DULCE & COOKIE left Texas and headed to California. These 2 girls had a boat load of health issues when they were first brought to Quarentine.  Kathy, our go to Quarentine person in Texas, went above and beyond to help these girls on their road to recovery.  Of course, we could not have done it all if not for our donors.  Thank you so very much.

The girls spent their Quarentine time together in adjoining stalls during the crazy winter storm in Texas and afterwards, they shared a pasture area.  During the trip to California they were side by side in the horse trailer.  They formed a very strong bond with each other over time.  Cookie is especially attached to Dulce.

After much thought & deliberation, it was decided that Cookie will travel on with Dulce to Valley View Ranch with Marlene.  We just did not feel right breaking them up and it was obvious that Cookie would be heartbroken if she was separated from Dulce at this time.  We did the right thing for these girls at this time in their lives for the right reasons.

Thank you all for being there for these girls.  Their story could have been so much worse if not for our supporters!  They so badly needed a chance to be the best they can be, receive proper feed, farrier, dental for both girls, medical care, people who cared about THEM and equine friends.  Thank you all!

Cookie & Dulce were scheduled to leave Texas and head to California at the end of this week (2/18-19/2021).  Our transporter, Marlene Dodge, had to turn around due to weather conditions.  A freak snowstorm has presented dangerous conditions.  Temperatures in Eastland, Texas, where the girls are quarantined, were minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit.  Poor Kathy and her husband have had to melt snow to provide water for the horses on her property.  They have been able to acquire water elsewhere.  Thankfully, Kathy has lived in snow country at one time and knows what to do in this mess.  Feeding, etc. is very difficult.  Despite the horrible conditions, the horses are doing well thanks to Kathy and her husband.  Please send positive thoughts.

She is on her second go around with the prescribed medication for EPM.  She has done amazingly well.  It is obvious that the meds have helped her.  She remains quite talkative and has long conversations with Kathy.  Ms. Dulce  is also a very untidy gal.  She likes to lay in manure/mud so that her beautiful coat is green/brown. 

Our last update was about DULCE’s visit with the dentist whose first comment to me was “This mare’s mouth is a trainwreck”.  I asked about the possibility of TMJ and if we should see about getting a chiropractor out.  The dentist agreed and said that the right side of her neck was stiff.

Kathy mentioned that DULCE appeared to have something going on with her back.  It looked like a really weird Hunters Bump or a roach back or something.

We contacted Robbie Stidham/Stidham Equine Sports Therapy.  Dr. Stidham came out promptly. He worked on helping DULCE for an hour or more and adjusted her from nose to tail.  Her mouth wasn’t the only thing that could be considered a trainwreck.  He adjusted her poll, neck, upper lumbar and her pelvis was rotated.  He felt that at sometime she had flipped over and nothing was done to help her out.  

He then checked her basic reflexes, foot placement, maneuvers in hand (does the horse know where its feet are), Tail Pull (assess her balance, strength and reaction time. Handler leads horse forward, Dr. Stidham grasped her tail and pulled it firmly to the side. This was done on both sides. A normal horse will resist the pull; a horse with a neurologic problem may be tipped off balance.)

When I spoke to Dr. Stidham after DULCE’s appointment, he said when he did the tail pull that she almost bent her nose to her tail she was so unbalanced and trying to get her feet under her.  He also said she was a very sweet girl, tiny ears, pretty head and a pretty mare.  

Further examination (vet was consulted) indicates EPM.  Sigh.  They see EPM quite a bit in Texas apparently.  Medication can halt the progression of the disease, but recovery depends on how badly nerve tissues have been damaged. If a horse is diagnosed and treated promptly, they may recover fully; but a severe or longstanding case may cause lasting neurologic deficits.

Drugs used to fight EPM include Toltrazuril, pyramethamine/sulfadiazine (or sulfamethoxazole) combination (paste, from compounding pharmacies) and ponazuril paste (Marquis, from Bayer). There's also a pelleted medication, diclazuril (Protazil, from Intervet International), which can be top-dressed on feed if you're sure your horse will consume the full dose. All the drugs are expensive, and treatment lasts weeks or months. Costs for Vitamin E was 105.00

We want to give DULCE the best opportunity to recover and also make sure that Kathy has plenty of chores to occupy her time.  We ordered Vitamin E from Complete Equine Performance(recommended) to use along with the compound we received from the vet.  DULCE started the compound on 1/7/2021 and the Vitamin E arrived 1/9/2021.  She will continue on daily doses of each for 60 days. 

