There have been a few medication changes, but life in muddy, sometimes snowy, sometimes balmy northeast Ohio continues.
First, we tried playing with Blue's medications. The dex is great and it works, but it isn't meant for long-term use. Can we cut it? We gave him half doses every day for a week and a half and he started walking sideways and leaning on his stall wall for support at night.
Ok, So instead of 2.5 and instead of 1.5, let's do 2 and see how that goes.
And it worked. Not our goal of cutting it in half, but you have to live life. I will not cut the NeuroQuel. Going from four days a week to three has Old Blue walking sideways. We are dependent on it, and that's ok.
We did make a few dietary changes in the last month. He was picking out the senior feed from the sweet feed in his bin every day, so we removed the sweet feed altogether. I added an Omega 3 supplement to take the place of the corn oil he hated.
He still gets plenty of Walmart brand maple syrup (family size bottle!) over every dinner, because it makes the medicine go down.
Blue LOVES his beet pulp (properly soaked to prevent choking). He gets this once a day always and sometimes twice if he's begging. We can tell when he wants it, because he'll stand in front of his hay rack and just look at the hay. His teeth as they are, he can't quite chew it up like he used to. The beet pulp lets him munch on something filling and takes the place of some of the roughage.
Speaking of roughage: Cowboy Brad (who owns the barn) has taken up the business of re-baling round bales into square bales. This makes me chuckle a little, as I remember my teenage summer days (always the hottest freaking days of the year) helping my dad bale squares and rounds in the fields. Never could you ever convince me that hay should be baled twice. Lol.
Anyway, the most tender bits of the hay fall through the re-baler. We gather these nutrient-rich bits up like thieves in the night and fill a big feed tub in Blue's stall. It's like pre-munched hay.
As for his attitude, Blue goes out in the arena with his band of geriatric oldies but goodies every day, and they run and chase each other like grandpas with walkers. He gets down to roll (and back up!) with no problem. That back hind leg is still "kicked out" in that sidewinders way, but it doesn't seem weaker. When he trots off, he looks good. His beloved horse cookies are officially too hard for him to chew, though.
He's happy to see the kids, and he nearly went through his stall door yesterday when he saw me giving a barnmate a half an apple (I'm Blue's mother and I belong to Blue. That apparently goes for all the apples I bring with me, too).
Life plods on, however sideways. Blue is still here with me, and I am forever grateful.
Here's a very shaky video taken my my 10-year-old daughter. At the very, very, very end, you can see Blue trot off a bit.
