The Lameskys

You’ve heard of the Slowskys, the turtles that do the Comcast commercials? Well my sister and I own the Lameskys. Frappe and his BFF Tyler went to turnout together on Feb. 9 and somehow, and I am not implying that they were up to no good that day, they both ended up DFL. Here are a couple of pictures of “The Boys”, as we call them, doing what they do best.

New Washer and Dryer or Stem Cells?

I am the worst blogger, ever. A lot has happened in the last 5 months. Rather than go back and rehash all the ups and downs I will cut to the chase. On March 4 I took Frappe to see Dr. Carol Gillis for an ultrasound of his back/ SI joint. The ultrasound exam showed that he re-injured his right tuber sacral short dorsal ligament.

This is his third injury in the same spot in 5 years so we have decided that we are going to give it one more shot at getting him and keeping him sound for dressage work. Since this is our last try, I want to do everything within my means to give him the best chance at a full recovery and reduce the chance of re-injury.

After consulting with Dr. Charlie Scoggin at Pioneer Equine Hospital and Anne (and anyone else who would listen), I decided to try Regenerative Cell Therapy (stem cells). It was that or a new washer/dryer combo. You know, the really cool LG steam washer and dryer in cherry red.

What Regenerative Cell Therapy entails is harvesting either fat (from the tail head) or bone marrow to collect stem cells. The stem cells are sent off to a lab for processing and then the new stem cells are injected into the core lesion. I decided to go with the bone marrow-derived stem cells. Although it takes longer to receive the processed stem cells back from the lab, there is some evidence that bone marrow stem cells are slightly better than fat-derived.

On March 25 at 6:40 AM Cat, Frappe and I set off for Pioneer. We arrived shortly before our appointment at 8:30. Dr. Scoggin came out and talked with us for a few minutes and then introduced us to Dr. Jackman. Dr. Jackman is a surgeon and he performed the actual bone marrow aspiration. They reviewed the ultra sound images that Dr. Gillis had taken. They sedated Frappe and placed him in the stocks. There was a horse in there next to him getting shock wave therapy on his leg. Very noisy. They had their ultrasound specialist take their own baseline images of the injured ligament.

After they took the images they began prep work for the bone marrow aspiration. They clipped, prepped and blocked his sternum (between his two front legs). They used ultrasonography to identity the place where the needle should go in. Then they put in this huge needle. It was kind of a big metal rod with a handle on it. It looked very painful but he didn't show any signs of discomfort. He was way stoned though. Then they removed the bone marrow. That part took maybe 10 minutes. I felt like the whole clinic was in there watching. One of the assistants was taking pictures. I thought with her cell phone but Cat said it was a digital camera. Cat took pictures with her iPhone. After they collected the bone marrow, they pulled out the "spicket" and applied a pressure bandage to the area. Frappe was put in a box stall to recover. They said I could take him home in a couple of hours. That was at about 9:30.

We went to visit him and he seemed alert. He was foraging around the stall for leftover scraps of hay. At about 10:30 Charlie came out and said Frappe was doing really well and that he could go home in a half hour or so. They gave him some grass hay to munch on so he was happy. We went to visit with him some more and play with the babies before checking out.

When we arrived home Cat removed the pressure bandage and he wasn't leaking so that was good. He seemed sore in that area of course and a little agitated when she removed the bandages. She looked at the "site" and said it was scabbed over but I didn't want to look. She said it looked fine.

The bone marrow sample was shipped to VetCell's laboratory where stem cells will be extracted and multiplied. In 2-4 weeks the stem cells will be returned to Pioneer for implantation directly into the core of the lesion. Pioneer will call me when they receive word from VetCell that the stuff is shipping. We will probably have 48 hours notice and will make the appointment for him to have the stem cells implanted. . Before they implant the stem cells in the lesion they are going to perform extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on the area. High energy waves are delivered via a focused beam to the site of the lesion. Doing so is thought to stimulate and recruit various factors to improve the healing process.

Follow-up will be 30 days after that. They will want to do another ultrasound to assess his healing and he is going to have another round of ESWT. He may get a third treatment of ESWT depending on how well he is healing.

Frappe is doing really well. In fact he is feeling quite spirited. Anne is hand walking him daily and I take him out for his hand grazing. The only remaining signs that he had anything done is the shaved spot between his front legs. I will try and do a better job of posting updates.

Frappe's "Ask Didi" Letter from the SVCCDS Newsletter

Dear Didi,

I enjoy taking a nap every morning after my stall is cleaned and I finish my breakfast. I admit that I do snore occasionally. The humans around the barn often stop and stare at me when I am napping. Sometimes they even come into my stall and wake me up. I find this to be extremely rude. How can I get them to stop interrupting my naps?

Sincerely,
Frappuccino

Dear Frappucino,
I, too, am well known for enjoying my daytime slumber (especially right after my room has been made up by the staff). My choice when someone has the effrontery to enter my domain whilst I am at rest is to ignore them for as long as possible. Sometimes they will just go away on their own, which of course is the right thing for them to do. If they will not take the hint I wait until they come to me, manage to get my halter on and still wait until they actually tug on the halter before I deign to rise. Then I make a big show of needing to slowly stretch front and back (and maybe even another form of 'release') before allowing them to lead me out. Making a BIG DEAL of how you are OBVIOUSLY being roused from a much needed rest usually encourages the human to provide extra carrots or cookies to make up for their poorly timed demands, and this helps assuage the spirit (as well as the stomach!).
As for your slumber being sonorous, do not concern yourself with the opinions of others, I'm sure you have a lovely tone and they are likely just envious!

Dozingly,

Didi

Sad News

My friend Eva called me today to tell me she had to put her beloved horse, Yochi, down today. Yochi has been a great friend to Eva and I know she will miss him immensely. Please keep her in your thougths and prayers as she tries to heal her broken heart.

Happy Days Are Here Again

Frappe is officially off the DL. I took him to see Dr. Carol Gillis on Oct. 9 for an ultrasound exam and she released him without restrictions. Yippee!!! The ligament is 95% healed and although there is some scarring, she doesn't think it will bother him. The subluxation is still slightly outside of normal range, but is not a cause for worry either. We are to continue to increase his workload until he is at the desired level. The good news for him is he gets to go back to turnout with his BFF, Tyler. Unfortunately the rain over the last week has limited his play time, but we need it. Poor guy. He finally gets the all clear to got to turnout and it starts to rain. His butt is shaved but the rest of him resembles a woolly mammoth. He's so soft and cozy wozy. Anne will be giving him a full body clip in a few weeks.

Last Saturday Donna and I arrived at the barn around 9 am and Frappe was taking a nap. This is typical for him. He is known to take naps several times a day. And he snores. Most people think he is sick the first time they hear him. I happened to bring my camera with me Saturday so we sneaked up on him and took some photos. Donna snapped a few of me hugging him while he was laying down.

Training is progressing and going well. Anne is working on the simple changes, turn on the haunches and reinback with him. In my lessons we are working on the basics; rhythm, balance, suppleness. Our lateral work is gradually improving. We had our saddle adjusted last Thursday so that has helped.

Last month we rode with Kristina Harrison-Naness in a clinic. We had great lessons both days. The first day it was so hot, I thought I was going to have heat exhaustion. It was about 20 degrees hotter in Davis than at our barn in Fairfield. Krisi and Rociero XV left for Germany to train with Klaus Balkenhol, the US Team Coach, a few weeks later. She will be back home at the end of November and hopefully she will have time to come up for another clinic soon after.