DULCE hasn’t missed a beat and is eating/drinking well.  Despite not being cared for properly for a long time, she remains sweet and talks to Kathy every time she sees her. 

Because of the poor condition of DULCE’s teeth, an appointment was made with an Equine Dentist rather than having a veterinarian do a basic float of her teeth.  The dentist is not local and we had to wait until he was scheduled to come through the area.  We were fortunate that he was able to squeeze DULCE into his schedule.

The dentist examined her mouth and then called me.  After he introduced himself, his first words were:  “This mare’s mouth is a trainwreck”.  He went on to explain that she had probably never had dental work done, there were hooks, points and waves all over the place.  The inside of her cheeks were “shredded” and appeared to be somewhat calloused over from the continual irritation due to the sharp edges/hooks.  The front teeth were misaligned so badly because the lower teeth had pushed against them for a long time.  He gave us a rough estimate of his cost.  Of course, we said do whatever it takes to make her comfortable and able to eat properly.

He would clean everything up, address the hooks/sharp edges, waves, etc. and then see if he should extract one or both of the front teeth.  He ended up removing one and did a nice job of cleaning up the other.  He figures her age to be 17 yrs. old or more and was amazed that she wasn’t in really poor weight.  She has had this horrible situation with her teeth going on for a long time and adapted.  Horses amaze me!

Prior to having her teeth done, Kathy at the Quarantine Facility where she is currently staying sent this update:

12/26/2020 – ‘I have the gates all chained together because I’ve caught her playing with latches.  She may indeed be an escape artist.  I’m not chancing meeting that side of her.

She’s filling in fast now. She’s an eating machine.’

The Dentist told us she might be sore for a couple of days, feed her soaked pellets/senior, antibiotics & pain meds.  I asked about the possibility of TMJ and if we should see about getting a chiropractor out.  The dentist agreed and said that the right side of her neck was stiff.

There are no local Equine Chiropractors, but Lazy 3 Animal Care where the dental care was performed recommended Robbie Stidham of Stidham Equine Sports Therapy out of Stephenville, Tx.  Kathy scheduled an appointment with him for next Monday.

After returning to Kathy’s Starburst Ranch, recovering from the assault on her mouth and the sedation, DULCE hasn’t missed a beat!  She is still an eating machine and doing quite well.

As you can see from the vet/dental bills (some costs from the vet were for Cookie’s teeth/float and eye ointments, etc.) costs are quite reasonable (probably would have been much higher in California) and we could use some help with these.  

Thank you for helping DULCE and all the other horses of TIER.  We could not do ANY of this if it weren’t for our wonderful donors/supporters.  Happy Coming New Year!

12/13/2020  DULCE is doing well.  Hopefully, she will begin to gain weight soon.

We bought her a new halter and lead rope, purchased some Purina Equine Senior and some Alfalfa Hay Pellets for her.  She has been wormed with Ivermectine.  She is getting the Uniprim antibiotic twice a day in her soaked pellets.  So far, no runny nose or labored breathing.  Yay!

From Quarantine:  We have an escape artist lol! Her gate was open and I couldn’t see her anywhere. Then spotted her! She blended in so well. Looks like she preferred the rye bale instead of the coastal a little more. 

I thought how in the world am I gonna get her back in her stall. She saw me, and came right to me and followed me into the stall like a big puppy, all the while talking to me!!! Gail, she’s SO sweet!!!

DULCE was picked up from the killpen and transported to one of the Quarantine facilities we use.  Along the way, we had the tranporter stop at the vet office closest to the Quarantine facility, North Texas Veterinary Hospital.

Dulce did not have a Coggins Certificate, so we got the test done and also had a quick evaluation performed.  Her eyes are clear as are her lungs.  She did have a clear nasal discharge, but that could be from stress.  As a precaution, we are giving her Uniprim antibioc for about 5 days.

She is thin, in need of hoof care and.....dental care.  Looks like this beautiful girl is not 4 years old as stated.  

Vet indicated that she would need some of her back teeth done, but no hooks or ulcers.  As for her front teeth..........WOW!  Teeth will be addressed at a later date.  The important thing for now is getting some weight on her and getting her horrible feet done.