All posts by admin

Coffee with Casper – Day 1 after adoption.

Beginning of connection 12-7-19
I am now owned by 5 amazing horses. I love and care for them, day after day, year after year. Last week I fell in love with #5 – Casper – by the look in his eye. 

Horses abandoned to live on their own, on land… Then they needed to be removed from that land – a private case, not BLM removing horses from Public lands. A rescue organization stepped up – took them all to their facility. The horses were brought back to health and given amazing care. Thousands of hours of care, love and patience. These rescue organization women and their team are astounding humans – offering their heart and soul to horses in need. The last of this group – Casper, had been at the rescue a year and a half – all the others adopted out. While caregivers fiercely bond to horses, life is taken up by many horses and a mission. The most difficult part of being a rescuer is knowing they are the middle of the horses life plan, with the awesome responsibility to keep those special ones long enough to find the perfect placement. Casper needed his forever person, and his forever mates, and things came together perfectly for us all.

When I looked in Casper’s eye, at his facial expression, mannerisms, I saw a sensitive soul – his communication is clear, every action speaks volumes. Many people who adopt horses have a job for them to do, an idea of how they should behave. Some/ most horses want to have a say in how their minds and bodies are used. Horses have every right to be treated as a partner and with decency. Humans are fully capable of listening to horses – and working in ways that enhance, not kill their spirit.

I know I have the patience, training, education and empathic nature Casper needs to connect to and gain trust. Also – most importantly – I have a lack of a goal for his ‘usefulness’ in what he will do for me. My goal is to see him blossom, and let us know how/ if he wants to fit in, share his gifts, interact, share his curiosity… I so strongly felt this adoption was the right thing to do, without considering family naysayers and friends who would say “How many do you ‘have’ now?”. We don’t “have” each other – we are here, and we seek how our lives are better together, than not.

Understanding that my life goal is saving every wild horse on the planet… this is a whole ‘other’ story… Casper created a spark in my mind… What I can do for each domesticated horse is really simple. I offer a perspective that gives horse owners, caregivers, horse handlers and the public who simply observe horses – simple ideas, communication hints for better understanding each other. I am highly empathic, I’ve done bodywork with horses since 2003, having studied constantly – almost every modality, I have lots of tips to share for others from brain science to connection, along with courses showing light touch and horses responses you can do with your horse.

I create online courses teach to evaluation areas of discomfort, and how to release tension. As far as the body work I do with horses – it is a high level of care – find primary cause of body’s issues and fix them- realignment. I’ve just completed Renee Tuckers program – Tucker BioKinetic Technique – Six of us have completed the last course – TBT Multi – Layered Alignment Course. 

Casper has inspired me, I look forward to him connecting and meeting the other horses. His nature is sweet and pure. I now plan on creating online courses to teach horses’ communication and behavior. Casper’s communication is so clear – he will be the best teacher, along with my other horses interactions too.

The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness*

http://fcmconference.org

On this day of July 7, 2012, a prominent international group of cognitive neuroscientists, neuropharmacologists, neurophysiologists, neuroanatomists and computational neuroscientists gathered at The University of Cambridge to reassess the neurobiological substrates of conscious experience and related behaviors in human and non-human animals. While comparative research on this topic is naturally hampered by the inability of non-human animals, and often humans, to clearly and readily communicate about their internal states, the following observations can be stated unequivocally:

