Sicko Neko

 

My poor horse! Neko has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease- like every member of our household at one point or another. At least we know what has been plaguing her.

About a month ago now, out of the blue, Neko came up lame. I initially attributed it to our change of blacksmiths (*1) . Sometimes, a small difference in angle of foot or a tad too much taken one side of the hoof or the other results in foot soreness. But her soreness persisted. She was definitely off in her left hind when I tried riding her; then the "fun" (*2) began, attempting to pin point what exactly was up.

"My head! My stomach! My feet! My hips!", Neko seems to be saying. Oy! Anyway, several experts were invited over and weighed in. There was discussion of perhaps she had fallen in the field- Bob saw a major skid mark that could have caused a seriously wrenched hip or back. One of my riding instructors thought it might be her stifle (*3), my new barefoot trimmer thought it might be her hocks. We tried using hoof boots... she was still limping. In fact, she seemed to be limping all over. She was also looking glum, like that picture above. Not the usual animated, evil Neko who is full of (charming) attitude. It was suggested that I call a chiropractor.

But I had my intuitions. I was not entirely convinced that it was physical. If I called a horsey chiropractor (read "expensive") and had her manipulated, but it was systemic, I'd still be screwed- as well as poor Neko. I suspected Lyme and called the vet. I was right. Her numbers were seriously elevated, proof that she has Lyme.

So Neko is now three days into treatment and being a VERY good patient! She was a little hesitant when I delivered her first dose of apple-flavored doxycycline to her, smothered in grated carrots, grain, alfalfa pellets and molasses but I hand fed her and she seemed to think it must be safe if I was administering to her. Since that first batch, she's consumed all her food (hooray) (*4). Only 27 more days to go!!

(*1) Don't get me started on the perfidy of blacksmiths!! And rudeness! Good grief! We trust these individuals to care for horses, and do what's right by them. The last two have been doozies; yes, they came recommended, but one suggested I euthanize Maggie three years ago (and she's till going semi-strong, according to two veterinarians) and the other totally blew me off for over three weeks, resulting in over grown toes and ouchy feet!

(*2) Not fun! It's all a bit of a guessing game and they can't tell you what happened or why they hurt!

(*3) And I was assured you do NOT want it to be her stifle. The stifle is a mysterious joint sort of like our knee, on their hind legs, that gets messed up and hey presto! horse can become lame for life and career over. 

(*4) The alternative is to force feed it to her in a syringe, injecting this paste into her mouth twice a day for a full month. You can only imagine the "fun" (more fun!) trying to dose her thusly when they get smart to what's coming.