Twins Update - Cam Trouble or Not?

[pahobs]

So glad to hear that Vee is feeling better - tummy aches are so bothersome! Good news about those "glue shoes" for Trouble-sure hope that it works out for him.
Keep working on that camera - eventually you'll get it to work!

[risingrainbow]

Ok, good news on the camera. While we don't have it working from the barn yet, we did get it working with the camera in the house, which was our trial to tell us that we had things hooked up right. Now we're (actually in all fairness it's not we, it's my husband, Dave) going try getting it from the barn to the house. He's off again tomorrow so think he's going to try it then. so cross your fingers that we can get it going and move on to the computer step which will be my part.

While this is all going on, I'm at the Region V Championships taking a break for the first time in months. I took a horse that I entered in halter for the pre-show but didn't get qualified because I didn't read my prize list correctly and got the start times screwed up and almost missed my class. They were calling me on the loudspeaker and I was still back at the stalls. Had an asthma attack on the way into the ring, didn't get to school my horse first and it was NOT a pretty sight so I was missing one point to be qualified. Since I don't really like halter anyway, that part's ok. I really just wanted to be down there hanging out with him to see if I could get him sold. But the poor guy hasn't been ridden since last Oct and has never been ridden at a show, I'm asking a lot of him. He's being good though and getting used to those english horses riding his fanny when we're schooling at the breaks. It's been nice to be able to get to ride again. I haven't ridden a horse since the twins were born and my old body is really screaming at me! I plop in a chair because my muscles are too tired to support me on the way down. Very frustrating, getting old.

The twins are pouting because I've been gone. I go out to see them before I leave in the morning and they grumbled at me because I don't come in and spend quality time. They are just so darn cute! Spoiled.......but cute.

Oh, yeah, the donation account at the bank is finally set up correctly, now we just need to get the KOMO people to run the update. Will work on that next week after the horse show.

Have had a couple people at the horse show tell me I should have euthanized them in the first place and saved myself the grief. I'd like to punch them, but don't believe in violence.

[risingrainbow]

Today the farrier comes to trim the twins. Don't know for sure what happened but all of a sudden they both grew a huge amount of toe. I have been watching them closely so was really surprised to see how much toe each had grown while I was at the Region V Championships (first time I've gotten away since they were born except for trips to the feed store)

Luckily, my farrier was scheduled for today and we'll be able to get them trimmed since Surprise is supposed to get her temporary brace put on tomorrow afternoon. Also we're supposed to figure out what the next step is with Trouble since his back legs are not straightening up on their own. My guess is we will probably give a little assist for both of them with this trimming if possible.

They're both pouting about me being gone. I checked them each morning before I left and one of them kicked the door because I didn't come in and scratch them before my departure. Now, I'm really getting mauled when I go in with them. I missed them too, guess I'd be disappointed if they hadn't noticed I was gone. They are getting blacker by the day. Still don't know if Trouble is true black or black bay like his mom.

My husband is on vacation this week (what a laugh, you should see my list!!) so we're hoping to get the twins moved into the larger stall and get the camera set-up. Also am going to try and take the mare out for excercise. I'm thinking they might be ok with it for short times since they have each other. With my husband here, I can have him stay with they to monitor their response to her being gone and if they don't get upset, will be able to work up to long enough seperations to lunge her some in the round pen. That should help her some with being cooped up for so long. That stall is a lot smaller confinement for her than it is for them. I'm really surprised she's not turning into a total witch being locked up this long.

I think that KOMO will be running an update on them this week since we finally have the donation account information spread to the other branches. Will send them the information today.

Well, that's the plan for now, will update as things progress.

[devotee]

Thanks for the update. I just love reading your descriptions of the twins and their antics. It's so good to know that they are in such good hands, too. You're doing a great job of seeing to their needs. Oh, and hurry up with that cam, would ya? LOL!!!

[pahobs]

Thanks once again for the update on the twins and their Mom too! Let us know how things went today...with the farrier and with Mom's outing. Waiting patiently for the cam - can't wait to see their antics.!

[cheri]

devotee said:

Thanks for the update. I just love reading your descriptions of the twins and their antics. It's so good to know that they are in such good hands, too. You're doing a great job of seeing to their needs. Oh, and hurry up with that cam, would ya? LOL!!!

I'm with devotee!

[risingrainbow]

We did trims yesterday, but I think that my farrier was intimidated by the twins - not their behavior - but the fact that they're twins and their bones are still soft, that kind of thing. I think he was worried that he'd hurt them somehow, so he didn't take as much toe off as needed to come off, but then, it's hard to tell with them if they'd have tolerated that much coming off. But what he did take off made enough of an improvement, that we changed our plan on the temporary brace for Surprise at this time (still hoping to raise the funds to get the custom brace however). The vet said he'd been working all weekend with heating up PVC trying to mold it etc but he's worried that it's too rigid and that we could cause more harm than good. I know that you have to be careful or you can cause damage to the stifle. We sure don't want that. And then, there's the issue of the fungus, which now all three of them have. The weather has been so humid and they're locked in that darn stall, that it was only a matter of time before it spread from Trouble to his mom and sister. Putting a brace on now, would certainly be an invite for the fungus to spread underneath and that would create a real mess. So today, the vet did a little rasping here and there to affect a little more change and we'll do more next week as well. In the meantime, I'm treating treating the fungus with a prescription since what I was using didn't even phase it.

Surprise's hock is much better. Most of the swelling is gone. There's currently no heat in it. She is still resting her leg on the back of her fetlock instead of her hoof, but the rasping done today is helping to rock her forward where she belongs. couldn't do as much as she needs but will work at it gradually. Hopefully, this change today, will encourage her to use it correctly and she'll help us in this process.

Trouble had to have tweaking all the way around. Both fronts needed a little support and the backs need a lot. He rasped off more toe and then I think it was a little off of the outside edge. The improvement was noticible but again, will need to be repeated. Behind he needs more help. He has very little heel and that is what's causing his hocks to turn in, so he took as much toe as he could and that too will be a progressive fix. But both of them look so much better today than they did before we started yesterday.

We tried to get the camera hooked up but all we were getting was blippy lines. Will call for help but needed to wait for a decent hour. Hopefully, we're heading in the right direction.

Now for the latest Trouble and Surprise story. When I went in this morning to pick the stall, Trouble was laying right in front of the door. Surprise likes to stand right at the wheelbarrow so she can look outside but Trouble was blocking it. That didn't phase her at all. She just stepped right over the top of him, straddling him. Trouble loves his sister BUT he didn't think her straddling him was such a good idea so he leapt to his feet. That caused her to be high centered but she didn't loose her balance. Her belly finally slide off of his back but she was caught by her back legs hanging from the middle of his back. He just stood there while she figured out how to get down. She turned a little to one side and very carefully pulled her left leg down, then followed by her right. Once both feet had hit the ground, she bucked at him and took off behind her mom. Of course, I did not have a camera! I tell you, I always regret when I go in there without a camera!! They are priceless!

Thanks for all the continued support. It definitely helps keep me going.

[h2opony]

Well i am glad to hear that the twins still have a lot spirit. The physical aspects of a horse are much easier to fix than a horse with a lost or broken spirit.

Keep up the good work! Prayers headed your way!

[risingrainbow]

OK, here's the latest. Finally got the twins moved into the new stall on Saturday. It is 12 x 24 instead of the 10 x 12 they were crammed into. They have a creep feeder to keep mom out of their stuff, which they didn't like at first but now think is pretty cool. They have a apple treat with a ball hanging there to play with which Surprise had to check out immediately with Trouble not far behind and most of all they have room. At first they got very rowdy and I was worried that they'd hurt themselves since they're not supposed to be getting excited. But it doesn't look like anyone is lame after the first couple of days do I think they're doing all right.

There is also a small paddock off the stall, and I turned them out into that on Sunday so they could get some sun but they were too wild and had to put them in.

Later that day they had their first bath. It was not a pretty sight! They all have fungus and it keeps spreading so figured we had to go with the shampoo treatment. Hard to do without doing a bath wouldn't you say? Well, neither Surprise nor Trouble thought much of the bath idea. It took my husband- Dave, oldest daughter- Colleen, her daughter - Rachel, my youngest daughter - Lindsay and me. The hose was out of the question. It was a bucket and a sponge and we still all got wet. No pics until after, it was just to chaotic! Surprise stood on her hind legs - she's taller than I thought! Trouble managed to kick with both barrels and got Colleen and Dave at the same time (one was on one side of him and one on the other, so each one got it with a different leg, you really had to see it to appreciate it, but the boy's got talent!) Vee was totally unaffected by the whole thing - she just sttod and watched.

