Beauty, my black Morgan mare, was retested for her glucose and insulin levels, and they are down--way down. Her glucose level is normal, but her insulin levels are high normal. That's good, but we aren't out of the woods yet. Her vet, Dr. Wendy Weiberg, said that she expected to see Beauty's insulin level drop more over time. Hallelujah!
The other night, when I was out at Little Wing Stables (where I board Beauty), Brenda, the barn manager, said something startling.
"Beauty looks a little poufy."
What?
I looked at Beauty. She looked fine to me--trim and slim and sleek. Not poufy. Anywhere.
Brenda said she couldn't put her finger on it--it was more of a 'feeling' (that Beauty might relapse into another episode of laminitis). I didn't doubt her, not one little bit. That's because Brenda channels horses like some people channel the dead. I don't know if it was a certain way Beauty looked at her with those big brown eyes of hers, or if Brenda picked up on something the rest of us couldn't see.
"Take her off the grass hay in the evening," she said.
We've been feeding Beauty LMF Complete feed (12 pounds a day). She really didn't need the extra half flake of hay at night. Even though it was only a little bit, I still soaked it (to reduce the sugar content), and gave it to her as an extra 'filler', kind of like a pacifier one gives to a baby, or gum to a teenager.
Brenda bent over and felt Beauty's front feet. "She's got pulses," she said, "Faint, but they're there."
Darn! That was enough for me. No more hay--not even soaked. This horse simply cannot handle carbs.
Now a couple of days before Brenda's 'poufy' comment, the vet, Wendy Weiberg, came out and floated (filed) Beauty's teeth. She hadn't had her teeth floated for maybe 5 years. Geez, she should have had it done 3 years ago. I guess I just lost track of time. Horses' teeth grow continuously, and if not filed down every couple of years, they can grow so long it prevents them from chewing and digesting their food properly.
My bad. (And I did feel really, really bad!)
I had been so involved with Beauty's other health problems--taking preventive measures against or treating her laminitis episodes--that I completely forgot about her dental work.
Big mistake.
Dr. Wendy said Beauty had abscesses in her cheeks where her teeth had begun to dig into them. Poor baby.
Did I mention how awful I felt? That maybe my negligence might have contributed to her laminitis problems? ("It all starts in the gut and manifests in the feet," so says Lynn Seeley, her farrier who specializes in the laminitic horse).
So after Dr. Wendy took care of Beauty's dental work, she turned to Brenda and said, "Watch her feed now that she can eat better. You may have to cut it down."
Really? I didn't think Beauty had a problem with eating. Heck, she was maybe 150 pounds overweight when she had her first laminitis episode!
Everyone at Little Wing knows that Beauty is an 'eating machine.' She LOVES to eat and will eat everything in sight. She'll stick her nose into anything that even remotely resembles a pail, sandwich her head between the skinniest of fence boards, and even try to sneak a snack at a full trot when I'm exercising her in the round pen. Lately she's been trying to eat the grass on the other side of the fence, getting down on her knees (and putting her head under the fence) to get a single blade of errant Spring grass. She's even rubbed a 3-inch section of her mane completely off, leaving a raw spot where her mane used to be.
Whether or not Beauty was about to fall off a very dangerous cliff into another laminitis episode, I don't know. But her feet don't lie. Pulses. Damnable pulses--a telltale sign that laminitis still lurks within, waiting to rear its ugly head again.
Beauty will never be completely well. Like diabetes, it is a chronic condition controlled by diet. A snatch of grass here and there, a crunch or two of hay, or an apple once in a while isn't a big deal, but a continuous, steady intake of carbs would throw her delicate system off balance.
Brenda, as usual, was right. No one in their right mind would argue with the 'horse channeler,' because, in the end, it's what's good for the horse that matters. Where horses are concerned, it's always better to err on the side of caution. And to follow Brenda's directives.
