Kazi and Bones are too playful! At the last place we we're boarding at, there was a time that I had them in a pasture with only them two in it. Bones got these bad cuts on his throatlatch alll of the time from them playing. It got to the point that his throatlatch became swollen and I had to seperate them. They don't get aggressive, but wounds definitely show up! Lately, I've been noticing more and more bite marks on them both. I think all of the boys in their field like to pick on each other.
Today I found a dime-sized nick on Bones' right front. It's not very bad, but cuts bellow the knee always worry me. I felt for heat, doctored it up, and did a quick lunge. There is slight heat, and he trots sound. I really don't think it's that big of a deal, definitely nothing to call the vet over.
I rode Kazi bareback for a few minutes today. When I started to trot him, he hollowed out his back really bad and was hesitant to go forward. So, I got off and lunged him to see if he was off. He looked fine to me, but it's honestly hard to tell on the crappy arena footing we have (pea gravel). I'm also horrible at spotting lameness unless it's quite obvious, so that doesn't help! I walked him over to the hitching post and examined his back. He dips it down when I rub along his loin. He has an old cut there, from a few months ago.. but it still seems sore. I definitely want to find a chiropractor. But it's SO HARD to find one! If anyone lives in Central, OH and has an Equine Chiro that they want to share, let me know! ;)
Click here to see a video of me "examining" Kazi's back, and Kazi lunging.
Click here to see a video of me "examining" Kazi's back, and Kazi lunging.
I ordered a few supplement taste test for the boys. (Side note: I LOVE supplement shopping!) I got Tri-Amino for Kazi to assist in gaining some muscle, particularly a topline since his is none existent! Mega-Cell for both of them. I think it would be a good idea to put them on a good multi-vitamin. And, SmartFlex 1 for Bones. Right now they are both on the maintenance dose of MSM, but I think I want Bones on something a little more heavy-duty.
Today I added the Tri-Amino to Kazi's grain, plus the 2 scoops of MSM he gets (he is still on the loading dose, soon he will go down to 1 scoop). He eats the MSM just fine. But, he only ate about half of his grain today. The Tri-Amino doesn't have a bad odor (to me) at all. It's kind of like a chocolate/coffee smell. I ended up keeping him in the stall tonight to see if he will go back to it. If he ends up not liking it, I'll probably just add 1/8 cups corn oil to his feed to make the supplements stick to the grain. I did this with the Cough Free he was on, which had a STRONG odor, and it worked great. I didn't try the other supplements yet, when I do.. I'll report on them!
If the back is that sore to the touch, it would certainly want to hollow out for work. Sorry I am nowhere near OH. Good chiropractors for horses are hard to find most places. Many are called, but few are as good as they claim. I've learned that the hard way.
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