our team (we were the first team in the state of Maine) and we just had our tournament this past weekend!!!!!

Sarah Henderson, BCCDC said...

Hi Sue, and thanks for dropping by. After I named Tonka I met two other horses named Tonka -- one mare and one gelding, both hefty. It just seems like a good name for a solid horse.

Hope your tourney went well last weekend. I think our club is going to plan one for the fall. I directed one last spring and it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Darn. So frustrating. I sure hope she can get back to being comfie and pain-free soon.
But how do you know that Alana Alda would use Adaquan? lol!
That's a good picture of him. He looks so young and handsome.

~Lisa

word verification: cougool

Yeehaw!