Beauty is doing really great today. She gets her daily round pen exercise to help build her muscles back up from so many months of inactivity. The LMF Complete (the only thing she eats) is a Godsend, as is Brenda, who I dearly love and appreciate for all her knowledge and know-how. Thanks to her, I'm thinking of hitching Beauty up on Sunday and taking her for a spin around the arena. Who knows, maybe we'll drive down the road apiece and check out the neighbors.
See y'all!
What?
I looked at Beauty. She looked fine to me--trim and slim and sleek. Not poufy. Anywhere.
Brenda said she couldn't put her finger on it--it was more of a 'feeling' (that Beauty might relapse into another episode of laminitis). I didn't doubt her, not one little bit. That's because Brenda channels horses like some people channel the dead. I don't know if it was a certain way Beauty looked at her with those big brown eyes of hers, or if Brenda picked up on something the rest of us couldn't see.
"Take her off the grass hay in the evening," she said.
We've been feeding Beauty LMF Complete feed (12 pounds a day). She really didn't need the extra half flake of hay at night. Even though it was only a little bit, I still soaked it (to reduce the sugar content), and gave it to her as an extra 'filler', kind of like a pacifier one gives to a baby, or gum to a teenager.
Brenda bent over and felt Beauty's front feet. "She's got pulses," she said, "Faint, but they're there."
Darn! That was enough for me. No more hay--not even soaked. This horse simply cannot handle carbs.
Now a couple of days before Brenda's 'poufy' comment, the vet, Wendy Weiberg, came out and floated (filed) Beauty's teeth. She hadn't had her teeth floated for maybe 5 years. Geez, she should have had it done 3 years ago. I guess I just lost track of time. Horses' teeth grow continuously, and if not filed down every couple of years, they can grow so long it prevents them from chewing and digesting their food properly.
My bad. (And I did feel really, really bad!)
I had been so involved with Beauty's other health problems--taking preventive measures against or treating her laminitis episodes--that I completely forgot about her dental work.
Big mistake.
Dr. Wendy said Beauty had abscesses in her cheeks where her teeth had begun to dig into them. Poor baby.
Did I mention how awful I felt? That maybe my negligence might have contributed to her laminitis problems? ("It all starts in the gut and manifests in the feet," so says Lynn Seeley, her farrier who specializes in the laminitic horse).
So after Dr. Wendy took care of Beauty's dental work, she turned to Brenda and said, "Watch her feed now that she can eat better. You may have to cut it down."
Really? I didn't think Beauty had a problem with eating. Heck, she was maybe 150 pounds overweight when she had her first laminitis episode!
Everyone at Little Wing knows that Beauty is an 'eating machine.' She LOVES to eat and will eat everything in sight. She'll stick her nose into anything that even remotely resembles a pail, sandwich her head between the skinniest of fence boards, and even try to sneak a snack at a full trot when I'm exercising her in the round pen. Lately she's been trying to eat the grass on the other side of the fence, getting down on her knees (and putting her head under the fence) to get a single blade of errant Spring grass. She's even rubbed a 3-inch section of her mane completely off, leaving a raw spot where her mane used to be.
Whether or not Beauty was about to fall off a very dangerous cliff into another laminitis episode, I don't know. But her feet don't lie. Pulses. Damnable pulses--a telltale sign that laminitis still lurks within, waiting to rear its ugly head again.
Beauty will never be completely well. Like diabetes, it is a chronic condition controlled by diet. A snatch of grass here and there, a crunch or two of hay, or an apple once in a while isn't a big deal, but a continuous, steady intake of carbs would throw her delicate system off balance.
Brenda, as usual, was right. No one in their right mind would argue with the 'horse channeler,' because, in the end, it's what's good for the horse that matters. Where horses are concerned, it's always better to err on the side of caution. And to follow Brenda's directives.
Beauty is doing really great today. She gets her daily round pen exercise to help build her muscles back up from so many months of inactivity. The LMF Complete (the only thing she eats) is a Godsend, as is Brenda, who I dearly love and appreciate for all her knowledge and know-how. Thanks to her, I'm thinking of hitching Beauty up on Sunday and taking her for a spin around the arena. Who knows, maybe we'll drive down the road apiece and check out the neighbors.
See y'all!
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