  •  The field of Consciousness research is rapidly evolving. Abundant new techniques and strategies for human and non-human animal research have been developed. Consequently, more data is becoming readily available, and this calls for a periodic reevaluation of previously held preconceptions in this field. Studies of non-human animals have shown that homologous brain circuits correlated with conscious experience and perception can be selectively facilitated and disrupted to assess whether they are in fact necessary for those experiences. Moreover, in humans, new non-invasive techniques are readily available to survey the correlates of consciousness.
  • The neural substrates of emotions do not appear to be confined to cortical structures. In fact, subcortical neural networks aroused during affective states in humans are also critically important for generating emotional behaviors in animals. Artificial arousal of the same brain regions generates corresponding behavior and feeling states in both humans and non-human animals. Wherever in the brain one evokes instinctual emotional behaviors in non-human animals, many of the ensuing behaviors are consistent with experienced feeling states, including those internal states that are rewarding and punishing. Deep brain stimulation of these systems in humans can also generate similar affective states. Systems associated with affect are concentrated in subcortical regions where neural homologies abound. Young human and non- human animals without neocortices retain these brain-mind functions. Furthermore, neural circuits supporting behavioral/electrophysiological states of attentiveness, sleep and decision making appear to have arisen in evolution as early as the invertebrate radiation, being evident in insects and cephalopod mollusks (e.g., octopus).
  • Birds appear to offer, in their behavior, neurophysiology, and neuroanatomy a striking case of parallel evolution of consciousness. Evidence of near human-like levels of consciousness has been most dramatically observed in African grey parrots. Mammalian and avian emotional networks and cognitive microcircuitries appear to be far more homologous than previously thought. Moreover, certain species of birds have been found to exhibit neural sleep patterns similar to those of mammals, including REM sleep and, as was demonstrated in zebra finches, neurophysiological patterns, previously thought to require a mammalian neocortex. Magpies in particular have been shown to exhibit striking similarities to humans, great apes, dolphins, and elephants in studies of mirror self-recognition.
  • In humans, the effect of certain hallucinogens appears to be associated with a disruption in cortical feedforward and feedback processing. Pharmacological interventions in non-human animals with compounds known to affect conscious behavior in humans can lead to similar perturbations in behavior in non-human animals. In humans, there is evidence to suggest that awareness is correlated with cortical activity, which does not exclude possible contributions by subcortical or early cortical processing, as in visual awareness. Evidence that human and non- human animal emotional feelings arise from homologous subcortical brain networks provide compelling evidence for evolutionarily shared primal affective qualia.

We declare the following: “The absence of a neocortex does not appear to preclude an organism from experiencing affective states. Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non- human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.”

* The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness was written by Philip Low and edited by Jaak Panksepp, Diana Reiss, David Edelman, Bruno Van Swinderen, Philip Low and Christof Koch. The Declaration was publicly proclaimed in Cambridge, UK, on July 7, 2012, at the Francis Crick Memorial Conference on Consciousness in Human and non-Human Animals, at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, by Low, Edelman and Koch. The Declaration was signed by the conference participants that very evening, in the presence of Stephen Hawking, in the Balfour Room at the Hotel du Vin in Cambridge, UK. The signing ceremony was memorialized by CBS 60 Minutes.

My online equine bodywork course is getting great reviews!

My online equine bodywork course is getting great reviews!
 
Equine Partnered Bodywork will introduce a light touch technique we can do WITH our horse. We will discover the connection of how to ask for and observe our horse’s consent to be with us. By applying a light touch to the neck of a horse, we will see and recognize different levels of response. As a result, we will discover that by applying a light touch and staying on the point or area, the horse will ‘process and release’ their own tension, be it physical, mental, emotional. We in turn will feel our stress level melt away into relaxation. (This works with dogs as well, course coming soon)
Nancy Horne
 
“I had the GREATEST thing happen today!! My Arab always enjoys his grooming but today I used what you have taught me with the touch. I did as you said and waited for him to let me know when it was ok instead of just starting to touch him! He walked over to me and put his head in my arms!! I can’t thank you enough for helping me to make our end times together so very special for him and me!! I hope you know the magic you created between my horse and I!!TY TY TY!!”   ~ Diane ~
 
“Nancy, it’s wonderful! Not only does it show some very gentle, effective bodywork techniques, it also really leads a person into a meditative state with horses. I also like the Udemy website, they provide a very easy format to be able to navigate the different segments. ” ~ Mara~

“It’s wonderful ! and so easy to follow, understand and easy to do.” ~ Stormy May – The Path of the Horse ~ 
 
“I hope to be able to give a retired horse a little human attention in the near future and he will deffinatly feel the benifit of what Nancy is showing !!!!!! Thank you”  ~ Jennie Hellkvist ~
 
“There are lots of good videos to guide you through. Lots of information and I have a decent working knowledge moving forward. After trying these principles out on both a horse and a K9 there is definitely some huge advantages to knowing your animal better and connecting deeper with them for their own health and well being.” ~ Anthony ~
 

Cheryl Burt and Yuri – the icelandic.

