In the early part of February, we took Lily and Grady to Dr. Hoyme’s to have their habronemas frozen or removed.  Dr. Hoyme felt that Lily’s shoulder area had healed well and that freezing at this time might not be the best.  IF they should reappear (highly likely) during the warmer weather/fly season, we will address it at that time.

Lily was a really good girl today.  She allowed Kelly (A vet student who is doing 2 wks of Horse Hubandry at TIER for college credit.  Her Vet School is in Scotland!) to brush her and braid her mane.  She did this without being a scared girl.  We will see what her personality is tomorrow!!  HA!

I don't share a lot of personal opinions via the internet.  Believe me when I say that is a good thing.  Just ask anyone who has met me in person or had a phone conversation with me. But...I have a very strong opinon on the blueberry look I am sporting on my hands due to Blue Kote.  Absolutely do not like that each and every time I have used this stuff over the years and years, my hands and jeans look like they have been tie dyed with Welch's Grape Juice.  I mean every time!  The aerosol can is like some sort of dribble cup that sprays and dribbles all over at the same time.  Not only that, but it leaves a lasting glowing color for days because I never remember to have a bottle of alcohol handy to scrub it off.  That said, (rant over for the moment) it is a good product for protecting and helping to heal wounds.

So...since Lily's shoulder wound seems to be getting better (she did have one new weepy/swollen larvae eruption above her shoulder), we saved money by using the Blue Kote instead of the more expensive (!!!) Alushield to protect/heal the site.  The original Habronemas are reducing in size and swelling has gone down.  The area still has swelling toward the crest of her neck and I would not be surprised to see a summer sore develop there.  We continue to spray the site with EquiShield IBH before and after each application of Blue Kote at least twice a day or more.

I met with the veterinarian to pick up more Predisone and Dex.

Previously, when she had been changed over to 80 Pred a day, she began rubbing the area again and causing it to bleed, attract flies and swell.  She was put on the Dex for another 2 days and then we went to 120 Pred for 4 days, 4 days at 100 Pred and then down to 80 Pred per day until all signs of the larvae and existing Habronema sores are healed.  She is currently at day 2 of the 100 Pred dose.  Let's hope she doesn't start rubbing it again!  Lily loves her soaked pellets/senior with the medication in it and gets very vocal when she sees the bucket.

Thanks to some special folks (THANK YOU!), Lily will continue receiving Ivermectin wormer every 5 days (next one is 9/9/2018) until all signs of the habronemas are gone.  We were able to purchase enough Ivermectin to worm all the TIER residents to help prevent them from getting this ugly parasite.  Keep your fingers crossed on that one!

The Dex has stopped the itching (THANK GOODNESS!). Lily is no longer rubbing the huge habronema on her shoulder and making it into a bloody pulp.  There was blood on the feeder, pipe corral....urgh.  The angry inflammation has decreased as has most of the surrounding swelling.  There is still considerable swelling at the top of the site near her mane that is not evident in the pictures.  This area is very sore and she becomes very displeased when it is touched. 

Flies love the wound.  Spraying with IBH spray (has cortisone in it), then covering with Alu Shield or Nu-Stock (alternating between the two).  The wound is not as weepy/runny as it was on Saturday when she was first examined by our vet.  She shoos the flies with her nose and knocks off some of the Alu Shield or Nu-Stock so I reapply about 4-5 times a day.  The last topical application of the day, when the flies are less active, I apply Ivermectine directly to the wound. 

Sadly, I am not her best friend right now.  She is glad to see me when I bring her senior feed with the medication in it.  As soon as I start grabbing wound care items, she becomes evasive and worried, but she tries real hard to be brave.  I stay on guard though!

Tomorrow morning, the Dex powder will be discontinued and we will start with the Prednisolone.  If the wounds starts itching again, I am to contact the vet.  She will also get another tube of Ivermectin tomorrow and every 5 days thereafter for awhile.

We had enough Ivermectin on hand to worm some of the other horses as a preventative measure, but are in need of more to make sure that everyone has gotten some.

LILY'S WISH LIST:

30 tubes of Ivermectin for her to continue her treatment and to dose the TIER residents who still need it.

Alushield spray.  The cans are small and expensive!  We have gone through 1 1/2 cans in 3 days!

Several bottles of EquiShield® IBH Spray as it relieves the itching and keeps the flies at bay for awhile.

If you can help with obtaining any of these items, we would be most appreciative and so would Lily.

PayPal:  whoanellie@earthlink.net
(please specify donation is for Lily's wound care)

MAILING ADDRESS:
TIER, 17130 Van Buren Blvd., #45
Riverside, CA, 92504

Lily is sensitive, a bit defensive and wary, but tried hard to be brave. Takes some time to warm up to you. She is not overly flighty and she has a good mind.


TODAY: Dr. Gibbs said that the vet who performed a power float on her prior to her arrival at TIER did a great job on her teeth. The facial wound and the one by her eye in the original pictures I posted look awesome today! The treatment she received helped her tremendously.

The shoulder wound (habronema) is a nightmare with hatching larvae. She has rubbed it into a bloody hamburger looking type mess. Feet are good. Some sand in her gut, that we will address with psyllium. She was sedated in order to clean the wound and it didn't make her loopy. Just took the edge off.

I covered it with Nu-Kote until I can get some Alushield in here. She did get a tetanus shot and a shot of Dex and will be on powdered Dex for a few days. I will follow up with Vet on Wednesday to see how she is responding and if there is a dosage change. After a bit she will be put on Prednisolone. We also wormed her and will be worming her with Ivermectine every 5 days for awhile. We will also be spraying Equishield IBH (Insect Bite Hypersensitivity) fly spray.

(Last item on invoice was for a tetanus shot for a different horse. 20)

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. Lily is certainly benefiting from your kindness and caring. It's gonna be a very long road to getting those habronemas resolved.

Lily will arrive at TIER tonight!

8/24/2018 Lily is an approximately 18 yr. old Andalusian mare. I have received medical records from the vet who examined & treated Lily and also spoke to him. An ultrasound was done and she is not in foal. As stated above, her teeth were in really bad shape and he did do a power float.

He also said he feels the facial wounds are summer sores that have been very much aggravated by the flies and her rubbing. We will be using the EquiShield IBH (Insect Bite Hypersensitivity) Spray and topical medication (basically the same treatment we use on the donkeys at TIER who are so allergic to flies) as the vet recommended.

(Photos from HiCaliber/Facebook)

We have a call in to our vet in hopes he can examine her in the morning. We do intake exams with our own vet for every horse that comes to TIER even if they have been seen by another vet.