Fudge’s EPM Rehabilitation

The Absinthe Drinkers, Edgar Degas

This is how I have felt for the last six weeks.  This is what Lyme can do to a person.  I had no desire to get off the couch.  I needed to sleep at least 12 hours per day.  I had a lot of pain through the neck and back.  Dinner?  Bring it home.  Cleaning the stalls?  Tomorrow.  Posting a blog?  Not necessary.

I simply could not perform the usual tasks, even if I was asked to do them.  The medicine tastes terrible, and does really nasty stuff to my digestive tract.  I have very strange neurological symptoms.  I now have an extra dose of empathy for the EPM horse.  Now I more fully understand the plight of the diseased horse.

My doctor couldn’t diagnose it.  The initial bad flu symptoms were taken as viral meningitis.  The Lyme test came back negative, even though I had classic symptoms with a rash.  The wait to see a specialist is more than two months.  I found out there is more than one recognized course of treatment for Lyme.  I got caught in the politics of Lyme, without even knowing it.   Sound like EPM?  It ought to.

I’m feeling somewhat better now, and will try to keep up with the blog.  Absinthe will play into my story.  Fudge’s story has a new chapter…

Horses evolved to eat full stem, sparse grasses, while on the move.  A few stems here, a few steps, a bite there, a 1/4 mile, then another few stems.  The grasses on the Steppe of Asia were dry, sparse, and mixed with broad-leaf plants.  The near constant walking aided the digestive tract.  The near constant, slow-intake grazing matched the slow, but steady output of gastric acid in the stomach.

Fast forward to domestication, and current stable practices.  Horses are often stationary in stalls 12 to 24 hours per day, with large amounts of food placed in the stall twice per day.  They eat the available food quickly, in large mouthfuls.  Then they wait… and wait… and get impatient for the next feeding.  Their stomachs are on fire with gastric acid, and no fiber to digest.

Field board often solves some of these problems, with the ability to move and steady intake of forage.  It can also create other health problems with unlimited access to lush grass.  The slow food movement has entered the equine world.

Slow Feeders involve limiting the rate at which the horse can consume the available hay.  Spreading the consumption out over time means fewer problems with stomach acid upset.  Feeding grass hay means fewer problems with insulin resistance and laminitis.  Feeding near the ground means less choke.

We recently built a slow feeder for Fudge.  It is based on a pallet design, and was built with left-over scraps from other projects.  Yes, we have more left-overs in the barn than we do in the ‘fridge.  We did have to purchase (2) 2″x6″x10′ boards to complete the project.  It took three hours to cut and screw the pieces together, and three hours to coat it with opaque stain.  (Note to wives:  the 3-hour trip to shop in Home Depot for 2×6’s is not included in the time estimate for the project.)

The design is a box the size of a pallet, 48″x40″, and 36″ high.  The top is a grid made from 2 layers of hog-panel.  The layers are adjusted to produce the smallest holes possible.  We have used wire ties to temporarily connect the hog-panels together, while we see how fast the horses can consume the hay.  After some observations, we will tack-weld the layers together.  This design will easily hold two square bales, and can hold three if the bales are inserted on their side.

The bottom line:  the horses consume the hay slower, they are entertained for longer during the day, and I am making fewer trips to the paddock to put out hay.  The downfall is that the horses stand in one place to consume the hay.  Stay tuned for the next farm improvement - Paddock Paradise, and it’s use for an EPM recovery.  I highly recommend the book, “Paddock Paradise,” by Jamie Jackson.

Best site for more information on Slow Feeders and Paddock Paradise:  http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/

Pallet base, small wood strips to limit bottom holes added later.

2 sides on, (2) 2x6 uprights on each corner

uprights are screwed together and to pallet base

On side, ready for stain. 2x4 top rail added for stability of sides.

Hog-panel grid, 2 layers adjusted for small holes. Will connect with chain and snap inside box

If I had to do this again, I would try to find a liquid goods wire pallet, or a liquid goods plastic pallet (both have sides), and modify it for use.  Make sure that any feeder has sides high enough to prevent the horses from getting their feet inside.  Make it heavy enough so they can’t tip it over, and strong enough to resist kicking.

