This Stunning Creature

I am super biased.

That tail is finally recovering from Tail-Eating-Fence-2012

I think my horse is just the most beautiful creature on the planet. In reality, she is just a ncely put together pretty faced bay mare.

Nothing like a clean popo with a fresh trim and a banged tail!

But I could stare at that horse all day long. Every day when I get to the paddock, I look at my horse and just think wow. I am so lucky to have a horse like that!

Yes, I am rather lovey, aren't I?

Today, I spent a couple of hours waddling around the paddock doing a couple of chores. After I fed them breakfast, I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed one of Allie's cotton combo rugs clean, hung it on the fence, then got Allie out and washed her. I scrubbed her mane and tail (which she LOVES), and conditioned them both with a protien conditioner. I washed her face (which she was not so pleased about). I sprayed detangler in her tail and combed it out. I even trimmed her tail AND did a hack job of trimming her mane.

She keeps rubbing out the centre of her mane. I think she has found a favorite rubbing spot.

Then, after a green pick to dry off, I popped her back in her yard, made her run around a bit to try to get some video (which uploaded to Youtube sideways?), then rugged her up again to help stop her scrubbing her mane and tail out.

Her scar is looking excellent!

It was awesome just to spend an hour or so pottering around with my pony again, :)

So, we went to the vet...

Oh my goodness. Well, I hauled Allie to the vet yesterday for a check up and to see WHY she is continuing to suffer from snot-sposions on and off for months.

I was by myself and didn't anticipate any issues, but hauling your horse to the vet at 30 weeks pregnant is harder than it sounds ;p

My float has a canvas dust cover that needs to be rolled up when you use the float, and I normally just jump up and sit on the butt bars and roll it up that way. But that was 20kg ago... Pulling myself up on the butt bars and then balancing on them while trying to roll up the dust cover would have been rather amusing to watch. I had to laugh at myself. At least this situation is temporary?

Hooking up was OK, but I had to sit on the ground to plug in the little electrics terminal thing and to attach the safety chain. Because I can't bend, because there is a 1.5kg child in the way. Then I had to get up off the ground.

After all this I was puffing. LOL!!

She was in a total mood too. When I caught her, a big log truck came down the driveway past her yard. I thought she would just throw her head up in the air because she's normally quiet, but no. While I was holding her she reared straight up into the air over and over and was striking!! What a wench! I forgot for a moment that I am pregnant and I got stuck into her for it (growling, pulling her down with the lead) and when she came back down to earth she looked rather sheepish.

Putting on her shipping boots was fun too. She acted like it was the first time she has worn boots on the hinds..kicking out, dancing and hopping between her hind legs. I was like "ugh. Horse. Can you not?".

After all this I thought she would be a wench to load but she remembered all the hours of float training I've put into her and marched straight on and was very mentally in the float, if you know what I mean. No thinking about rushing off.

She travelled a little worse than normal though. Normally you can't even tell there is a horse in there, but yesterday she was shuffling and stamping a bit. We got there safe and unloaded like a polite seasoned pony though, so that's good.

First up, after sedation, she got an oral exam. They were really pleased - made comments like "that pack feels really solid in there" and "teeth feel good!". She did have some feed stuck between her teeth/pack and her cheek, so they flushed that.

They gave her teeth a quick float too. Better to do little and often. She is good for the dentist for another 6 months now.

Then I had to waddle out of the room so they could take rads. She needed another sedation because she kept throwing her head. I think she's sick of people poking and prodding her.

The rads looked good! The teeth haven't changed at all since last time. Christine doesn't want to touch them - she said we could remove the one in front orally but she has no idea how to get the one behind out because it's curved like a banana. Apparently she has consulted with a top dental vet in QLD who has told her to leave the teeth alone, "don't touch them". So we are very very happy that they aren't dying. If they were going to, we would have seen changes by now. WHAHOO!!!

The reason for all the on/off discharge? Her sinus cavity is chock full of scar tissue, which is reactive and sensitive. This is not a surprise at all to be honest.

What's the fix? More surgery, she said she would "have to scoop the tissue out like ice cream with a scoop". Which could mean even more scar tissue in the end.

For now, it doesn't affect her quality of life at all. She doesn't react to the discharge, except if it tickles her she will wipe it on her leg. Christine said if I was happy to manage it with occasional antibiotics and other management, then her recommendation is to leave Allie the way she is.

We both agreed that the surgery, while saving her life, also improved her quality of life overall too. Previous to the surgery, Allie would go off her feed at the drop of a hat, it was harder to keep weight on her. We think she suffered from headaches or it was painful to eat. Since the day of surgery, her appetite has been AMAZING. She eats everything I out in front of her.

