Little Gracie

[SandyG]

As many of you know, Gracie experienced a massive seizure four years ago June while we were at Camp Quest for young adults with disabilities. Since that time, she has not experienced another seizure - at least that I have seen. But since that time, her feet have grown much faster than normal. And the bruising in her lamina has continued to increase.

Last Tuesday, our Specialized Farrier was here and he trimmed Gracie after he had reset Miss April's shoes. He and I talked about her feet and how they seem to be worsening. And worsening rapidly. Dave said that in the forty years he's been trimming horses, he's never seen anything like this before.

A volunteer of THE FARM has graciously offered to make a $500 donation toward the expenses of determining the cause of Gracie's hoof condition and if the cause can be treated. With that commitment, I am moving forward to helping this little girl. Her pain is increasing and walking now is difficult for her. I bute her each morning to take the edge off as she stands outside. Movement for her is troublesome and this is no way for her to be treated. Gracie deserves better care than I am giving her and so we are about to right this.

Does anyone have a small horse trailer - enclosed - that we could use to transport Gracie for evaluation and diagnosis? The big trailer would bounce her around like a rubber ball! And if you have a little trailer, would you be willing to let me use it or would you be willing to haul her for us? The time span may be longer than a single day, since I am expecting that we will need to medicate to transport her and then leave her overnight while the meds wear off.

Gracie is current on her Coggins and vacs and deworming and is in generally good health. Refuge Farms would supply the bedding and we would clean the trailer upon returning her home. If you have a trailer and are willing, please email me at [e-mail].

Thank you -

[SandyG]

The "Good Dr. Brian" was here this afternoon for minutes. Pulled in, gathered his tools, drew blood from Gracie, and then raced back to the office to spin it down and get the plasma to the lab. We need this test before we head in next week. Will give us more complete information and allow us to hopefully do a full, final diagnosis.

Even Dr. Brian said she "is such a good little girl". I even caught him calling her "Sweetie" at one point.....oh, the power of Little Gracie . . .

[Shar]

Sandy-
Didn't see this thread until today. Our trailer is VERY small and with the divider would fit her good. It's enclosed with one little vent that a horse decided to make on a long trip when he decided to give himself some air. It's an old, not-so-pretty trailer; but is hardy and safe. If you need it, you know it's yours. =) Just let me know.
-Shar

[SandyG]

Thank you, Shar. Your heart is as big as your smile!

I'm going to crank up the Exiss today and see if I can get the truck under it. I scraped as much as I could from under the neck yesterday but the ice is 8" deep. So, don't know if the truck will fit or not!

If it fits, I'll use some bags of shavings to bring the walls in for her and take her in the that. If I can't fit, I'll call you because I need to get her in to Dr. Anne as soon as her blood test returns. The little girl is in chronic pain and this is no way for her to live.

[SandyG]

Here we go . . . . .

The blood work results are back and are being faxed from Dr Brian's office to the U of M for Dr Anne yet this morning. I will be bringing Gracie in for her exam on Wednesday of this week at 11:30am.

Thank you to all of you that helped get the trailer loaded with bags of shavings and the shavings spread out for her. I'll make sure she is blanketed well and has some bute in her bloodstream before we begin our journey. And I will travel carefully with that little piece of precious cargo, trust me!

Between now and then, if you would spend time with whatever you believe in - Nature, God, Jehovah, The Great Spirit - and ask that this little horse's condition be something that we can improve. That there be a path to helping her. That there be something that we can do for her to keep her with us for a while longer.

Selfish, yes. But Gracie is one that is worth pleading for.

[SandyG]

Tonight as she ate her supper, I brushed her thin little body. She is dressed in newly cleaned winter blankets and the trailer is right outside the door, awaiting her entry tomorrow morning.

I hugged her tightly and kissed her. Whispered to her that "tomorrow is a big day for you, Gracie." Then I left her to eat her dinner and snuggle into her bed of shavings and rest.

All day today, I kept putting it out there that we be given options for this little wonder. That we have choices. And then it hit me: If we are given choices, do we have a farrier for her little feet? So, I left a voice mail message for our Specialized Farrier. Updated him on the plans and asked if he was willing to take on another one that would need his cares every 8 weeks. Would he be willing to start over with another one?