Cheryl Burt of Equivisions checked out Yuri – his groundwork skills and his readiness for riding. I watched for 2 hours and 45 minutes and she conversed with him – asked a question – got a response or 2 and suddenly his answer was guided into a new skill gained.

If you don’t know Cheryl – check her out – her skills are amazing. She lives in Paradise MT, works out of Polson and commutes to the Triple Take Arena every month. ‭(406) 360-4555

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnZ54hrg_c5wJV52HYUfk8g

            

Listening Between the Lines – June 30 2018

“But my horse is healthy! Perfect in fact – Is this event of value for me?”
Absolutely! Even if you’ve been with horses all your life – you will discover things you’ve never noticed or simply thought of in a different way.
This course is designed for professionals, vet techs, foster care givers, horse trainers, and horse owners!

A pro-active approach to create wellness and prevent disease is spelled out in this quote from the text known as The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, written in the third century B.C.

“The sages did not treat those who were already ill; they instructed those who were not yet ill. To administer medicines to diseases which have already begun is comparable to the behavior of persons who begin to dig a well after they are thirsty and those who begin to cast weapons after they are already engaged in battle… The superior healer helps before the earliest budding of disease.”

Register Here


ListeningBetweenTheLines_Event

Equine injury, Excede antibiotic, side effects warning

This post is about an injury, the treatment and after effects, finally the release of life. I don’t know for certain what the issues really were even tho I was right there but not in view when the injury occurred. Was it the injury or was it the Excede antibiotic? We’ll never know. Here is my story… and after 10 months I researched the meds and found others experiences with Excede – posted at the end.

3-26-18 HEARTBREAKING UPDATE: I discovered some information that research is providing strong backing for. The morning Shanti was injured, the vet gave her a shot of the antibiotic Excede. 4 days later, the follow up shot was given. That is when horrendous events started – edema, infection, whole body filled with air, etc. Fully documented and photographed and shared with my veterinarian. The trainer who alerted me to this drug Excede, shared her past week’s experience with me. Shame on me for not doing research, but it was an emergency – there was no pre-thought – only trust that vets know best.
Educate yourself on this medication.
Excede was introduced in 2010 and through research – there are MANY stories of horses dying or barely coming out of it alive… The reaction has been called ‘an allergic reaction’.
DO NOT ALLOW YOUR VET TO GIVE YOUR HORSE EXCEDE. There are many alternatives.
EXCEDE® | Zoetis US
“EXCEDE is the first and only FDA-approved antibiotic for horses that offers a full course of therapy in just two doses. EXCEDE reduces the treatment requirements from 10 once or twice daily doses of a comparative antibiotic, such as oral trimethoprim-sulfonamide (TMS), to just two doses.”

6-29-17 Original post:

“I’ve just earned “Masterson Method Certification” Integrated Equine Bodywork. I use many forms of healthy modalities and connection communication. Yet here I am faced with my own horse needing a healing method I can’t offer. For the past 6 weeks I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of a split second puncture wound. I was 10 feet away when it happened, fortunately.

May 18th I fed the 4 horses a pile of hay each – went in the hay barn 10 feet away – was opening another bale – heard a slight shuffle -went back out – blood was spurting out of Shanti’s chest – right armpit. This puncture is in the area of the Brachial Plexus – the nerve center of the horse. Compare this to the power panel in your house – Shanti has some damaged nerves – circuits in her body. She also has other issues that are hard to diagnose and treat. This is something many of us face who live far from veterinary centers with diagnosing equipment. Even situations when diagnosing is possible, treatment may not be possible. My innate, educated and developed support skills are focused on intent to help the body heal itself. This trauma is beyond my current support abilities, clearly there are other tools out there.

The small 1 inch puncture cut the small artery – blood spewed out with air bubbles… I called the vet at 6:30 am they came out 3 ½ hours later… I got the bleeding stopped, Vet came – gave antibiotic shots etc, semi routine, we didn’t know the extent…

Bizarre changes daily: Edema’s, nerve damage, Monday in 10 minutes time my horse moved around enough in a 12 x 12 stall after her buddies were out of sight to ‘suck air under the skin’ through the 1 inch gash or from her lungs… She ballooned up – (It felt like skin over an air cushion instead of solid muscle) – chest, shoulders – withers to elbow, on back – air then moved above lumbar area… It crinkled like bubble wrap in some places – air cushion, hollow – in others. She was in a lot of pain. Vet came out again – took xrays & ultrasound… inconclusive – clearly a different horse than 7 days earlier – he was shocked.

When the air dissipated over the next few weeks, what became visible was muscle atrophy on scapula and shoulder area – triceps… She put no weight on the leg, high pain level, I considered lung issue, puncture site, this all felt life threatening. Attempted to trailer her to vet, handled by myself then the highly skilled MEE service, she refused to trailer load. This wasn’t about fear or couldn’t – this was a clear calculated decision. Bottom line – she needs to heal and taking her to the vet isn’t an option.”

The end: 2 weeks later she took a turn for the worse and was in extreme discomfort. I called her previous owners to come say good bye. I also made sure my 3 horses said goodbye. My lead mare was with us all as we let Shanti go. They stayed with her  all night, then she was buried.



Video

Accident 5-18-2017 The following email recap 1 week after injury, doesn’t include the photos sent to the vet, watch the video to get an idea of the after effects of the injury.

I sent this email to the veterinary office to update as my call in hadn’t been returned. There was no reply to the images and email either…

“Can you please check with Dr ___ and see if this progression is normal? It seems like her chest area is getting larger.

I didn’t take picts Thursday.  Shanti is the perfect patient.  Shots went well Sunday – still on bute.

Picts showing progression – changes from Fri – Wed. Normal? red flag?

Monday morning (day after 2nd Excede shot) about 11 am is when she sucked air into her body when the horses went out of site. She was slightly emotional called a few times – was in the 12 x 12 – I went out right away and called the others back – and they came… I then noticed her body was an air pillow. The changes took less than 20 minutes – I called my vet, then found a video on youtube that showed what I was seeing… Felt better.

I then moved the horses to the winter small area – all within site of Shanti – set up a stall for Shanti.

Did an epsom salts on towel compress Tues morning, seemed to help.  I let Shanti out for an hour last evening to move to see if the edema would be absorbed – it appeared to help. Leg looked less swollen and belly edema by stifle looked better this morning.  She’s still moving slowly on the right front knee/leg. – hard to tell if there is damage and where at this point.

FRIDAY –

open wound on right front armpit: (scar on leg – I don’t remember reading about the story of this accident on her vet record’s. I read she’s been through a lot since she was three. )

right leg and knee swollen – edema on right pectoralis.

Sat – took her out of the 12 x 12 for picts: edema on the front right of horse- shot behind right elbow

Sunday – edema shifted to the front LEFT of horse

Monday – horse sucked air into the wound so her body is like an air pillow – from neck to withers to elbow to back.

Tuesday developed an edema on belly side in front of right stifle. Body still full of air.

Wednesday: body still full of air, front end is massive, edema still large on belly by right stifle. Let her out of the 12 x 12 for 3 hours as you see below to move to help the edema be absorbed.  Shanti not moving around much – her tail is swishing – other horses are not..

Compare below 2 picts with the first picts above , notice her chest is really swollen – there is no sternum crease between the pectoralis descendent.

I didn’t clean her leg this morning so you can see the area is still draining out through the wound. It is not infected as the drainage is clear – not pus.

Edema in front of right stifle – starts on the white patch – Picture as shown from her LEFT:

Please advise if anything is a red flag and not normal… Thanks.

Should I keep her standing still in a 12 x 12 or let her walk a bit? ”
(again, there was no response. I called again a few days later – frantic – The vet came out on Friday and couldn’t believe the changes in my horse)

Other peoples experience (via google search)  with Excede Antibiotic:

The antibiotic ‘Excede’, manufactured by Pfizer, is causing lethal allergic reactions in horses. What is Pfizer doing about this? In one particular case they only sent $250 to the grieving owner. How about pulling this off the shelves?!