Only one thing left to see now - how much this whole thing limits her performance. I think I need to scale back my hopes and dreams for her - if she can't breathe optimally I can't expect her to gallop cross country and jump while doing so. Hopefully we can do dressage, trails, maybe lower level eventing and some show jumping. I'll have to play it by ear and see how she goes.

Overall, while the whole situation has been heartbreaking and devastating for me, I am happy with the result and feel it has all been worth it. The horse is perfectly happy, and she is ALIVE which I am so so so grateful for. I've been allowed to keep my heart horse with me, when some others have had them tragically taken away. This outcome is more than what I ever dared hope for.

I took a little video, which you will probably have to copy and paste because I'm posting from the Blogger app on my phone. You'll notice I can't articulate myself well anymore - apparently that's pregnancy for you.

http://youtu.be/BYFjq4MqkaI

I'm really, really happy.

Perspective

Today I re-read a bunch of papers that were written about horses that had odontomas similar to Allie's.

Gosh it put things into persective for me. So far, Allie has had one surgery, 5 days at the vets post surgery, then 2 weeks at the vets about 2 months after surgery when the pack slipped and they had to flush her sinus. She hasn't had to have any teeth removed (yet, keep your fingers crossed) and is doing well except for this on again off again snotty nostril. Plus, she was 7 years old when first diagnosed.

So, with that in mind, here's some case studies of other horses:

• A 9 month old quarter horse colt had one in his lower jaw. During surgery, they broke his jaw removing the mass and 2 teeth. The poor thing had to be fed through a tube for 21 days. He was discharged 49 days after the surgery. 3 years after surgery, the horse had no issues with mastication.

• An 11 month old quarter horse filly had an odontoma in the same place Allie did - the upper jaw. She had a similar surgery to Allie, through the sinus. They removed the mass and one tooth. She started to bleed out during surgery (just like Allie) and so they closed her up and gave her a blood transfusion. Rads after this showed that they had left some of the mass behind, so a second surgery was scheduled 21 days after the first. They removed the rest of the mass, plus 3 additional teeth! 150 days later, she had another procedure to tidy up (abnormal tissue was removed via currettage) and a dental bridge was installed (which was later removed when the hole filled in with granulation tissue and bone). 4 years after the initial surgery, there was no return of the odontoma, the horse had no problems with mastication and maintaining body condition, but had to have her dentals done every 6 months (undertandable, with 4 teeth missing).

So, what does this tell me? Allie is extremely lucky - she hasn't has any teeth removed yet (hopefully it stays that way) but only 2 teeth looked fishy to the vet anyway. She is still recovering. Her appetite is amazing (considering how easily she used to go off her feed all the time pre-diagnosis). She is fat, happy and just waiting around for me to pop this kid.

I can't wait now to get her next check up done, get some rads, see how it is all healing. See what the next steps are.

Plus, I really should get the all clear on that let hind suspensory - we never ended up getting it checked because she still hasn't returned to full work!

This is just a major bump in the road - but we are at the top, teetering on the edge of the fun ride down the other side.

Just a little general update on things that have been going on around here.

Nostril Roller Coaster

Allie's nostril sort of cleared up - then this afternoon it was pretty snotty and a bit stinky again. It is like she heals just enough to stop me taking her to the vet and then has another issue a half a week later. This time, it might have been caused by the weather again - Sunday we had a 45 degree day (113F) and then yesterday afternoon we got a windy, thundery rainy storm roll through. Might have whipped up a bit of dust up there? God knows. I'll give it a few days and see how it settles. And no, I am not dealing well with this but I am trying to ignore my anxiety.

Preggo Lady Stuff

So I am 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant now.

I feel enormous.

The baby kicks and rolls and moves ALL DAY LONG. I thought they were supposed to sleep sometimes? I had a glucose tolerance test this morning to check for gestational diabetes. If I am negative, I won't hear anything. If I am positive, I will get the result at my next midwife appointment.  I had three bloods taken. It was not nice. You had better appreciate this, kid.

We have bought a bassinet and a cot/change table duo. It looks fancy in the room.

Pretty...

Joey

Joey is continuing to get better with the training we are doing (as am I). The biggest thing we are working on is impulse control. He's getting there.

My little kitchen helper.

He had a play date with some other puppies at the dog park for the first time a couple of weekends ago. He had a blast.

See that happy white puppy on the left there?

He was super pooped after.