Fudge’s first natural Hoof Care Trim was performed by Dawn Willoughby, and he has had two maintenance trims by me in the first month.  Scroll down to the last post to compare the pictures.  It has been a very wet summer in the East, and like many, I’ve had my share of problems with thrush.  We are working on this. 

Note the stretched white line on the outside of his hoof, near the 100% quarter crack.  Fudge has an old injury above the hoof and may always have problems here.  When his hooves got long using a pasture trim, the crack opened.  I have rasped a Mustang roll to the white line to try to take presure of the hoof wall on both sides of the crack.

Fudge’s heels are long due to the thrush around the frog and contracted heels.  It is a work in progress.  I have not lowered the heels.  The picture of the sole shows the new concavity forming.  The rasp was used across the wall and sole, but only touched the wall.  The toe has been backed up by vertical trimming to the white line, and the hoof is taking on a more rounded shape.

Fudge's right front hoof after 3 trims

Right Front note injury and quarter crack

Right Front sole, stretched white line

When we purchased Fudge in January, his papers were ‘accidently’ left at the broker’s home both times we went to test ride him.  This raised a small red flag, but we would have the papers before purchasing the horse, so I let it slide.  I was looking for a particular attitude and demeanor in the horse, more than the breeding.  We did ask about the HYPP issue, not having seen the papers.

As things began to unravel with the health of Fudge in the first week of ownership, we were focused on finding the problem.  It wasn’t until the EPM blood test came back positive, and the broker said, “Your horse, your problem,” that we began to get concerned about who Fudge really was.  If the broker had been less than honest about the health of the horse, his demeanor, and pecking order, did we even have the horse listed on the papers?

I pulled out the papers again, and noticed that the broker ad had listed the horse as black, even when the papers had shown him as brown.  By this time it was May, and Fudge had shed out to a Bay.   Hmmm.  The diagram for white markings showed white on thee legs, Fudge has a small amount of white on the fourth.  The white on one leg was not quite right according to the diagram.  Hmmm.  Hmmm.  If Fudge was not the QH on the papers, who was he?  Did we care?  The short and long answer were YES.  We already knew that Fudge’s true personality was much different than the horse that we thought we were buying.  Once we killed the protozoal infection, his level of energy came up, and he is not the best match for my daughter.  What if Fudge was a HYPP positive horse?  We needed to find out.

I called AQHA and ordered a DNA test.  It took about 4 weeks to arrive.  It sat on my desk until the nagging questions began again.  I sent in the hair sample, and in about three weeks AQHA called.  We do have the horse bred and named IMA FUDGEAHOLIC TOO.  He has no Impressive in his line, so he cannot have HYPP.  Along the way we have also learned that the AQHA papers for many horses are ‘not quite right’.

I took Fudge for a third, short test ride since January, to gauge his improvement.  He is slowly getting better, but still trips often.  I have videoed the rides, and on review of the last one, noticed another reason he might be tripping.  More changes are coming for Fudge.  Stay tuned.

I was picking cherries a few weeks ago, in an orchard near me.  It was very early morning, and no other customers had arrived.  I was enjoying the still coolness, and a few cherries, when I heard a familiar sound.

Two riders and three horses came down the lane at a fast working trot.  I only caught a few words of their conversation as they passed, but knew they were enjoying the exercise.  In a few seconds the hoof beats had faded, and they were out of sight around the bend.

© Maureen Bond, ‘Not Quite Ready to be Picked’, www.flickr.com/photos/maureenbond/3615999009/

I realized that generations of riders and generations of cherry pickers were going to enjoy this orchard.  The owner had recently preserved the land with a permanent deeded easement.  Not a tax abatement or fallow field program, but permanent preservation.  Forever.  Developers would not be subdividing this farm for residences.

For equestrians, the concept of permanent land preservation is important.  Trail riders, fox hunters, and thoroughbred breeding farms all require large tracts of undeveloped land for equestrian pursuits.  The average three-day eventing course may take more than three hundred contiguous  acres to stage.  The farming of hay and grains requires undeveloped land.

If you are not familiar with farmland and open space preservation, take a few minutes to look up the options in your area.  Most states have agricultural preservation programs.  Private non-profit organizations offer a different route.  In either case, it takes money, volunteer time, and dedicated owners to preserve the land for future generations.  If you ride on, purchase hay from, or stable your horse on land other than your own, this issue is important to you.