Truthful Tuesday

It's been awhile since Rio's given me more gray hairs. But he decided to last week. He's been on a little bit of a grain strike recently which isn't that odd for Rio. Sometimes he just decides he doesn't want his grain. Likely due to all the meds he's on. Maybe his stomach bothers him? Maybe he's tired of eating the same thing everyday? Who knows. I certainly don't. But from time to time he does this. He's somewhat overweight so my vets and I have always just kind of let him do his thing as he's clearly not malnourished. However, the problem with him not eating his grain is that he's also not eating his meds. And thus begins my tale...

Last Wednesday evening I noticed him kind of leaning his butt against the wall. He wasn't wanting to move away from the wall and his walk was unsteady. If you've been a reader for awhile, you know that I nearly lost Rio two years ago to EPM. He is on Ponazuril every day to keep him steady and happy. So of course my first concern was that he was relapsing. My second concern was what to do about it. With him already on meds daily, there aren't many more options. I hummed and hawed a few minutes about whether or not to call the vet since it was 9:30 at night or wait until morning. I finally settled on texting. I feel like it's less intrusive, and he could easily just ignore it until the morning if he was done vetting for the day. But my vet is awesome and probably loves Rio as much as I do. So of course he wrote right back.
I need to back up a tiny bit here to remind you all of a few things going on with the old man. He had vasculitis in his right hind about a month ago, and then while still on the steroids, his left hind blew up. Right hind seems to be mostly back to normal, but left hind is still swollen. He just finished a course of antibiotics and is still weaning off the steroids. Ok, back to Wednesday.
So my vet wrote back and suggested giving him some banamine to see if that offers any relief. It's safe to use with everything else he's taking. I obviously wouldn't see much change that night, but would know in the morning if he was better off or not. I agreed that was a great idea, and also asked if he could come by Friday when he was in the area. I knew it wasn't anything that couldn't wait an extra day, and the vet agreed.

The next morning I saw a HUGE improvement in Rio. Such a relief. This told me that it likely wasn't the EPM rearing it's head, but that he was having pain. Not that I want my horse in pain, but at least with that, we can figure out and get to the bottom of. I'm afraid with EPM we've exhausted our options. By Friday when the vet made it out, Rio was doing SO MUCH BETTER! After a quick neuro exam and some leg palpating Doc determined that his suspensory branch is really inflamed. He is going to stay on the Banamine for a week, keep his legs wrapped, and move around as much as possible to keep the swelling down. I also need to find a way to make sure he's getting his meds. And finally, my friends, this is where my confession comes in.

I've been sneaking him Ponazuril cookies. DON'T TELL RIO! How does one create a Ponazuril cookie you ask? Well... it's pretty simple really. Here's what you need:

Some soft cookies, your ponazuril compound and measuring syringe, and something sharp with which to hollow out your cookies. I used a chisel and a hoof pick. But I'm sure there are other functional objects out there too.
The result? A happy medicated pony, who may or may not be eating too many cookies.

Gimme more cookies. I will not hold still for this photo.

Have you ever hidden meds on your kids or your fur kids? My pups usually catch me in the act, but thankfully Rio is cooperating. Probably helps that his Ponazuril is banana flavored...