Gracie

Gracie hasn't been doing much of anything either - she has been a bit sore over the back. She had her teeth done, had a massage, and is now waiting for Nat to find the time to get her back in work.

First time getting her teeth done without sedation. She was such a good sport about it! This dentist was a gem - I think she is going to be Gracie's lifetime dentist.

In Other Horrific News...

One of my trimming clients was towing 2 horses with a friend when a tyre on the float blew out, flipping the float on it's side on a freeway going probably about 80-90km/h (50-55 mph). The horses were trapped and had to be cut out of the float via the roof. Both horses are ok - have some deep gashes and some brusing and will be sore for a while. But they are fine.

The people are fine too - very shaken, horrified and incredibly sad. The driver (my client) has been accused (on Facebook, by strangers) of being drunk, speeding or driving while tired. That she somehow did something wrong and that is why this happened. Unbelieveable! This could happen to any one of us. Any one. It just happened to her and the poor woman needs to heal from that. Why does the horse community turn on each other so easily?

Also, her float was towed off the freeway at the closest exit and just dumped on the side of the road by the freeway operators. This is ridiculous. I'm outraged and horrified and angry on her behalf over the whole ordeal. I hope nothing like this happens to anyone I know (or to me!) ever again. The people and the horses are so lucky to be alive, let alone to escape with relatively minor injuries.

This is just terrifying...

Allie Stresses Me Out

I'm going to put pictures of Allie at comps in this post to make myself feel better worse.

Look at me. So happy. So Naive

 
Ugh. So Allie has had a snotty nose for about 4 weeks now. Started off in both nostrils (I thiught it was a cold she had picked up), then after a week it moved to just the left nostril, never been particularly bad or particularly smelly. Slight odour, sometimes stronger, sometimes not. She has been eating normally this whole time.

Because it wasn't going away, I emailed the vet and she has put her on 10 days of antibiotics. Two days in, and the discharge is getting worse.

So pretty all clipped with a false tail in.

I'm trying to save judgement until after the course finishes. But I can't help thinking that it might be those teeth causing issues.

I hope they aren't dying. Poo bum sticks.

FANTASTIC NEWS!!!

For those playing along with Complex Odontoma Watch 2014:

Allie is at the vet last Friday for a check up.



The vet said that she is so glad that they did not go back in for a second surgery - the scar/granulation tissue is healing properly in there, the teeth look unchanged from last xray (i.e. no deterioration), the recent lump out the side of her face was the second pack that they put in - she didn’t need it anymore so they removed it. The first pack is still in there so they left it and it will act as a grinding surface for the opposite teeth. The vet is VERY PLEASED with the way she is healing and said “mother nature is doing a better job than I ever could have if we had intervened”.



She said that I don’t need to bring her back for checkups again unless something changes.



Could it be? Could we finally be at the light at the end of the tunnel? Do I dare hope? I feel like I shouldn't hope yet. That horse has broken my heart thoroughly and I feel like I need to protect myself.

But what awesome news to get.

On a more positive note...

Today, both in the morning AND in the evening, Allie did not have any nasal discharge and no crusties AND ate ALL her breakfast and her dinner straight away!

My life right now - days like today are awesome. The pack is still jutting out the side of her face (i.e. moved) and she seems to have a new lump under her eye where a stitch used to be (possible infection?) that I am keeping an eye on but she seems happy. Every time I turn up she neighs like crazy for me. <3 p="">

It's Hard

It's hard to wait for something that you know might not happen.

But it's even harder to give up when you know it is everything you want.

Oh, So You Thought You Were Healing?

Guess what I am doing right now? I'm waiting for the vet to call me while I watch Allie and missing work because she had a bleeding nose this morning. UGH.

After coming home she was actually doing quite well but this morning I came out to feed her before work and there was a trickle of blood coming from high up in her nostril. Obviously from the surgery site.

It seems to have stopped for now but FAR OUT I AM SO OVER THIS SHIT. Horse just heal already! I can't deal with much more. :(

Coming Home

Cross post from Facebook. Totally sums it up for me.

:(

The hole won't close. The tooth is front is dying.

She goes in for another surgery on Tuesday.

I'm devastated all over again.

Do I title ths one 'Poor Allie"? Because that is all I can thnk right now...

Gosh, where do I start.


Over the last few days, Allie's lump hasn't gone away but her nasal discharge has increrased and so has the bad smell. This morning I hauled her over to the vets for Christine to check her.

Never ending vet visits wear us out.