While neither one appreciated the water part much both of them really enjoyed the part where they got rubbed all over with the scratchy bath mit. Surprise's lip was going all over the place, she nearly purred. Trouble wasn't won over with the scrubby part quite as much as his sister, but the thought it was good. Neither one appreciated the ten minute wait before the rinse however and then the rinse just pushed their tolerance right over the top. It was definitely not a fun experience for anyone. Trouble ended up with a cut on his hip. It's not huge but distressing to me. Hopefully, we've gotten a good jump on this darn fungus thing. Sure can't put Surprise in a brace with a raging case of fungus.

After the bath when they got turned loose back in their suite, both foals let us know what they thought of our bath. There was kicking and bucking and head shaking going on, big time! They are so funny....

Which reminds me, we're stalled with the camera, it looks like we need a booster. Heather's been busy so it may take a while, but wanted you to know the status.

[Shannon]

Loved reading the update, those two just sound so adoreable!

Are you treating the fungus with anything right now? Our "baby" rhino, Katie, has a bad case of fungus from being weaned (stress can cause it in rhinos), and with the treatment they're using now it's getting so much better. She gets a bath every day (Oh boy, dont' even want to think about that with your babies! ) and then she gets the affected area scrubbed with Novalsan, and then she gets an ointment put on (I think it's Novalsan, too, but I can double check on Friday when I go back), and after that dries for a bit she gets Swat on to keep the flies off. She's only been treated for about a week now, and it's looking so much better. If that can be used on horses/foals (pretty sure at least the Novalsan can be), it might be worth a shot.

Hope they all get over this fungus soon so you can get the brace on Surprise! Also glad they finally got to move to a bigger stall...I can't imagine 3 horses in a 10 x 12 stall!

[risingrainbow]

Hi Shannon,

Thanks for the input about the treatment with the rhino baby. Itis also a treatment used for horses although not necessarily with the daily bath. I had tried the ointment and was not getting anywhere but am thinking that I may talk to the vet today about using the ointment with penicillin added since this seems to be so stubborn. I've used that in the past for difficult cases. There's no way I can get a crew needed to do baths daily.

Yes, the old stall was small but then not as small as you'd think, because they are so small. I had to move a mare with a 3 month old colt into that stall to be able to get the twins into their suite and the stall seems much smaller now than it did with the two of them. Suede is probably 350 pounds and the twins are probably about 125 pounds apiece. But Aana and Suede get to go out each day so it's not so bad. The egg beater action of all those feet made keeping that stall clean practically impossible though. And also the room to lay down was a big issue. But, escape is still big on their minds. They still run to the door trying to get out whenever they hear a sound.

The vet comes this afternoon for more trims and to check on their progress. Will report back later.

[risingrainbow]

As usual, things didn't go quite as planned this week. My vet got injured (and please pray for my vet's safety, can't afford to have him hurt!!) and so had to postpone his visit to work on Trouble and Surprise. The poor man couldn't stand up so there was no way he was going to be able to put a brace on Surprise and work on trimming both of them. So instead of visiting us he visited his chiropractor so he could get straight enough to visit us.
When he did make it out, he brought plenty of help because after the bath, we weren't sure what to expect trying to put a brace on Surprise even with drugs. But after looking at the huge improvement in both foals from just the trimming we'd done the week before - and how much Surprise has been improving with the stall rest and considering that darn fungus would not be pretty underneath a temporary brace we decided not to do the temporary brace at this time. There are just too many variable with the temporary brace and I don't have the funds for the custom brace, so we just decided to do some more trimming and wait. Also, next week we will do x-rays again to see where we are for sure. The good news in all of this is Surprise is currently sound! No one ever expected her to be sound again from what I can tell. So while she still may never be a riding horse because that bone in her hock is deformed, if we can just stay on top of things, we may be able to keep her more comfortable than anyone ever thought possible. Only time will tell.

[Chero]

Sorry to hear about your vet, hoping he improves soon...
Thanks for all the wonderful updates on the twins, I havent posted alot just reading all the entries.

Sounds like your doing just a wonderful job in caring for the little ones and praying that everything will work out for everyone.

God Bless...

[pahobs]

Thanks for the update on the twins - I always enjoy hearing good news and of course, their many antics! Sounds like your vet is a great guy - hopefully he'll stay healthy too!

Hugs to you and the twins and their mommy.

[Marion]

I am so glad that Surprise is doing better. They sound like very fun foals to be around.
I hope everything works out for the best for all of you.