Blood work part two

Mikey's blood work came back clean, just low in protein. The vet usually recommends the horse go on alfalfa pellets when that happens, but Mikey is already on them, so she's thinking right now. If anyone has any suggestions, please share! His problems are outlined in my previous post.

Vet, Blood Work and Chia Seeds

The vet was out Monday to see a bunch of the horses, Mikey included.

Mikey got acupuncture, an ulcer test, and the vet checked his hock. The ulcer test came back negative (yay!), and he enjoyed his acupuncture. He was sound for the vet, but had some residual swelling on the inside of the upper hock joint so she did a laser treatment on it. It's a new thing she has, so we'll see how it looks today when I go out.

One thing she noticed was a slight muscle wasting, the biggest spot you can tell is under his tail where his butt cheeks don't actually meet. I noticed that in the last couple months, but he's always been slim, and they've barely met in the past, so I didn't think too much of it because he's dropped a little weight. She pulled blood to send off and have blood work done, so I'll have that result today or tomorrow. He works so hard and he's got rock hard butt muscles, but he can't be muscle wasting away.

My trainer and I think that if his blood work comes back normal, that he's worrying off his weight. He's done it before. He shows no outward worrywart symptoms except chewing his stall down. He's always easy to handle and cooperative riding no matter how he feels. He internalizes his worry. How human of him!

Cha, cha, cha, chia! Anyone else remember those commercials?

I also ordered him a 24 day supply of chia seeds. My trainer has a student who uses them, who suggested them to my trainer, who in turn suggested it to me as a possible replacement for the fat food he eats (the idea being to cut down on the grain he eats). There's apparently a lot of good to them, and the worst they would do is not work. Click here to go to US Chia and here to go to Equine Chia to read about the benefits in more depth. I didn't buy from either place, too expensive per pound and I think it's probably all about the same quality (sorry Mikey, I'm not buying you organic Chia). Instead I bought from Get Chia at $5 a pound for the 6 pounds of chia to do the 24 day test that Equine Chia does, but at the 4oz per day level instead of the 2oz level that is in their test. If it works I'll buy the 60 lb sack that ends up at $4.49 a pound. He works hard enough that the higher dose would be appropriate I think. Plus if that works, I can always try cutting it down later for even greater savings.

That's a whole lot of chia, in lots of tiny bags!
Though that's probably best so they aren't all exposed to the air at the same time.

An overview of the benefits of Chia Seeds:

• Lower the chance of sand colic
• Improves gut health
• Helps prevent stomach ulcers
• Helps with allergies due to the high levels of Omega 3 and Omega 6
• Anti-inflammatory properties
• Some calming properties
• High fat, protein, and fiber content

The sand colic isn't really applicable to me since I live in PA and the only sand we have is in our arenas. Improved gut health just sounds like a bonus if it actually works. He's colicked a couple times before, and I don't want to repeat it. If it helps prevent stomach ulcers, I won't get ompraozle for when he travels. He could use the allergy help since he's a sensitive redhead that gets hives every spring and fall. I tried Smart Shine Ultra on him to great success, but it put his supplement cost at over $3 a day, so I stopped after 90 days when his hives cleared up. That combined with the supposed anti-inflammatory properties makes it more helpful than Smart Shine Ultra, so I might be able to stop his MSM and his hock injections might last longer. I'm not sold on the calming properties, the reasoning they gave didn't impress me, but if it can quiet his mind, I won't do 3-4 days of Robaxim the week before a horse show. I use Robaxim outside the withdrawal period before shows because I spend so much time schooling and primping him the week or so before that I want him to associate it all with being chill, and then the chill feeling carries over when we're competing. He got to the point that when I brought out the clippers and trimmed up his face, bridle path and fetlocks that he'd start his nervous twitching and pooping since he knew he was going to be traveling. Just want to calm the mind a little. High fat, protein and fiber content sounds like a good way to help his hard-keeper feed put weight on him.

Basically for $30, I'll see what happens. It certainly won't hurt him. If I can cut out some other costs by not having him on fat food or the drugs, I'm saving money even though the Chia seeds will run about $34 a month. I'll make sure I get someone to hold him against a plain wall so I can take a before picture.

I also ordered myself some chia seeds, via this drink product. I too have worrywart symptoms, nervous energy, allergies and sinus problems. The US Chia website's page, Chia for People, mentioned it helps with sinus swelling, a major problem of mine. If shipping is already free, why not give it a whirl.

I think it looks tasty!

We have sparkly inventory!

We have in strands (left to right): Light Siam AB, Crystal AB, Light Sapphire AB, Half Metallic Blue, Teal AB, Half Coat Silver, Jet Black AB, Metallic Montana
In circle containers (top to bottom): Cream pearls, Green Iridescent, Metallic Champagne

Close up sparkles :-)

I made a Metallic Champagne one (it's in the finishing stages), and this is my next one.

Second Browband Done!

I spent my Saturday night finishing a second browband! That unfortunately, I cannot sell. As I was fumbling with it trying to get part of the wiring to sit properly I accidentally sliced the nylon thread at the end by the bridle loops and had to sew the darn thing back together. I think I got it patched up well, but that combined with a bad rivet job (not awful, but I don't have the right tools for it so I have marks on the rivets), I am just not comfortable selling it, even at a discount price. So now it's on Mikey's Micklem and we'll see how well it holds up to being in a tack room and seeing almost daily use.

Its beauty picture! Jet Black AB bicones, white lined clear seed bead webbing, and transparent smoke lustre connectors.

Mikey enjoys this new bling.

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Addition to this post:

Hubby made me a leather loop and rivet station, complete with new tools :-) Happy second Hanukkah to me!

Love my husband!!

Argh.

It has taken me a week to write about this, and I'm not going to say much because this week has been one long, upsetting, event after event week.

Mikey got kicked or something last Friday or Saturday in the hock. The already weak hock. I found it when I took him for a road walk and he walked fine, and trotted horrendously. To make a long awful story short, Mikey moved to the barn my trainer is leasing for the winter on Christmas Eve. It mostly centers around the fact he was going to be there anyway for the vet next Monday and I couldn't monitor the leg as closely as it needed to be since he had 3 different sets of hands on him a day of varying knowledge. It was not in the horse's best interest to stay. There's other reasons too, but that's not for the world to know via blog.

A week later and Mikey is for the most part sound and no more swelling. He tracks well and flexes negative, but you can get a slightly off step by turning him just the right way in trot and his right hind is just slightly slow off the ground.

On Monday Mikey will see the vet for: acupuncture, a pentacin shot, a stomach ulcer test, and now she'll also be checking his hock.

Lucky Numbers?

I got Chinese for lunch today, and found my fortune cookie oddly accurate. Perhaps I should go buy a lottery ticket tonight with the lucky numbers.

Let's hope the browbands are the good opportunity that's coming a knocking. Mikey wants his hocks injected again this year!

Why yes, everything in my life right now is expensive.

New Business

I decided to make a blingy browband for Mikey because the one I really liked was over $200. While this is not similar to that one, it is much more blingy!

"Mom, my face is sparkly... and I might like it."

I wove crystal beads with glass seed beads, went to an Irishman's leather shop to learn how to make the leather ends, and bam, sparkly browband that is almost ready for the masses.

I have a few design things to work out, but as soon as they are, I will post links to my Etsy store and anyone can have one made to order! I have a lot of colors available. I can do Swarovski Crystal or a premium regular crystal (the one Mikey has on is a regular crystal). A Swarovski Crystal one will be outrageously expensive because I need 165 of the beads for a 16" browband, and they are expensive to begin with and bulk pricing means I get 3 packages of 6 beads instead of one package of 6 beads. *shakes head*

Anyway, I'll be posting finished browbands as I go. I have one completed (light blue crystal with white webbing), one ready for leather ends (solid black crystal with white webbing), one almost ready for leather ends (red/orange crystal with gold webbing), one ready to start beading (fire opal Swarovski Crystal with black webbing), and beads on hand for a green iridescent crystal and a cream pearl one.

Stay tuned!!! And if anyone wants one, please comment and I'll get in touch! More pictures to come!