This is what Pfizer posts on their own website:

As with all drugs, the use of EXCEDE is contraindicated in animals with known allergy to ceftiofur or the the β-lactam group (penicillins and cephalosporins) of antimicrobials. Do not use EXCEDE in horses intended for human consumption. The administration of antimicrobials in horses under conditions of stress may be associated with diarrhea, which may require appropriate veterinary therapy. Though safe in cattle when properly administered, inadvertent intra-arterial injection is possible and fatal. https://animalhealth.pfizer.com/…/…/Pages/Excede_Equine.aspx


Chance began another round of Excede to get his scratches under control- it is a never ending battle.  A while back, I had a skin scrape of Chance’s scratches due to their chronic nature.  The scrape results showed a number of bacteria, all commonly seen with this type of infection, that were resistant to most antibiotics.  Thus why we decided to try Excede.

Administering Excede is pretty straight forward- 1 shot IM every 4 days for about a month.  Easy enough….or so I thought.  The first shot was administered by the vet when I was not present.  The second shot the vet also administered while I was there.  Thirty minutes after the shot was given to Chance I noticed he seemed off but not in his “normal” post-acupuncture relaxed state. He suddenly became lethargic, he wouldn’t eat his dinner, and the gut noises became almost nonexistent. I commented to the vet my concerns and she came over and reexamined him.  Sure enough something was wrong.  She proceeded to administer 10cc of Banamine (just in case it was colic) and told me to walk him around outside for about 20-30 minutes.  Then see if he would eat 2 cups of feed only.  We walked and Chance began to act like his normal happy go lucky self.  Once inside he started to eat!

Part of me felt that his reaction was a fluke.  However, the third dose proved me wrong.  Four days later, Chance received his shot and went outside to enjoy the first beautiful, warm day.  I sat in the field watching him.  He was sluggish, lethargic, stiff..he looked 10 years older and barely moved from one spot under a tree.  He wasn’t eating grass nor did he run around and play- he didn’t even run up to me like he normally would. I decided to bring him inside and give him a warm bath since it was in the high 70’s.  He was non responsive to his bath- no playing with the hose or even accepting peppermints.  I placed a cooler on him to ensure he stayed warm until he was out in the sunshine.  I figured after a bath he would perk up- again, I was wrong.  At dinner time I went to bring him in and typically I will open up the gait and he will canter into his stall- he slowly walked instead. He wouldn’t eat his feed (he normally whinnies and makes a fuss until he gets his feed and devours it) or his hay…I stayed and watched him for a while and he just slept.  I spoke to John, the guy who helps me with Chance and Lucky, and he confirmed that Chance hadn’t been finishing his feed and wasn’t running when he brought him in for dinner.

My concerns grew and I decided to do some research on Excede. That strange thing is I usually do extensive research before changing or administering anything with my animals.  But, for some reason I did not do so this time and I wish I had.

According to a number of reputable websites, Excede can cause significant and dangerous side-effects such as; diarrhea, severe acid reflux, blood coming from mouth, loss of appetite, lethargy, muscle and gait stiffness, and more.

The most troubling of everything that I read wasn’t what was posted on the Pfizer (the manufacturer) website but from the countless statements given by horse owners and the studies done by outside companies.

According to drugs.com, “in the PK study, several horses developed clinical signs consistent with foot pain (stiff in the front limbs when turned in tight circles, and increased pulses and heat to the front feet). One horse in the NAXCEL group and one horse in the 6.0 mg/lb (2X) EXCEDE group were euthanized due to laminitis. Clinical signs of foot pain (stiff front limbs and increased heat and pulses in feet) affected more horses, for a longer period of time, in all EXCEDE-treated groups as compared to the NAXCEL-treated group. The study housing (multi-horse pens on concrete slabs) and diet (free choice alfalfa/grass mix and once a day pellets) may have contributed to the development of foot pain. The prevalence and severity of injection site reactions in EXCEDE-treated horses may also have contributed to the development of a stiff gait. A causal relationship between ceftiofur and foot pain could not be definitively determined.”

The research has revealed that Excede should be used with caution and the horse receiving the medication must be monitored. Make sure to weigh the benefits and risks before starting Excede.  This drug can be lifesaving for many horses but for others, it can be life-threatening.
https://chanceswetake.com/tag/excede/

The FDA recently (Feb. 2010) approved a new long-lasting injectible antibiotic for horses called Excede. I have heard of problems with this (diarrhea, acid reflux and death). You may wish to do some homework before using it on your horse.

