50/30
6 cc Lasix IV 2x a day
A quick update as I have got to get to work. It is SUPER HUMID and warm today and it seems to be making breathing a bit more difficult for Parlay. Either that, or I am just carrying on in my crazy ways. No comments, please!
Parlay seems pretty quiet and content, despite the heaviness of the air. He is loosing weight so rapidly it is almost scary. I would say that he has probably lost about 50 lbs in 2 weeks. It is driving me crazy.
I have had some success finding something he will eat. So far it has been Strategy Ovals. Don't ask me why--I feed them as treats typically, but they ARE feed and I figured, what the heck?
As bland and as boring as they appear, he seems to be eating them. A trick? Maybe. Maybe he thinks that he is just getting a couple of pounds of treats. Whatever!
I am also in the testing stages of treat *vessels* for the supplements. Today we tried an apple cinnamon cookie. Parlay ate it, but gave it the shrug. I am trying some home made treats that are soft and squishy with the hopes that I can *Trojan Horse* a bunch of gel caps into them, once I find one that is too good to pass up. So far, he hasn't cared for anything that I have slaved over.
Meanwhile, the other two "Air Ferns," are reaping the rewards. They get treats, leftover feed, whatever hay that Par doesn't eat... holy cow are they getting FAT!!
Of course, the total lack of riding could be contributing to THAT as well. =-(
(sigh)
Oh well, off to make the donuts (and next round of treats--oat and raisin next)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Trying a Smorgasbord
56/18
6 CCs of Lasix 2x a day, IV.
It was quite rainy here, so I opted to leave all the boys inside. I thought that maybe dry and fluffy would be better than wet and sloppy. Plus, I felt like I could put out a bunch of food for Parlay and see what he might eat without being separated from his buddies or having to fight them off (which he just doesn't even do anymore--he just lets them eat whatever they want).
I am trying everything--Today he had in front of him...
1) Beet Pulp with Molasses
2) Equine Senior from Nutrena
3) Agway Superior Pellets
4) Nutrena XTN and Ultra
5) Hay and Hay Cubes
It's just not going well. He just looks at me with a sad face like nothing tastes good. I fed him several carrots (which he does like) and a few apple wafers(which he eats to be polite, but about 3 is the limit). I have to wonder if he is REALLY just holding out for carrots. Tons of them.
So, with all of those buckets lined up along a stall wall, I had to run to work. Leaving has been so difficult for me. I hate leaving Parlay home alone. I keep thinking that he might need something and I won't be around. That something terrible is going to occur when I least expect it. The anxiety is taking its toll on me and everyone around me, I am sure.
I ran down to the barn to check on things as soon as I got home. Parlay nibbled here and there, but there was nothing finished. He did, however, drink 5 gallons of Horse Quencher with some electrolyte in it. I am sure that there must be SOME caloric value to that stuff, right? I am thinking of adding FatCat to that concoction... I wonder if you can get a horse to drink Ensure? (kidding)
Parlay, of course, is taking it all in stride. I go out to see him with treats or a syringe of meds or yet another bucket of food and he just sighs. I check his pulse and respiration over and over again. I swear he is rolling his eyes at me. I am acting like a freak and even my HORSE knows it.
In other news, I have done quite a bit of research on the CoQ10 and Hawthorn supplementation and am ready to give it a try. Problem? The way that the product is delivered is in a gel capsule. The most effective way for the enzyme to work is in this delivery method. How do you give a horse a gel cap, much less 4-6 of them? My friend Gayle says try to hide it in a treat. I guess that is where I am headed. Now, I just need to find the perfect treat vessel! If this horse stops eating treats I am going to need some sort of meds myself!
Rain has slowed and I am getting the ESP message that the boys would like to be outside.
I'll be back...
6 CCs of Lasix 2x a day, IV.
It was quite rainy here, so I opted to leave all the boys inside. I thought that maybe dry and fluffy would be better than wet and sloppy. Plus, I felt like I could put out a bunch of food for Parlay and see what he might eat without being separated from his buddies or having to fight them off (which he just doesn't even do anymore--he just lets them eat whatever they want).