First up was a radiograph. The teeth don't look good. Both the tooth behind and the tooth in front look unusual. We still don't know if they will die and need to be removed or if they will live and be fine.Time will only tell. Basically, if they do have to come out,  the two teeth plus the tumour leaves a big gap to try to encourage to close. It would mean surgery, lots of flushing, $$$$$. We do not want to go down that path if we don't have to. It is quite serious (serious-er?) if she needs those teeth removed.

After the rads, she had a scan done over the area to see what was causing the lump. Infection, possibly from a small piece of bone that had lost blood supply and died we think, or maybe the teeth are the insidious cause of it all. She then had an oral exam which looked good, however Christine could feel that tooth in front has a small depression that may be a sign that the tooth may die.

After the oral exam, Christine ended up having to cut a small hole with a scalpel and then inserted one of her surgery tools to make the hole bigger inside to get through to the sinus. She then spent about 20 minutes pulling out some of the pack, some sinew, and quite a bit of old food material that is getting in there from the mouth. She went looking for the piece of bone but she doesn't think she got it.

After this, Christine flushed out the sinus/mouth with two bags of saline and then squirted aqueous penicillin in over the area. There was blood, stinky food and snot everywhere.

Poor Allie. She got pain relief and had been sedated but she was so damn good about the whole process. That experience must have been terrifying and even under sedation she did lift her head high a coupke of timez and looked very worried in her eye but she held it together. She is amazing. Just a superstar.

Christine wanted me to leave her there over the weekend so that they can flush her on Saturday and again on Sunday. Hit it hard. Hopefully by flushng and keeping it clean, the small hole that is allowing passage of food will be able to close over and her sinus can finally dry up and hopefully those teeth hang on and decide they aren't going to keel over and quit this life for good. So I left her at the clinic, because emotionally right now I am rubbish and I need to know that I have done everything possible to give this horse the best chance of recovery. What else can I do?

One of the other vets was discussing the case with me and she said that Allie is very very lucky to have me and Christine/Derek (the other surgeon). "Not many owners would do what you have done, and not many surgeons would have attempted that surgery at all" were her words. That really brought home the seriousness, the gravity of the situation for Allie. Emotionally, I am not good today. I have taken the day off work to just lay in bed and chill out. I have my first uni exam next week and I hve picked up a cold too. So today is for me I have decided.

This has been a depressing post. Sorry guys.

Emails

Hi Christine,

I thought I would shoot you an email with how Allie is doing and a couple of questions I have.
She finished her sulfa on Thursday 15th. The whole time she has had normal vitals (except today, temp was 37.1 which I thought was a little low) and has been a great eater and very happy in herself. Both nostrils had some discharge but the left one was worse and it still hasn't cleared up completely. Even this morning there was some yellow gunky discharge again.
Her scar looks amazing in my opinion. There has been no rubbing but I have noticed sweat crystals on it quite often which I assume is because that area is hotter because of the healing.

My questions are:
- should we be worried that her left nostril is still having pretty consistent discharge? It doesn't smell foul, just like she has a cold (if that makes sense) but the odour is definetly different to her other nostril.

- there are three little stitches showing in the scar, in the top under her eye and in each of the 'corners'. Are we just leaving those alone? I assume they are dissolving stitches but they aren't dissolving because they are exposed.

Thanks

Lisa.

___________________

Hi Lisa

 

Thanks for update.

 

Don’t worry about low temp – not unusual at all, especially as gets cooler at night.

If the discharge does not get any worse let’s just watch it.  It was definitely coming from her trachea on scope last time. Even if it is coming from her sinus, we often see this post sinus surgery  for a couple of months.  Unless things change, let’s hold to the 6-8 week recheck plan.

 

The sweat may be because it is hotter, but may also be a regional nerve that has been disrupted or irritated!  Not much we can do about that.

 

The sutures in the common are not unusual – the corners are the hardest to get to heal.  The sutures are absorbable and will take care of themselves.  They are slow to dissolve, and if I can get them out next time she is here I will. They will continue to dissolve even though are exposed, just maybe at a slower rate. They are a monofilament and not irritating, so I am not fussed.

 

Sounds like things are still going as well as I could hope.  I think the next challenge will be to see what that tooth does.  It will take some time for it to decide to heal or become sicker (the tooth that is).

 

Keep me posted

 

Christine

___________________

PHEW!

I am totally tacking up tonight and having a whirl around the round yard. I'll let you know how she goes guys!!

Check Up - Good News!

I am SO EXCITED.

Went for her 10 day checkup this morning. She has picked up a runny nose and a cough which they scoped her for - it's just a cold, so more paste for that poor horse.

