It is crazy that I haven't posted in almost five years. If you want an update on what has been going on in general, make sure to check out my other blog. As for Chrome, for the most part he has been a happy little pasture puff for the last five years. I stopped riding in 2020 because of the pandemic (my irrational fear had me too afraid to ride thinking I would get dumped and end up in a hospital where I would most definitely die of Covid because logic does not exist alongside phobias in my brain).
Chrome has had a few challenges. Around three years ago, he had a mild colic scare that cleared up by the time the vet arrived. Over the last few years he has had a summer sore on his fetlock that appears in the summer and gets worse every year. This summer, because it has been so wet, it suddenly became much worse and developed proud flesh. A vet recommended treating him with an ivermectin dewormer weekly for six weeks and gave me some topical medicine. I also bought some shoo fly boots (which I had hesitated on because I thought he would destroy them in a day).
To my surprise, he has not been at all bothered by his fly boots and has not taken them off once in the months he has been wearing them. The summer sore is not completely gone, but thanks to all of these things, it is healing up beautifully. It is not open at all anymore, but it will take a while before the scab is gone. He will definitely be wearing boots every summer from now on. He is so much happier and doesn't ruin his hooves stomping all day.
Just when I thought everything was on the way up, I had one of the scariest days I've ever had with him. It was a Sunday and my husband was blowing leaves off the roofs of the houses. He kept noticing Chrome standing under the tree by his water tank, but it was warm so he didn't think much of it at first. But by the time he finished cleaning the roofs, he noticed Chrome still had not moved and went to check on him. He could immediately tell something was off and went inside to get me (I had a migraine and was in bed).
I went outside and could tell he was in pain. He wasn't pawing or rolling, but he was listless, wouldn't accept food and his flanks were sucked up. We walked him around and he was very reluctant to walk, but not lame. Then he stretched out like he wanted to pee, but didn't pee. I was immediately calling vets. I called vets for three hours. I eventually got through to one, but she couldn't come out. I sent her a video of him and she said it didn't seem like colic (which is what I thought) and told me to go get ulcerguard.
I didn't know what else to do, so we headed off to Tractor Supply and I kept calling vets. I finally was able to reach a vet that I've used before, but he was three hours away on a farm call. I talked to him and told him in detail what was happening. He told me to go ahead and get the ulcerguard, but to also get some mylanta.
When we got back, Chrome still had not moved. We gave him the mylanta. Within ten minutes, he walked off like nothing had happened. He drank, peed, pooped and started eating hay. I was shocked!! Since he was acting better, the vet gave me advice on feeding, then set up an appointment for later in the week. We kept giving the ulcerguard and started feeding alfalfa pellets (I usually only feed it in the winter because he has grass in the summer). It was a long, stressful, agonizing wait for the vet appointment. Even though Chrome was back to acting normal, I couldn't help thinking worst case scenario, like what if he had melanomas that were causing intestinal blockages or something.
The vet came out and confirmed Chrome has gastric AND hindgut ulcers. I was relieved it was something treatable, but also devastated that I hadn't noticed something wrong earlier. He is not stoic. He is a total drama queen. So I would have expected to see some sort of sign of a problem before. I only realized in hind sight that the mild colic scare he had a few years ago was probably related to this. I am heartbroken that he might have had these for years. And the vet said they are not mild ulcers.
So we started his treatment. I have been endlessly researching ulcers because this is my first time dealing with them. Most recommendations for feeding and environment changes are things that I have always done. I feed hay 24/7, he is on turnout 24-7, he has company 24-7, I don't feed starchy grains (he has been on alfalfa, oil and soybean meal in the winter for years), he isn't ridden or stressed. The only things I can figure out that caused this are the frequent dewormer when treating his summer sores (it was about a month before this happened), not feeding the alfalfa in the summer (I will be feeding it year round now), stress from the summer heat and itching from his sweet itch and the bale of hay they were eating on was really dusty (which is weird because it came from the same cutting as the hay he had been eating all year) and they had stopped eating on it. I had noticed the bale was lasting longer than normal, but it had started raining again so I figured they were just eating more grass. I will be monitoring their consumption much closer from now on. I got rid of the rest of the bale (they ate about a third of it) and got a new one which they have been eating on like normal.
After being on the medication for a week and a half, I can see the difference already. Things I hadn't even noticed before. He is more eager for his meals (he has always trotted up and nickered for his food, but now he is almost beside himself with excitement). He is striding out better (I guess the change was so gradual that I hadn't noticed how sluggish he'd gotten). His coat is so much softer (probably also from the oil). And he is putting weight back on (he only lost weight since the colic scare day.. I had literally loved and scratched all over him the day before and he was completely normal with totally normal weight).
So it has been a heck of a few weeks and a huge learning curve. He has a follow up appointment in two months to see if his treatment needs to be extended. Also, Led Zeppelin is doing great. Although he was being a bit of a brat when Chrome didn't feel good, they are back to being best friends now.
I am so happy Chrome is okay. On a different note, can you believe how flea-bitten he has gotten?? And he is 16 years old! It is crazy that I've had both him and Zep for 16, almost 17 years.
Hug your ponies tight! I don't know how much I'll be posting on here since I'm so busy, but I'll try to share updates when I can. I doubt anyone even reads anymore, but I miss having a photo journal to look back on. Not to mention it helps to find dates and information I might need lol. I hope you all are doing well! I miss reading everyone's blogs. If anyone still reads or blogs and wants to update on how things have been with you, please drop a comment.