Minutes later the telephone rang with is response: "I am your backup, Sandy. I'll take on whatever you need of me. You can count on me." Bless you, my dear friend.

So, we go tomorrow to learn the options for our little Gracie. I pray there are options. Would you, too, pray for options?

[SandyG]

She knows she is dressed up - she kept herself so clean overnight! And standing waiting for me when I opened the barn doors this morning. As was Liz-Beth. My, what joy to walk into the barns this morning!

The trailer is loaded with shavings and padded with bags of shavings around the walls to help create a smaller space for little Gracie and to cushion her if she should lose her balance. The worst of it will be getting out of the driveway so I've started the skid loader and will go out and try to round out some of the corner snowbanks. Maybe that will rock her rather than toss her. And maybe, just maybe, she will put herself in that soft bedding and rest while her world is moving under her.

Will keep you posted if there is time at the U of M otherwise will update you when we (Gracie and I!) return home this evening.

Think positively of her! Smile for her! Bring her good news!

[SandyG]

We are home.

There were x-rays of all four feet taken, blood work done, a neurological exam, eye/eye pressure exams, and hoof testing on all four feet completed. The neurological exam was difficult, at best, due to her lameness.

There is much to tell and I will blog this weekend about it and show you the xrays so you can see for yourself. Gracies front toes have rotated downward thus creating the tenderness. Her hooves are growing excessively for a cause yet unknown.

I will put our Specialized Farrier in touch with Dr. Anne to discuss the angles needed to support her toes and take the pressure off of them. We will not use shoes and pads as we have done with Miss April. Instead, I will order special boots for her to wear. She will be sore after that first trim, but we must realign her hoof to reduce the pressure on the toe.

Gracie is on a new pain medicine since we believe the long term use of bute paste may have created some stomach ulcers (hence her falling off of her feed). So, she is on the equine equivalent of prilosec to help heal those ulcers.

She weighed 418 pounds. Her weight loss is estimated at 50 lbs or so. A loss of much more weight and she will be too thin to sustain the winter cold weather, so she is on a special feed with high fat to help her add some weight. Dr. Anne has sequestered her to her stall for 2 to 3 weeks to give the feet a chance to heal after they are trimmed and to help her gain her balance and be a bit more stable on her legs.

We are also putting her on a vitamin B supplement to help with the dementia issue.

She did very well today. Quite vocal, actually! Calling for a familiar voice and ignoring the stallion that kept answering her.

Gracie also came home with some pads taped to her front feet to relieve the pressure and hopefully some of the soreness. I'll continue to keep those on her (and make new ones as needed) until she is good enough to use only her new boots to walk around.

We made it down the driveway and into her stall. She dove into her feed and ate two mouthfuls and then stopped. That should sound familiar to you. Remember Judy!Judy!Judy! and how she would begin eating so ravenously and then stop after only eating a bit of feed? Ulcers in the tummy, most likely.

But she ate some hay and took a drink. Then sank into her bed and is resting. Gracie had a big day. She is tuckered out and will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow we begin the treatments and will do our best to get her healthier again.

Like I said, I will post the x-rays so you can see the rotation for yourself. Other than the rotation, her feet/ankles/bones look good. Very little arthiritis.

And, of course, everyone loved her. I saw Dr Anne (out of the corner of my eye) talking with her and then reaching down, hugging her, and kissing her right before we left. Even Sergio came up to see her since he had heard Refuge Farms was in the hospital and it wasn't a monster horse this time!

Thank you for all of your positive thoughts. Our ride was uneventful both ways and she did well in the trailer as we had prepared it for her. All in all, a good day. Now we can begin the journey of helping her. This little peanut, as she was lovingly called today.

[tracy1]

Good news! I woke up thinking about her, glad there's a way out for her . . .

[jetmech]

Let me know if there is any thing that I can help out with. She is precious hopefully will soon be feeling better. Pam

[SandyG]

Trying all kinds of recipes to see if I can get Gracie to eat. This morning, it was soaked beet pulp with Releve (high fat feed), SafeChoice, and mixed with apple juice. She ate about 2 cups worth which is 2 cups more than yesterday.

Will put fresh shavings down this afternoon so she can snuggle in a dry bed during the cold. Also will brush and change her blankets today. Check her for rub marks and sores, too. Empty and clean her water bucket and try a bit more food.

Her meds are ordered and should arrive early next week. And when I receive the x-ray email, I will forward them to our Specialized Farrier and get him schedule to take the first layer of hoof off and change the angle of her feet.

Put another round bale in the Gelding's Side of the barn - That way if I need to close the door for the wind tomorrow, I can do so and know there is plenty to keep everyone happy.

Will spend time this evening in the big barn to take blankets off of PONY! and Appaloosa Mare and Miss April, brush each of them, check them for sores, and put storm-worthy blankets on them, too. Have blankets "at the ready" for Spirit, Handsome, Lanna, and Josephina if we need them.

And will spend the time to fill the wood box today - thinking with the wind I'm gonna want to have some heat coming out of that woodstove this weekend!

[jetmech]

Good news about Gracie. When I think of her, her sweetness, daintiness, trustingly following where she is led, I think of that day when it was pouring and I led her into the barn to her stall, and when sniffed the blankets hanging on the shoeing bed, she let out such a loud call that I could not believe that it came out of her. Such a big noise for such a little, dainty girl. It always brings to me a smile. My prayers are that she will soon be comfortable and pain free if possible.

[SandyG]

Beauty's Anne was here this afternoon to help me with some assembly projects (Thanks, Anne! . Then later in the afternoon, we went out and brushed Gracie, fed her, and just spent some time watching her. She seemed a bit restless but eventually settled down. I just checked on her and she is resting fine and sleeping lightly.

I'm going to call Dr. Anne tomorrow and see if we can try an appetite stimulant. This little girl just isn't eating enough to keep a small dog alive. Something like what we gave Keller when he first arrived and didn't want to eat. Or what they give the big horses when they want to "blow them up" before a big horsepull.

Hopefully, Dr. Anne is in agreement and can perscribe something for her. With this cold weather coming, I want her to at least not lose more weight. She'll burn up everything she eats - and then more! - just staying warm the rest of this week.

[SandyG]

I have checked on Gracie throughout the night and she seems fine. Warm under her blankets. Lying in her bed of shavings. But when she gets up, she seems disoriented. Turning slowly in circles. And refusing all food except apples.

How to keep her warm in the coming 30 below weather when it was a balmy 10 above last night is beyond me. How to keep her from shutting down from lack of food is beyond me. So, I've emailed our Specialized Farrier and Dr. Anne and I am bringing her in today.

I cannot deal with the stress of having her in the barn without eating. She will be cold and how do I fix that? Without food, she will burn every calorie she has up just to keep warm and that will mean she will continue to lose weight and how do I fix that?
Her lack of appetite is being triggered by pain? Chemical imbalance? Reaction to the meds?

I have tried SafeChoice, beet pulp, Strategy, Kent senior, Weight Builder, Prince, hay cubes, oats. I have tried hot in a mash and room temperature dry. I have tried alone and mixed together. And she refuses to eat everything but the apples I cut up and put in the bucket with the feed.

Her hay consumption is maybe - maybe! - 4 mouthfuls twice a day. Her water consumption is less than 1" in her bucket twice a day (and how much of that is evaporation from the heater?). Gracie is slowly starving to death in the barns.

Something happened. She was eating and moving at the Gala. And now she is refusing food and unable to walk. It is more, I'm afraid, than just rotated toes. If it were going to be 20 above, I would continue to pursue options of appetite stimulants and anything else we could think of. But 20+ below for this extended period of time - I cannot deal with the fear of opening the door to find her gone.

If anyone has any ideas, please speak up! I'm at a loss here.

[tracy1]

I'm sorry for this setback in our sweet little girl and the tireless work you're putting into her. Any chance it hurts her to eat - something in her teeth, stomach? I'm thinking of Dude before you found his jaw was broken, and Addie . . . is there a pain killer that would override that and let her chew, swallow?

Something in her brain that triggers she's full, even when she isn't? If she's acting disoriented .. your initial idea about Alzheimer's could be right on, they don't eat much, either, have to be hand-fed or they forget.

There's tube-feeding, to force the food down her, but that's of course no way to live, maybe just a stopgap to give her strength over the cold spell until a solution is found . . . pack her full of nutrients and electrolytes . . .