Friday, October 12

Randy, from Burlington Equine, came today. He agreed on the Stringhalt diagnosis, but felt that because the onset was so very sudden that it was injury related. He felt that this was positive; that it meant *Red could be rehabilitated. He felt his spine and hips and did some small chiropractic adjustments, but nothing huge. Then he did acupuncture on *Red’s left leg. The points he stimulated were: 1. Stomach 36; 2.Gall Bladder 34;
3. Bladder 40; 4. Gall Bladder 44; and 5. Stomach 45. *Red was fine during insertion and stood there quietly for a couple of minutes. Every so often Randy would reach to one of the needles and gently twist it. Suddenly, *Red exploded into activity. He began kicking that leg and trotting around and around me. He moved so fast that I got dizzy! I had to stop and just allow him to continue circling me but transfer the lead from hand-to-hand. Just as suddenly, he stopped, and stood still with his head down, as if he were sleeping. He stood like that for almost ten minutes. Randy said that often when doing points on the extremities that the horse will behave that way, so he was not alarmed. Again, *Red exploded and this time the kicking was with both legs, he bucked, he double-barreled, and he trotted like a wild horse. This time, because I was prepared, I was able to observe him and his trot was almost perfect. The left leg moved forward, with only a slight more upward motion than usual. Again, Randy felt this was a good sign.

Randy left me with a list of things to do, and alternative treatment options if they do not work. To do is: 1) increase his Vitamin E to 5,000-7,000 IU per day; 2) increase Selenium to 1 gram per day; 3) increase Magnesium to 5 grams per day; 4) topical anti-inflammatory rubbed into gasken twice a day (like Sore-No-More, or other arnica); and 5) continue Phenylbutazone, 1 scoop, twice a day for seven days.

Treatment options are: 1) Steroids for 10 days as an anti-inflammatory; 2) Phenytoin, an anti-spasmatic drug; and 3) Surgery.

He also recommended finding out about any herbals or homeopathics that might help with inflamed nerves.

I also spoke with Kelley this evening and she recommended a few herbs: St. John’s Wort, Passion flower; Valarian. She also recommended increasing his B vitamins. She will do more research.

Saturday, October, 13

I have increase *Red’s Vitamin E to 4,000 IU per day and am also giving him a scoop of Bio-Quench because it has extra B Vitamins. I am searching for a source of them on-line. He is back on the Bute. I did place an order with GP Direct where I get my Vitamin E, for a Vitamin E/Selenium and Magnesium.

Today I noticed that *Red took off in his pasture and behaved just like he did during the acupuncture treatment. He would race around at a trot and then stop and kick and kick with both legs, although most of the time it was his left hind.

Sunday, October 14

*Red is much the same although he seems somewhat more resigned and less irritable. Guin has been massaging in the Sore-No-More twice a day. Again, he took off a couple of different times, circling the pasture and then kicking.

Monday, October 15

He is the same as yesterday. Tonight I got a call from Linsey McNeal. She had *Red’s Profile in front of her. She would like to work with me and *Red and thinks her protocol can help him.

Here is what we are to do:
Change his feed to a mixture of Linseed Meal (25#), Rice Bran (6.25#), and Canola meal (12.5#) mixed with the EPS which is a combination of vitamins and minerals. He will get 1.5# of this mixture a.m. and p.m. and I am to top dress each feeding with 1/3 cup Nutrient Buffer. I can add as much oats as it takes to get him to eat it and mix it with water to make it a “mash” type texture.

No vaccines
No Deworming
All the grass hay he’d like
Stop feeding beet pulp, black oil sunflower seeds, Cocosoya oil, alfalfa and the other supplements I already give him as she says the EPM will contain all he needs.

She also wants me to track his morning temperature for 3 days, then just once a week after that.

And she recommends getting our water tested and then filtering it. I hope to test our water, but the filtering will have to wait.

She also wants to know if he’s ever been vaccinated with the Rhino (herpes) vaccine and if he presently has little red and/or white spots inside his lips.

While I intend to try my best for this, I have to admit that there is a large part of me that is a skeptic. What bothers me most is that Linsey referred to the vitamins and other supplements as well as some of the feed stuffs as “junk” and yet I know from my experience as well as from others’ that their horses do very well on them. I know how to read labels and try always to choose those that have little fillers like wheat middlings, soy hulls, and the like. For me, don’t label something “junk” and not prove to me why you say it is so. I know that there is a lot I can still learn, but give me the tools, don’t expect to have me follow you based on your professional certification.

I especially have a very high “bovine manure” detector and all my inner bells and whistles tend to go off when someone says “Oh, buy MY things to make it all better.” If I had not heard from several other people that following Linsey’s program worked for their horse/s then I would not agree to this.

Tuesday, October 16

Well, I guess I’m on my way to becoming a believer. I took *Red’s temperature this morning at 7:30 a.m. It was 42F outside and his temperature was 98.2. Just to be sure, I took *Suncatcher’s temperature as well. He is on virtually the same diet as *Red, about the same size, but is 5 years younger. His was 99.6.

I have stopped adding the Cocosoya oil for *Red and no one is getting Alfalfa pellets anymore. I had already decided to stop adding those to the feed and increasing the Linseed Meal I already feed to balance out the protein for them. I intend to eliminate the BOSS tomorrow, then the ABC Plus on Thursday. I’ll hold all the rest of his supplements the same until Linsey’s items, and the Canola Meal are in.

Today I noticed that *Red spent some time kicking but I didn’t notice him running around like the past 3 days.