The stitches came out. She looks good! I'll have to get a shot of the scar so I can show you guys.

The radiographs look good - her sinus is nice and clear. The tooth behind, however, looks a little messy. We don't know if that tooth will stay or not. Only time will tell.

She had the wavemouth floated down a little too.

Christine said after she comes off the antibiotics (10 day course) she can have 7-10 days rest and then she can start doing some light work. I am so happy!!

There is still a tiny part of me that is too scared to think everything will be ok, like I will curse her if I think she will be fine. I can't make it go away. I guess it will go away with time.

So happy!!!

Ta daaa

Ta da is the opposite of how I feel however. Poor pony.

It's healing well. Hopefully she won't rub her face overnight and I'll find her in the same state tomorrow morning.

It doesn't look too bad. Not too assymetrical.

More Boring Vet Pics

Just some pics from our visit today. She was super perky!

Another Update

Christine just called me. Allie ate all her dinner last night! I can't believe it!

They pulled half the pack out yesterday and the rest today. There was almost no bleeding involved. She was radiographed and Christine said there was a big feeling of relief as radiographically it looks like they got it all!!!!!!

After that they put the gag on her and the dental pack seems to be holding well. On Monday she's going to scope her to see if there is any food getting through to the sinus and if not then she can come home - huzzah!! If there is then there may need to be some flushing so that means a longer hospital stay.

She is being taken off the injectable antibiotics and being put onto pasted sulprim (she hates it). She is only getting bite once a day now.

I'm still holding my breath but I'm astounded with how well this is all going. So far so good! All your prayers and good vibes and thoughts are working guys. Thank you so much.

I'm off to visit Allie this afternoon. More piccies then.

Visit

Visited her in hospital just now. She seemed OK. Very quiet but a little perky. Didn't want to finish her carrot, I think she got a bit in a sore spot and wasn't interested after.

Got to see what they pulled out. Are you ready? Scroll down the bottom (I think) to see.

Poor pony girl.

Post Op

So the surgery went as well as can be expected. Complicated by about 4 litres of blood loss, the visibility wasn't great. Christine is fairly confident they got most of it if not all. Some of it broke away easily, almost in their fingers. Much of it had to be chiseled away.

Her two teeth behind it are fine - good to stay. The tooth in front, however, is questionable. It was wrapped in the tumour and while chiseling they thought they would have to remove the tooth too but all of a sudden the tumour came away and left the tooth intact - however there is a massive hole there now so whether the tooth stays or goes only time will tell. The hope is packed with a dental Paco for now, while we wait for her to heal the hole with granulation tissue. There is an infection in that tooth too but hopefully that resolves.

Cosmetically, her facial ridge on that side is gone. It was riddled with the tumour. She will look like she whacked her face on a pole once it's all healed. I'm OK with that for now.

All up surgery took about 2.5 hours. The bleeding was the only complication however she didn't require a transfusion as her vitals were all fine especially her blood pressure.

In recovery she was impatient to stand and once up she was very unstable. She keeps rubbing the surgery site so they have had to wrap it. Her sinus is stuffed full of gauze to stop the bleeding. They don't think she likes the feeling and that's why she's rubbing.

Overnight she did well - vitals all good. She's not eating well of course. What else is new?

I'm seeing her this afternoon. Might be able to take her for a little walk if the vets say I can. If not, just a scratch and hugs for her.

Thurs or Fri her sinus packing comes out. Once out they will take more xrays to see what they have got and to have a benchmark to compare to.

As for me, I feel like I'm holding my breath. Hopefully the worst part is over. I'm always thinking of her. Hoping she isn't in too much pain. I know she is in the very best hands and I have placed my faith in the vets and in the powers that be to get us through. So far, so good.

Here We Go...

Just got a call from Christine the vet. It went a little something like this:

C: Hello Lisa. Nothings wrong. I'm just calling to let you know that we are starting her in a half an hour and also to check that you're all OK.
L: oh thank you. Yeah I'm OK surprisingly. How long do you think it will take?
C: oh, to be honest we have to see how we go when we get in there.
L: my husband had a dream last night that it took 6 hours.
C: oh god no! Gosh I hope not. Probably closer to two hours. If there is anything wrong I'll call you while she's on the table, if not I'll call you when she has woken up.
L: thanks so much. Good luck!
C: to you too Lisa. Speak to you soon.

Gosh. My horse is about to have her skull sawed open. God thankyou for giving me the gifts of strength and money to be able to help Allie. Please help her make it.