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Witch's Trail Journal
Witch’s Trail - June 1, 2009
It has been a week since Witch’s Trail has arrived. His life has been turned upside down and this time that is a good thing. Witch’s Trail is living the life of a loved horse. He is in trouble; he has been diagnosed with Wobbles and has a deformity in his hock. But he is here and this is where the horses get the help they need and deserve. His days of training to be a racehorse are over; his days of living the life of a loved horse have just begun.
We have received and researched many article today. There are very many interesting aspects to this. It had never dawned on me that this could be a result of a nutritional imbalance. Being that Witch’s Trail is a racehorse and was bred at a farm called Holly Crest Farm, lack of nutrition never came into my head. Although we do see cases of abuse in the racing industry, Witch did not display the signs of a horse that had lacked nutrition in the beginning of life. What we did fund out through some articles that were sent to us is:
TODAY’S RESEARCH
Through this article we found out about a Dr. Grant who is well established in this field. We are not sure if surgery will be an option for Witch’s Trail. He is also dealing with a deformity in his hock. Also Witch’s Trail has been trained as a racehorse while having this condition so we will need to know how much damage there is. http://www.equinewobblers.com/Prognosis/Johnni.htm
More information about the surgery that was performed on Seattle Slew. http://seattleslew.com/articles.aspx?aid=17
Wobbler’s in Racehorses – Nutritional Imbalance
We were sent articles about Wobbler’s and the correlation between this condition and race horses. Initially as I said a nutritional imbalance did not dawn on me but here is the excerpt from the article:
The definitive cause of wobbler syndrome is uncertain however it is known to be more common in young rapidly growing thoroughbreds particularly colts although it has been seen in mares and in horses of all types and breeds. It may be caused by a nutritional inbalance in rapidly growing horses therefore it is important to feed youngsters accordingly and not give them feeds to encourage rapid growth. Specially designed young stock feeds are the most appropriate as they allow the horse to grow at an even rate. Full Article is here http://www.helium.com/items/1136257-wobbler-syndrome-causes-and-treatment
Here is another quote from an article, only part of the article emailed to us..
Surgical account
Because the disease generally affects the biggest, prettiest and often times the “best” bred horses, owners are demanding surgical treatment, which Dr. Cruz says are now being successfully demonstrated.
Surgical treatments were pioneer by Dr. Pam Wagner at Washington State University back in 1977. Dr. Wagner would drill into the vertebrae pressing on the spinal column and remove a bone core giving relief to the spinal cord. After surgery, wobblers generally improved within three to six months. While they were “stabilized” they weren’t necessarily cured, Dr. Wagner pointed out.
Maybe we are demanding surgery, when we ought to be looking at prevention instead of cure.
If we persist in over-feeding, over-protecting, and over-supplementing young horses and we persist in over-paying for colts and fillies that grow the fastest and become the largest as yearlings, then we are going to continue to see wobblers.
For some reason, we persist in giving blue ribbons for the very things that break horses down.
Another Case – We want to hear both sides, it is what will allow us to do what is right for Witch’s Trail
Yes .......... Wobbler's Syndrone is a neurological that is genetic and only gets worse. It is typical that Wobbler's does not show up until about age 3 - 4 - 5 years of age. So your horse is right on target. The neurological symptoms will gradually get worse and worse until the horse is unstable on his feet and will fall. Many go undiagnosed until they break their legs or necks or heads from a nasty fall. Then they get diagnosed in post mort exam. I have - twice - had to put down very young horses because of wobbler's. It's a real heartache. But it is the right thing to do. Some remedies have been tried ......completely ridiculous......expensive.....and torture for the horse. None have had any real level of success. So - if you feel that the vet is pretty competent.............and Wobbler's is not too hard to diagnose ........ Then I would recommend to put the horse down.....and realize that you are saving him from the awful future that Wobbler's would give him. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that is my recommendation. Good luck to your horsey friend ...and I am sorry for her bad luck.
Witch’s Trail Spirit
We did learn that it is very important for his spirit to stay up and not to let him get depressed. Pain leads to depression..depression leads to pain. So one woman from Saratoga told Barbi that giving him lots of love, grooming, social time, etc etc is very important for him right now
Today’s Accomplishments
Today was spent mostly on research and getting contacts together. Tomorrow we will be emailing Dr. Grant our vet’s diagnosis and write up to see what his thoughts are on Witch’s Trail’s condition.
We called the owner/trainer of Witch’s Trailer to see if they would help with his expenses at all. They never even had the doctor look at him. They said that they would like to help with the costs but they are very strapped right now and he will talk to his partner. They have a horse running and the horse is pretty good and if the horse wins he will give part of that to Witch’s Trail. He did say that he was happy we are putting the effort in to help Witch’s Trail
Brad moved things around so that we could make a small paddock for him, he has a small “patio” outside of his stall but Brad made a little bigger of a paddock right outside his stall. This way he can still socialize with this friends Doug and Luke but no physical contact so we do not have to worry about him getting hurt.
Davey’s Day
Today Davey went out in his new paddock and was able to talk to his buddies Luke and Doug. They cannot rough house but they can still talk and nuzzle. Davey is the first to leave the horses when he sees you coming he would much rather have a human than a horse. Davey is the only horse allowed by Brad to be “hand- fed” treats.
Since Witch’s Trail is on Bute we have started putting yogurt in with each of his feeding, we will probably be starting with gastroguard as well, although expensive it is a very good product but we have also had much success with yogurt. We will have to just monitor this.
It is hard to get a decent picture of him when you approach because he is right there in your face… and it is hard to hold the camera when his eyes are saying.. “Pet Me Please.” Today I introduced Davey to “Mrs. Pasture’s Cookies for Horses.” He wasn’t quite sure at first, he sniffed and sniffed, but after a while he ate it. Immediately he looked up and said..
MAY I PLEASE HAVE ANOTHER…
 
Words from Davey…
Thank you to everyone for helping me…. This is a new life for me and I am enjoying it. In the morning the sun comes out and I like to feel it on my back.. it is warm and comforting. The ice guys bring my breakfast. After that no one expects anything of me. I no longer have to run. I choose what I want to do. The people are here to love me and take care of me. I am a horse…
Love Witch’s Trail… Davey
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