Extreme caution on Excede!!
My twenty five year quarter horse was given 16cc of Excede six days ago and seemed fine until about the second day, started with loose stools and some swelling of his neck. I refused to give second dose after four days and soooo glad I did as of today the swelling in neck has now gotten so bad that both sides are huge and very hard all the way down to his chest area. The time release of the drug is the scariest part due to the length of time in the system so if a reaction happens it takes days to peak and up to eighteen days to clear out. I truly believe my horse would have died if I would have given the second dose. I have always been leary of new drugs and will always follow my gut instinct from now on. Hope this helps anyone else that might have to make the decision.

I lost my 2 y/o gypsy filly to this drug. She was treated with Excede and developed projectile stools and a 106.2 fever on the third day after the injection. We rushed her to the main surgical hospital in New Jersey where they tried to stabilize her. She died April 28 after surgery from cardiac arrest due to the endotoxemia produced by her necrotic large intestine. We were there with her during her surgery and were permitted to see the damage to her colon but hoped she could survive the surgery because she was a big, healthy 2 y/o baby. The treating veterinarian filed a claim with Pfizer stating that the drug side effects caused her death. We are heartbroken. By the time the side effects become apparent d/t the long acting nature of this drug, it is too late and not easy to reverse. This drug is dangerous and should be used with extreme caution.

Last week, my 10 yo quarterhorse mare came down with a upper respiratory infection accompanied by a low grade fever. The vet put her on Excede, 16 im on each side of her neck on mon, repeated on sat both followed by a im shot of Dex. Wednesday, her fever spiked to 102.6, her white blood cell was triple normal and both sides of her neck swelled badly; she remained in the clinic for 3 days. She was released last night saying her temp was normal, apply DMSO to he swollen neck area and take her temp every day; we’re still waiting for the culture results, but tonite, her temp is back up to 102.6 with the only symptoms being she cant raise her head and no neck flexation. I can only link all of this back to Excede and from what I’m reading, I’m really wishing I hadn’t given her the 2nd dose. Does anyone know of anything other than the DMSO I can use on her to help with the swelling – the vet is now thinking the temp is related to the inflammation…I dont know how or what to do to help her!
(No update was posted.)

Subject: Bad Horse Drug

This afternoon my Peruvian Horse, LEA Apolo, died from a bad horse drug. He was given a shot of Excede by Pfizer (antibiotic) because he had a fever. He died instantaneously after the shot, like a heart attack with seizure. The vet who gave the shot was in shock and struggled to keep him from landing on me because I went down with him. She called Pfizer and they said some other horses had had the same allergic reaction. They are sending me $250 for my trouble…..can you imagine?

The problem is, Apolo was a one-in-a-lifetime horse and friend and only 10 years old. I could ride him anywhere and he was safe, forgiving, and special. I cannot stop crying and will never get over his loss. I loved showing him and we won many times. He was my reason for going to the barn, and I really loved this horse. I am so grateful I had him since he was young.

Please do not use this medication in shot form. Please be aware of its possible danger. I do not want others to suffer the pain it has brought me.

Yes – my horse had severe swelling in his neck when given Excede. I felt so bad for him – his neck was swollen from almost his ears to his shoulder on both sides, and he couldn’t put his head down at all. Won’t use that one again!

I’ve only seen it used on one horse, for a puncture wound. No diarrhea but several hours after the second dose the horse went into shock. It was very weird – not normal colic symptoms at all. Vet said impaction or twist and put her down. I can’t blame it on the antibiotic but even so I am deathly afraid of Excede now and would be hard pressed to use it on my horse.

