So sorry guys! It's been almost a month since I last posted.
Kechi is doing better - steadily, slowly putting on weight. Her ribs aren't covered up yet, her hips still stick out like a cow's - but she's definitely doing MUCH better. She is still producing milk and nursing Jynx, too, who is looking great.
Kechi was always a hard pony to catch and this is unbelievable! She tries to run from end to end in this feed pen when I want/need to tie her up to feed her. It's wonderful to see her moving but soo, so maddening! Silly, crazy, darned, unicorn mare!
Cat, our farrier, was out again today. We did Jynx's hooves 2 weeks ago, but chose not to do Kechi's at that time again yet. Then we did both Kechi and Jynx today. It's been exactly 8 weeks since she was last done and she had had a bit of growth. A bit disheartening here...
There has been growth - but there is now an obvious bulge just below the coronet bands on both of Kechi's front hooves - showing the stress that she's been under in the last few months (change in living qtrs, change in feed, pregnancy, living arrangements, giving birth, losing weight/almost dying). There was also a somewhat major/noticeable "ring line" about 1/2 way down on her hooves (I'm not sure where that puts her in the timeline - think that may correspond to right before foaling?).
Then, while doing her right fore hoof (she was on that side, so did that hoof first), Cat was pretty excited - Kechi "released" a piece of her sole. But it was almost like she "hit blood" at her toe - i did a double take and had to look again to grasp the significance. Kechi had a good white line from heel to about the middle of the front quarter of her hoof. Then it's as if the white line disappears and "jumps" forward an 1/8 to 1/4". Then, at the toe center itself, between the white line and the laminae, there is red. And it was so red that it looked like fresh blood. It wasn't, more like crumbling hoof shreds that had had blood in them. Where the sole had "shed/released", you could also see more blue/purple area that Cat says will be red as her hoof grows out. She states that this was, at one time, a MAJOR laminitic event. Probably while she was on corn at the previous owners property? She stated that she shouldn't have had that much growth in her hoof since she came "home" -so it really had to have happened previously. The very first time Cat trimmed her in February, Kechi had several abscesses growing out - they opened with trimming, but were not infected or an issue at that time.
The left fore hoof had the same issue - mirror image!
The hind hooves did not.
The bad news is that she also now (at the time her hooves were trimmed today) a bounding pulse. So Cat also feels that there is something going on now, too. Kechi was not sore at the time she was trimmed - actually trotted out pretty nicely - we took her out of the pen, on flat & firm sand (well drained even with the deluge we've gotten this week) and did some lounging to see how she is moving. NICE.
Then it pointed out something to Cat (or I did) that I'd noticed the other day. Her left hip has "dropped". We don't know if it was an injury that didn't show while she was originally "fat" when she came home, if it was an injury from the other young mares running/kicking her; if it happened when she "went down" or at some point in the recovery (like when she got out of the slings or while she was "hanging"). It is currently very noticeable, maybe more so to me right now as I've got a problem with my lower back at L4/L5 and it's being worked on 3x a week right now (OMG, don't go there, currently on ice while typing this). None of my previous pics show this issue, so think it may have happened since May OR even after she went down in July.
SO, on top of the care for her hooves (to include hand walking in straight lines - I will be getting my walking in too; and lounging w/ the left hip to the outside of the circle), we are now talking about an equine massage therapist (for now) and in the future an equine chiro appointment (get her better first?)... THEN we'll see how she's doing.
Her face has healed, her sunburn has healed and the hair has all grown back in (though w/ rain & humidity we are probably looking at dealing with rain rot now, too) and most of the other raw/scratched places have also healed and grown over with hair. She is DEFINITELY on the mend!
I promise!! I will take some pics tomorrow of her in the day light. Today, I did get a couple of Jynx that turned out, but didn't get any of Kechi. I will also see if I can get some of her hooves - I will need to clean them up tomorrow and we want to also check to see if she's sore... I don't think she will be and the last 4 ponies that Cat swore would be - weren't - so it's a kinda "pseudo" bet.
Pics of Jynx on her thread.