I am trying everything--Today he had in front of him...
1) Beet Pulp with Molasses
2) Equine Senior from Nutrena
3) Agway Superior Pellets
4) Nutrena XTN and Ultra
5) Hay and Hay Cubes
It's just not going well. He just looks at me with a sad face like nothing tastes good. I fed him several carrots (which he does like) and a few apple wafers(which he eats to be polite, but about 3 is the limit). I have to wonder if he is REALLY just holding out for carrots. Tons of them.
So, with all of those buckets lined up along a stall wall, I had to run to work. Leaving has been so difficult for me. I hate leaving Parlay home alone. I keep thinking that he might need something and I won't be around. That something terrible is going to occur when I least expect it. The anxiety is taking its toll on me and everyone around me, I am sure.
I ran down to the barn to check on things as soon as I got home. Parlay nibbled here and there, but there was nothing finished. He did, however, drink 5 gallons of Horse Quencher with some electrolyte in it. I am sure that there must be SOME caloric value to that stuff, right? I am thinking of adding FatCat to that concoction... I wonder if you can get a horse to drink Ensure? (kidding)
Parlay, of course, is taking it all in stride. I go out to see him with treats or a syringe of meds or yet another bucket of food and he just sighs. I check his pulse and respiration over and over again. I swear he is rolling his eyes at me. I am acting like a freak and even my HORSE knows it.
In other news, I have done quite a bit of research on the CoQ10 and Hawthorn supplementation and am ready to give it a try. Problem? The way that the product is delivered is in a gel capsule. The most effective way for the enzyme to work is in this delivery method. How do you give a horse a gel cap, much less 4-6 of them? My friend Gayle says try to hide it in a treat. I guess that is where I am headed. Now, I just need to find the perfect treat vessel! If this horse stops eating treats I am going to need some sort of meds myself!
Rain has slowed and I am getting the ESP message that the boys would like to be outside.
I'll be back...
Monday, July 20, 2009
I couldn't keep it to myself anymore...
I had to tell my son about our horse.
It was hard. It was horrible. But my son was awesome. Sad, yet supportive and thoughtful.
I felt that I needed to tell him because Parlay had a couple of bad readings over the previous 24 hours. Heart rate as high as 62 and respiration back at 28-30 with intermittent coughing and a nosebleed thrown in for good measure. Way to keep me on my toes, Parlay.
Anyway, having someone you live with "in the know," makes it a little bit more *real*. J keeps asking me about what comes next--funerals, gravestones, memorials-- he IS 9 after all... Answering questions about death and dying is like giving yourself permission to explore those things for yourself. You hate it, but know you have to face it. The questions come innocently and with very little preconceived notion--I guess that helps to ease the pain of the answer at times. However, now I have constant reminders of impending fate---not just visually from my observations of Parlay, but verbally from my ever-so-verbal son.
So, my weekend did revolve a bit around coddling everyone--Parlay, my son, my BF, my other pets and ME. It is a lot of work!! Physically and emotionally draining, I would say. Thankfully I did have some reprieve with a ride out on my Big Guy with a friend and some time at our local water park. Those were the longest two periods away from my home and horse for quite a few days. It worked out fine and I *think* I was not outwardly anxious about it.
Another cool event that occured was that my friend Beth came over to shoot some pictures on what turned out to be a glorious summer Saturday. J and I gave Parlay a bath and beautified him. He did look quite terrific. I have to figure out how to post some pictures on here... it's on the list!
We had fun chatting with Beth, snapping pictures and enjoying the day. My son explained, quite perfunctorily, that these might be some of Parlay's last photo opportunities due to his condition to Beth. It was interesting to observe how mature he was about it. It was wonderful to see Parlay striking a pose here and there and enjoying the attention.
This week I will be really working on my *alternative* nutrition plan along with dosing the Lasix. Par is totally off of the Dex at this point and I am quite glad about that. Not sure that whatever benefit it might have been providing was worth the risk.
I have been managing to get some electrolytes into him each day without too much forcing. I found a pelleted electrolyte from Platform that he seemed to eat (1x). I will have to see how that keeps up. He has also been getting some electrolyte in his afternoon "tea," of Horse Quencher, which I think he is actually enjoying.
Even with Parlay not eating as much of his grain as usual, he still appears to look "OK." He is such a hard keeper and I worry about him fading away to skin and bones--that is the LAST thing that I want to have happen! There is nothing as miserable to look at as a skinny horse! So, I am doing my research, gathering the suggestions and trying to keep him motivated to eat.
Last night P& R was at a more reasonable 56/18. The predicted weather this week may be hard on all of us. More to come...
It was hard. It was horrible. But my son was awesome. Sad, yet supportive and thoughtful.
I felt that I needed to tell him because Parlay had a couple of bad readings over the previous 24 hours. Heart rate as high as 62 and respiration back at 28-30 with intermittent coughing and a nosebleed thrown in for good measure. Way to keep me on my toes, Parlay.
Anyway, having someone you live with "in the know," makes it a little bit more *real*. J keeps asking me about what comes next--funerals, gravestones, memorials-- he IS 9 after all... Answering questions about death and dying is like giving yourself permission to explore those things for yourself. You hate it, but know you have to face it. The questions come innocently and with very little preconceived notion--I guess that helps to ease the pain of the answer at times. However, now I have constant reminders of impending fate---not just visually from my observations of Parlay, but verbally from my ever-so-verbal son.
So, my weekend did revolve a bit around coddling everyone--Parlay, my son, my BF, my other pets and ME. It is a lot of work!! Physically and emotionally draining, I would say. Thankfully I did have some reprieve with a ride out on my Big Guy with a friend and some time at our local water park. Those were the longest two periods away from my home and horse for quite a few days. It worked out fine and I *think* I was not outwardly anxious about it.
Another cool event that occured was that my friend Beth came over to shoot some pictures on what turned out to be a glorious summer Saturday. J and I gave Parlay a bath and beautified him. He did look quite terrific. I have to figure out how to post some pictures on here... it's on the list!
We had fun chatting with Beth, snapping pictures and enjoying the day. My son explained, quite perfunctorily, that these might be some of Parlay's last photo opportunities due to his condition to Beth. It was interesting to observe how mature he was about it. It was wonderful to see Parlay striking a pose here and there and enjoying the attention.
This week I will be really working on my *alternative* nutrition plan along with dosing the Lasix. Par is totally off of the Dex at this point and I am quite glad about that. Not sure that whatever benefit it might have been providing was worth the risk.
I have been managing to get some electrolytes into him each day without too much forcing. I found a pelleted electrolyte from Platform that he seemed to eat (1x). I will have to see how that keeps up. He has also been getting some electrolyte in his afternoon "tea," of Horse Quencher, which I think he is actually enjoying.
Even with Parlay not eating as much of his grain as usual, he still appears to look "OK." He is such a hard keeper and I worry about him fading away to skin and bones--that is the LAST thing that I want to have happen! There is nothing as miserable to look at as a skinny horse! So, I am doing my research, gathering the suggestions and trying to keep him motivated to eat.
Last night P& R was at a more reasonable 56/18. The predicted weather this week may be hard on all of us. More to come...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Follow Up Visit
After I posted yesterday, the vet came out to look at Parlay and see how things were going. She also came to give me new supplies for the injections which I find that I am quickly running through. Three needles a day at this point. I am going down to two this week.
Parlay had a heart rate of 54 and a respiratory rate of 28. "High," she commented.
She obviously didn't need to tell me. Historically, Parlay has always been on the upper end metabolically, even when quite fit, with a resting pulse of about 28-30 and a resting respiratory rate of about 12-14. I always just chalked it up to his *handicap* that both he and I decided long ago to basically ignore and to carry on doing what we did.
The vet bought out an assistant with her. She asked the assistant if she wanted to listen to the heart and lungs. Not surprisingly, after listening to Parlay's heart and lungs, the reaction followed suit with the many before. Not surprisingly, it didn't have the same effect of making me laugh out loud to observe that reaction like it had so many times before.
So, the vet was quiet and observant and noted that Par looked happy and bright (the handful of peppermints in my pocket probably had something to do with it). She listened to my thoughts about CoQ 10 and Hawthorn to be added to the diet (the diet of air, but more on that later) She agreed that we needed to figure out the lowest doseage of Lasix that he could exist comfortably on and reminded me of the electrolyte imbalance. She was gentle and kind to him AND to me. She is a great vet on many levels.
I asked her to go ahead and give him his next shot of Lasix since it was that time anyway. Parlay, of course, had just rolled in the nastiest, smelliest, soggiest part of the paddock--only on one side--so when he ambled up to me to be caught and I discovered this, I was appalled. However, I did get a chuckle about it because the vet is a total sanitary FREAK and was carefully scrounging around looking for a clean-ish spot to inject! Okay, I have a weird sense of humor, but it was nice to smile about soemthing. Parlay had a bit of a grin on too. I am sure of it.
As she was packing up to go, I talked to her quickly about the eating issue, or rather, the NON eating issue. Parlay has not completed a meal in a week. I think that he is living on treats with a few nutritious moments thrown in for good measure. She basically told me what I already know. He just doesn't feel good. I need to do what I can to encourage him to eat, so if it's treats he wants? Treats he gets! Carrots and Cones and Candy, OH MY! He is drinking okay and that is important, because dehydration on top of electrolyte imbalance would definitely be a wrench in the spokes.
The vet had one last comment before she drove away, "Why not feed him some Cheerios--they're Heart Healthy!"
Hmmm... not a bad thought.
Parlay had a heart rate of 54 and a respiratory rate of 28. "High," she commented.
She obviously didn't need to tell me. Historically, Parlay has always been on the upper end metabolically, even when quite fit, with a resting pulse of about 28-30 and a resting respiratory rate of about 12-14. I always just chalked it up to his *handicap* that both he and I decided long ago to basically ignore and to carry on doing what we did.
The vet bought out an assistant with her. She asked the assistant if she wanted to listen to the heart and lungs. Not surprisingly, after listening to Parlay's heart and lungs, the reaction followed suit with the many before. Not surprisingly, it didn't have the same effect of making me laugh out loud to observe that reaction like it had so many times before.
So, the vet was quiet and observant and noted that Par looked happy and bright (the handful of peppermints in my pocket probably had something to do with it). She listened to my thoughts about CoQ 10 and Hawthorn to be added to the diet (the diet of air, but more on that later) She agreed that we needed to figure out the lowest doseage of Lasix that he could exist comfortably on and reminded me of the electrolyte imbalance. She was gentle and kind to him AND to me. She is a great vet on many levels.
I asked her to go ahead and give him his next shot of Lasix since it was that time anyway. Parlay, of course, had just rolled in the nastiest, smelliest, soggiest part of the paddock--only on one side--so when he ambled up to me to be caught and I discovered this, I was appalled. However, I did get a chuckle about it because the vet is a total sanitary FREAK and was carefully scrounging around looking for a clean-ish spot to inject! Okay, I have a weird sense of humor, but it was nice to smile about soemthing. Parlay had a bit of a grin on too. I am sure of it.
As she was packing up to go, I talked to her quickly about the eating issue, or rather, the NON eating issue. Parlay has not completed a meal in a week. I think that he is living on treats with a few nutritious moments thrown in for good measure. She basically told me what I already know. He just doesn't feel good. I need to do what I can to encourage him to eat, so if it's treats he wants? Treats he gets! Carrots and Cones and Candy, OH MY! He is drinking okay and that is important, because dehydration on top of electrolyte imbalance would definitely be a wrench in the spokes.
The vet had one last comment before she drove away, "Why not feed him some Cheerios--they're Heart Healthy!"
Hmmm... not a bad thought.
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