I need some perspective.
Horse is a cripple, jacked stifles, hocks, ect. Had everything injected last August. Needs them done again.
I always float his teeth yearly, but because of the massive vet bill from dealing with his lameness last year, I put off his float. Still needs to be done and I'm also noticing some bridle issues that could be teeth.
He has ulcers from his Previcox(has been off it since late Dec). Been treating those with esomeprazole since January. Tried to wean him off it once and as soon as I lowered the dose he started colicking again. Put him back on full dose for another month, start another taper. This time he lasted until the second lowering of the dose before he colicked.
As far as colicks go, they are pretty minor. As far as I can tell, they pretty much only happen when he gets his extra hard feed(beep pulp + low nsc pellets). He'll start eating, then stop, be really still like he's holding his breath. Sometimes he'll paw a few times or shake his head. Then in a few minutes it passes and he wants to eat again. There have been a few times I've noticed him do this under saddle too. Usually after a trot. Tho, I'm not riding him currently because his hocks are making his back sore. He's already on hay 24/7. He's otherwise in good weight, good coat, not girthy or abnormally sensitive, solid poops, nothing else that makes him look like an ulcery horse.
I'm having the barn staff continue the taper. He only has 5 days left and I don't know if I'll be able to get enough esomeprazole for another round of treatment without risking him having to come off it suddenly. I called a few pharmacies today, either they don't have any and had their shipments delayed all week, or they only stock like two at a time. Even before the whole pandemic mess, it was hard to find a large enough quantity of boxes. Often out of stock. Ordering online will take way too long to get here.
I'd like to get him scoped since he isn't responding as desired after 3 months. Contacted my vet, scoping is preferably done at the clinic. If they had to do it during a farm call they can't take any images to document and it sounds like it's overall more difficult to perform. I don't own a trailer. I'd need to hire someone to haul the 1h to the clinic. There is someone at the barn who hauls, but understandably they don't want to be making any unnecessary trips if they don't have to.
I asked for a quote. ~$450 for the scope. The ulcerguard afterwards for 28 days is $975! Then another $400 for the dental float to be done at the same time. $100+ for hauling. $35 for a stall as he needs to be fasted. $2000+ by the end of it. No joint injections for a while(but of course, the pain from his joints can be a contributor to the ulcers...).
I literally just finished paying off the vet bill from his injections last year and it wasn't as large.
So I forgo the expensive meds and make a trip to every pharmacy in the city and stockpile esomeprazole(~$70 for a month)? And hope I don't catch covid in the process? I still feel like it's irresponsible not to scope him at this stage. Then that goes back to farm call vs clinic. I'd much prefer the farm call option, but if they can't diagnose him reliably from it, what's the point? With the Gastroguard, apparently the company will pay for the second month if there are still ulcers after a 28 day treatment. Idk, maybe that would be most effective, taking a gamble that his ulcers are bad enough that it would take longer than a month to heal...
I also have no idea if we might end up in a lock down or something in a few weeks, so if I put this off, he might not be able to get anything done for a while and then he's off any meds. So far there isn't any talk of lockdowns, at least. My job is safe(100% remote), I got a raise last month, and we have quarterly bonuses coming next week. No extra financial stress at least, just normal levels.
Gahhh
:dance-smiley05:
Horse is a cripple, jacked stifles, hocks, ect. Had everything injected last August. Needs them done again.
I always float his teeth yearly, but because of the massive vet bill from dealing with his lameness last year, I put off his float. Still needs to be done and I'm also noticing some bridle issues that could be teeth.
He has ulcers from his Previcox(has been off it since late Dec). Been treating those with esomeprazole since January. Tried to wean him off it once and as soon as I lowered the dose he started colicking again. Put him back on full dose for another month, start another taper. This time he lasted until the second lowering of the dose before he colicked.
As far as colicks go, they are pretty minor. As far as I can tell, they pretty much only happen when he gets his extra hard feed(beep pulp + low nsc pellets). He'll start eating, then stop, be really still like he's holding his breath. Sometimes he'll paw a few times or shake his head. Then in a few minutes it passes and he wants to eat again. There have been a few times I've noticed him do this under saddle too. Usually after a trot. Tho, I'm not riding him currently because his hocks are making his back sore. He's already on hay 24/7. He's otherwise in good weight, good coat, not girthy or abnormally sensitive, solid poops, nothing else that makes him look like an ulcery horse.
I'm having the barn staff continue the taper. He only has 5 days left and I don't know if I'll be able to get enough esomeprazole for another round of treatment without risking him having to come off it suddenly. I called a few pharmacies today, either they don't have any and had their shipments delayed all week, or they only stock like two at a time. Even before the whole pandemic mess, it was hard to find a large enough quantity of boxes. Often out of stock. Ordering online will take way too long to get here.
I'd like to get him scoped since he isn't responding as desired after 3 months. Contacted my vet, scoping is preferably done at the clinic. If they had to do it during a farm call they can't take any images to document and it sounds like it's overall more difficult to perform. I don't own a trailer. I'd need to hire someone to haul the 1h to the clinic. There is someone at the barn who hauls, but understandably they don't want to be making any unnecessary trips if they don't have to.
I asked for a quote. ~$450 for the scope. The ulcerguard afterwards for 28 days is $975! Then another $400 for the dental float to be done at the same time. $100+ for hauling. $35 for a stall as he needs to be fasted. $2000+ by the end of it. No joint injections for a while(but of course, the pain from his joints can be a contributor to the ulcers...).
I literally just finished paying off the vet bill from his injections last year and it wasn't as large.
So I forgo the expensive meds and make a trip to every pharmacy in the city and stockpile esomeprazole(~$70 for a month)? And hope I don't catch covid in the process? I still feel like it's irresponsible not to scope him at this stage. Then that goes back to farm call vs clinic. I'd much prefer the farm call option, but if they can't diagnose him reliably from it, what's the point? With the Gastroguard, apparently the company will pay for the second month if there are still ulcers after a 28 day treatment. Idk, maybe that would be most effective, taking a gamble that his ulcers are bad enough that it would take longer than a month to heal...
I also have no idea if we might end up in a lock down or something in a few weeks, so if I put this off, he might not be able to get anything done for a while and then he's off any meds. So far there isn't any talk of lockdowns, at least. My job is safe(100% remote), I got a raise last month, and we have quarterly bonuses coming next week. No extra financial stress at least, just normal levels.
Gahhh
:dance-smiley05: