Post-Hawaii Drama.

So, where did I leave off? Allie wasn't coughing anymore, and needed a clip.

Ok, well I went on holidays to Hawaii for two weeks so Allie sat around spelling while I was overseas. I got back last Friday and rode on Saturday. We had a little jump and she went well. I put her back in her grassy yard up the back of the property afterwards because her front yard is basically dirt and I don;t like paying for hay if I don't have to.

Well, the rides we have had after puttin gher back in the grassy yard have progressivly gotten worse with the coughing. I'm so frustrated!! So, back to the dirt yard and back on hay again. She will have the next couple of days off as I'll be at work and I'll see how she is on Friday. Grrrr.

I got the vet bill while I was away for all the investigation of this stupid cough - $1329.65!! And she is still coughing! I'm pissed to be honest.If she needs steroids then she should have gotten them a long time ago.

Now, I'm hoping she comes good as we've got our first away event on the 28th which I desperately don't want to scratch from. Every time I get going with this horse some other shit happens. I am so sick of it. Am I just want her to be happy and healthy! She friging deserves it after everything she has been through.

Anyway, I ave her a light lunge today then had a go with our brand new set of clippers I bought. She was really good! Shes been clipped before but never without sedation. I got her left front and shoulder and neck done. She was super good, I'm proud of her.

Not too bad for my first ever time using big arse bloody clippers.

She's not particularly impressed.

I wish I had better news for you guys. :(

Positive

So Allie was a good girl and had her bute over the weekend and on Monday Natalie hopped aboard (I've hurt my neck pretty bad) to test her out.

She went amazingly. Had more energy and forward than what she's had on a long time. And best yet, not one single cough.

Not a one!

I was super pleased. Her nostrils were clear the very next day too so hopefully that's the end of that. No news from the vets from the last trachea wash yet though.

So, she's been having a few things happening under saddle that said to me she needed body work done. She's been finding it hard to bend away from my left leg, and will trail her left hind in on the straight. She's also been toe striking on the hinds occasionally even after a trim. I've been trying to get in with this one therapist for quite a while and we managed to match schedules yesterday so Allie finally got a treatment.

She had quite a bit going on. Right pectoral has an old injury with scarring that is causing tightness in that shoulder and neck. Her nuchal ligament was not aligned which was causing it to flick o er her wither when she moved her neck side to side. She was tight in her left ribs and her whole left hind from loin to hock was out and tight. She released everything and you could see she stood much better afterwards. I'm excited to ride her next to see how she feels.

Next thing to get done now we've had teeth and body sorted is to get her clipped. We may be attempting to clip her ourselves this year. Hopefully we do an OK job!

Vets AGAIN!!!

Ok, where did we leave off? Was it when I told you guys that the results of the last trachea wash were contaminated so the whole procedure had to be repeated?

Yeah. Very frustrating.

Poor Allie was dragged back to the vets on Friday and had another sedation and trachea wash. She was pretty good for it, but didn't want to load into the float to go home which is unusual. I think she was still a little drunk and didn't know that I was going to leave her on there for a little while until she sobered up.

Her throat looked better, there was less mucous. The vet (a different vet from Tuesday) commented that there was quite a lot of particles low down her trachea possibly from breathing in in the float as I had some shavings in there and I had gotten hay with the float a few weeks before and I hadn't swept it out yet. Maybe that's why the results were contaminated?

She also said it looks like Allie is significantly better and just had a sore throat with some inflammation that might be causing the continued cough so she gave me some bute to give over the weekend to try to settle that and I'm to give her some work on Monday to see how she goes. The vet says I shouldn't scratch from my next comp (Mudgee ode on the 28th May) just yet.

So that's positive. Hopefully she feels significantly better and she can have some light work from friends while I'm in Hawaii for two weeks and then I can come back and work on some xc jumping then go have some fun at Mudgee! Keep your fingers crossed that Allie is feeling heaps better, she deserves it after all this vet work.

Trachea Wash

When I went to pick up Allie today she had quite a lot of discharge (she had even been rubbing it all over her legs). She coughed a couple times while getting ready to go.

Once we got there the vet checked her vitals and noted her elevated respiratory rate. She then had a bit of a trot and canter in the round yard to get some mucous cleared. She coughed quite a few times in there. Poor thing.

She was sedated and they put the scope in again. They took some more mucous (there was so much more than last time she was scoped) and it's being sent away again for another culture and a sensitivity test to find out which antibiotics are the right ones to treat it.

Allie was a gem the whole time, as per usual.

A couple of screenshots from the video my sister took of when the vet was trying to insert the tube into the gutteral pouch. If you guys wanna see the video let me know and I'll upload it, it's super boring.

Vets again

Back to the vets again tomorrow for Allie for another trachea wash to make sure the bacteria is all gone. If so, steroids for Allie.

The vet sounded like it would be a simple thing. Maybe I'm letting my imagination run away with me thinking she has rao.

Hopefully. It's hard not to be all doom and gloom when it comes to Allie because of her history. Poor thing.

Allie Airways

So Allie finished her antibiotics and has had a few rides as per vet instructions.

She has not handled the work at all. :(

Her coughing is now producing mucous. She coughs 10-20 times under saddle during a 30-40 minute ride. And one or two times while being tacked up.

I really think she has recurrent airway obstruction. I hope not because honestly, WHY. She's never stabled, she eats a feed that is wet down, she's on grass.

She still has the itch too. Maybe it's her whole immune system having issues?

Who bloody knows. I'll be on the phone to the vet tomorrow. Poor Allie.

Wings

Ok so while Allie was off this week I built some bigger jump wings. They're a little bit dodgy but they will do for now.

Today was the day I had to test ride Allie after her antibiotics. She has had a little discharge from both nostrils the last two days but today under saddle she only coughed twice, both mildly. I'll call the vet tomorrow to see what she thinks about the discharge but I think it's sinus related, mild secondary infection that she's fought off.

Anyway, to celebrate riding again poor Allie got to jump. And Natalie kept putting it up higher and Allie kept jumping it until we found ourselves jumping a meter. That's 3'3" to you imperial people.

And I wasn't nervous or worried about that height at all! I was, however, rusty and Allie needed more room to approach a fence that height properly than what we have in that little riding yard. But I was super pleased with her try, there's no dirt in her at all.

I just need to learn how to release.