Troubles linger

I decided that Blue would do well with some focused exercise, and so I let Emily ride him at the walk yesterday. I don't know what I was hoping for.

Blue was very stiff - and we didn't do anything but walk, but he seemed to get very tired, very fast. His feet were trimmed the day before, and that seemed to help with the toe dragging until he got tired at the end. I would say that Emily rode at the walk (In big figure 8's) for about 15 minutes:

Waiting on Levamisole

Post-Oroquin, we are waiting on the delivery of Levamisole.

Levamisole is sort of an old-school drug, used years ago by sheep ranchers to deworm the flock. So how does it help Bluehorse?

Dr. Ellison writes:
"The anti-protozoal drug deciquinate was effective as shown by a reduction in titer post treatment in this study. The marked improvement in clinical signs may be partially due to the effects of levamisole as an immune midulator or effects on other neurobiological mechanisms. One such effect is the possiblity that S. neurona or the immune response to the organism damages some upper motor neuron function that is responsive to levamisole therapy."

You can read the full paper here: http://www.jarvm.com/articles/Vol10Iss1/Ellison.pdf

So basically this support medication could potentially help Blue even more. Like I said before, no complaints about Blue's incredible improvement - but there are lingering issues that I would love to see resolved. My fears about relapse are very real. If the levamisole can clear up just a few of Blue's issues - stiffness, ongoing weakness, awkward rear-end stance - then let's do it.

We are waiting on the drug now, then it will be 14 days of trying to get Blue to eat it.

Take a look at this

I wasn't going to post a video today (though I took one out of habit) but I simply had to share this: my EPM horse, off Oroquin by one day, off to join his herd in the back pasture:

Oroquin 10 - Day 10

I'm looking at a different horse than I had 10 days ago.

10 days ago I stood in the barn and cried, certain that I was going to lose my Blue, my "once in a lifetime horse" to EPM. Today he goes out with his herd at night, he gets down to roll with no problems, he trots after my kids and nickers for the apples he knows are in their pockets. He gets sassy when he doesn't want to do something. He's interested in life again.

What we have here is nothing short of a miracle.

But that leaves us with many questions still unanswered - how much damage was done to his Central Nervous System? How much of that damage is permanent? What can we do to help the healing of those nerve passageways? When can we start, and how can we start, helping him gain his strength back in his hind end?

And *gulp* what about possible relapse?

Putting all those questions aside for just one more day, we can look at the overwhelming benefits of the Oroquin and see success. Blue is no longer walking "death circles." He is straighter, for sure. He is still awkward in his hind end, but certainly no longer "tilted." He trots.

While he was never really depressed, his mood is elevated again. He is happy to see me and the children. He calls for his friends in the field. He looks through his stall door with clear, interested eyes. I texted my vet on Day 5 - "I have Blue back!"

He is bright and alert and seems happy. He is also so much "straighter" than he was. There was a time before the Oroquin when we could barely get Blue into his still because he was so crooked that his shoulder and hip had to fit through the door at the same time.

And I mean that with my whole heart.

Of course, all is not perfect. He seems to still not know exactly where his hind feet are. I catch him standing awkwardly all the time, one foot crossed over the other, standing almost clubfooted at times. And he still stands with his right hind leg "kicked out," though it is much less dramatic than it had been. The toe-dragging has not resolved, to the point where we are going to have to do something to help his hooves if it continues. He was dropped from his sheath when I walked up to his stall today.
Here are his Day 10 hind end pic:

My 10-year-old daughter and I were talking about Blue this morning. She has been anxious about his condition, and wanted to know if I thought she would ever be able to ride him bareback at the walk again.

My words caught in my throat when I told her how sick Blue has been, and how I know we almost lost him. It gives me a healthy dose of perspective. If this is our final result, I am overwhelmingly grateful.

Here is our Day 10 video:

And for reference, here is the video of Blue doing circles the day before treatment started. What a difference!

Oroquin 10 -Day 9

Not much to say today either way. Blue looks no better or worse on Day 9 than on Day 8. There are certainly plenty of things to worry about, but I'm really just trying to stay positive.

I am thinking a bit about rehabilitation. I wouldn't usually worry about this (Blue is a pasture puff, and that's all he needs to be) but he still drags the one back toe pretty badly, and strengthening his hind end (especially in case of a relapse) is especially important. I'm not sure how to even start this. I don't want him trotting circles, and we live in flat Ohio - no hills to walk up.

He goes out all night with his herd and gets a bit of exercise that way. My daughter, Emily, has volunteered to walk him bareback in figure eights in the arena to build him up a bit. To be honest, Emily's imagination is fueled by my stories of jumping and competing on Blue, and her eyes got wide when I showed her our box of show ribbons and photos of us in our younger days. She is desperate to ride Blue, even just bareback at the walk.

As for Bluehorse, he is happier and healthier than he has been in nearly a year. I have some big decisions to make to keep him that way. Vaccinations, worming, season changes, herd changes - all can cause enough stress to throw him into relapse. Constant vigilance.

Here is our video of the day

Here's that parked-out stance that has me so worried:

Oroquin 10 - Day 8

Much improvement in Blue's mood today. I stopped by the barn this morning to lay eyes on him - much more for me than for him. He was alert and happy to see me (and the apples I brought). He didn't seem overly tired.

Here's a pic of his handsome self letting me know that I made the right decision for him last night:

I came back this evening to see him, and he was again almost hyper-focused on me. Clark came with me tonight and spent some time loving on Bluehorse.

Let's just say we have to work on the subtleties of horsemanship. Good boy, Blue.

Ok, down to business. The video of the day shows the same toe dragging and a continued reluctance to move forward. Again, this almost doesn't matter for my Blue - his job is to be happy and healthy - but after such an incredible Day 5, the major concern is regression and/or relapse.

Here's the video:

A big shout out to my vet today. I've been filling texts with videos and commentary on dropping out of sheath and every other panic attack that comes along. Thanks to Emily for being there for Blue and for me. Nothing about the last few weeks has been easy. 

Speaking of, we discussed the lemavisole today. I believe Blue will be on it for 14 days following the end of the Oroquin treatment. I need to look into this more - I have been so focused on the Oroquin treatment that I have hardly looked past Day 10.

I almost forgot: here are our hind end pics of the day. First, this one of him standing very oddly - still like he isn't sure where his feet are or at least that he doesn't understand that this foot placement should be uncomfortable or awkward. This is very concerning to me:

Here is a pic of him standing just after he stopped trotting:

Oroquin 10 - Day 7

Not the best day for Bluehorse.

First I noticed that he was leaning against the stall wall again. I fed him his grain and he ate it, but was almost disinterested and depressed when I put him out in the arena to walk. He was also dragging both hind toes.

Here's the hind end tilt shots of the day:

His girlfriend started feeling the affects of being cooped up in a stall for so long, and needed to be out tonight. Blue stood at the arena door and just looked out over the field. He didn't call, and he was happy for the love of Emily and her best friend, but he looked sad.

Executive decision: Blue gets to spend the night outside with his friends. This is a big decision and I didn't come to it lightly.
First, I don't want him to be the only one in the barn. I could tell that would stress him out. But I also didn't want him to be outside in the middle of the night and become overly exhausted, especially with a less than awesome mood/movement report from me.
After some deliberation, I decided to leave him out with his herd because I think he will be less stressed outside than inside. I bet I don't sleep a wink tonight.

Oroquin 10 - Day 6

Blue is still improving, and he seems happy to pick up the trot in both directions.

A few observations:

Blue is no longer leaning on his stall wall for support at all

I had stopped feeding Blue his favorite cookies because his bite was weak. Now he crunches them with no problem.

He is still dragging his right hind toe pretty noticeably.

Still kicking out that right hind leg when at rest.

But my goodness, what a difference in my horse, huh? I wonder if the toe dragging isn't weakness from lack of use more so than from the EPM. No matter - this is far more results than I ever could have asked for. 

Here's today's video showing the toe drag, but you will notice that I say "whoa" many times here and he just ignores me. Bluehorse is on the move! I purposely moved him in the opposite direction as yesterday, and he is a lot more stiff tracking this way.

And a shot of his hind tilt:

And a shot of his pretty face!