My horse was prescribed excede while at a boarding stables for a couple of months for a deep bite wound (from another horse). I was there when the vet arrived but was not asked about what antibiotic to use and the excede was administered. I had never heard of it before and would have elected for oral uniprim administered in feed 2x a day. It seems that the barn uses excede a lot – probably because there is no need to dose in feed 2x a day and delivery is guaranteed. The injection was split in 2 doses, one on each side of his neck. He did get some mild swelling from the first shot on his neck but his stools seemed normal and his overall behavior seemed normal. He got the second shot 6 days later. Same thing – split in 2 doses , one on each side of his neck. This time, the next day I discovered his neck swelled hugely (12 x 6 inches of swelling about 2-3 inches deep). He had his turn out sheet with neck cover on so Ii did not see it immediately. I noticed he looked very “sad” just standing over his hay not eating. I went up to see him and discovered the swelling. He looked at his hay longingly and tried to put his head down to eat it, but could not! then I googled and found all of the warnings about this antibiotic. I put him on bute and banamine and benadryl at nite. By afternoon he could move his neck enough to lower his head to eat hay and next day he seemed more himself. He was Trotting and cantering around the field a bit like he usually does. I continued the bute/banamine/benadryl regime. Swelling is much reduced to prob 3 inch round area – but still there a week later now! I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS ANTIBIOTIC UNLESS THERE ARE EXTENUATING/COMPELLING CIRCUMSTANCES THAT REQUIRE THE ADMIN OF A SLOW RELEASE FORM OF ANTIBIOTIC LIKE THIS ONE THAT ARE WORTH THE POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS (WHICH I AM TOLD INCLUDE IRREVERSIBLE COLITIS). IT IS SO MUCH SAFER TO USE SOMETHING LIKE UNIPRIM THAT DOES NOT HAVE THESE ADVERSE REACTIONS. IF YOUR HORSE GETS GRAINED 2X A DAY IT IS VERY EASY TO MIX THE POWDER IN…

My horse had a violent allergic reaction to Excede at a horse show. A vet from a well-known hospital had been treating her for scratches the entire horse show. The last week of a four-week show, she said we should just go ahead and give her a shot of exceed. The next morning when I arrived to hack her before my classes, her neck was swollen at the injection site. I showed the vet who happened to be driving by and she thought it was not a big deal. I put her in her stall, and left to get breakfast. I received a phone call 15 minutes later from my trainer saying that it looked like the mare had broken her leg. When I got back to the showgrounds, the vet was already there doing x-rays. One of her front knees was swollen larger than I have ever seen a horse’s joints swell. But then I looked at the injection site from the night before, and the entire neck was swollen. And, all other leg joints were beginning to swell. The vet immediately started administering different meds, as the horse’s breathing was now getting difficult as well. She let me know that we may need to put the horse down. This was a beautiful five-year-old baby green mare… I was heartbroken. They pulled fluid from joints and sent them to a lab, and stayed with the horse until the meds helped her stabilize. It took her a month to recover, but she was fine. I called the company that makes the drug and filed a report so that it would be on record, but the mare was simply allergic to it… Violently.

There are more testimonials – do your own research… Use Excede antibiotic with caution.

Almost back in Business – Greater Good Ranch

February 2017, an over abundance of snow and minus 7 temps  – then 39 degrees and rain, then freezing below zero temps again… My arena failed. Due to location and building type – it was not cost affective to repair.
Here is the new building: Contractor finished his part Nov 10th.

 

and the inside:

I’ve added insulation, 2 x 12 x 16′ wall boards – repurposed from old arena, wiring, and lights are next…

Putting the 2x12x16’s in place. 2 ways to get the job done.

All should be finished in a week or so!

Thesis on Masterson Method sessions

This is a fabulous study on the results of Masterson Method bodywork.

Download the 50 page pdf Masters Thesis

Horses’ Responses to Receiving Masterson Method™ Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork™ Treatments

Carla O. Beu – Western Kentucky University, carla.beu596@topper.wku.edu

Intro:

This research documents the changes of comfort levels in horses resulting from receiving Masterson Method™ Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork™ treatments.

The Masterson Method™ (MM) is a bodywork technique used to identify and release accumulated tension from the equine body. MM focuses on three main anatomical junctions: the poll-atlas junction, neck-shoulder-wither junction, and the sacroiliac junction. Research documentation includes pre and post treatment evaluations, the treatments, owner questionnaires, and cribbing observations. Also, all evaluation and treatment sessions were videotaped with the intent of further analysis for changes in range of motion, flexibility, and comfort level as applicable. Each horse received a minimum of two treatments one week apart with a follow-up, post-treatment evaluation a week later. Owners responded to a questionnaire before the first evaluation and after the final evaluation. Each horse was considered one case study. Available data found on Masterson Method effects are anecdotal. This research strives to give an objective report of efficacy through thorough documentation of the pretreatment evaluation, a record of MM techniques used during treatments, and posttreatment reports.

Keywords: Masterson Method, cribbing, bodywork, aggression, horses, lameness

Cribbing info – page 31: