What the........???

Isn't the first day of Spring one week from tomorrow?

Are we still in Virginia? Toto?

"Um... wasn't it close to 80 degrees a few days ago?"

Trying not to complain about this beautiful gift. We've had a fairly dry winter, so this little snow will help replenish the ground moisture and get the grass growing soon. Several days in the high 70's spoiled us fairly quickly, though.

More thoughts on pergolide

After an earlier post about the stability of compounded pergolide, a few other points we thought worth mentioning came to mind:

One is that there is no "standard" dose as there is for most other meds. In other words, there is nothing that says every horse should receive X mg/100 lbs body weight. It varies from horse to horse. If your starting dose doesn't seem effective, your vet may want to recheck ACTH levels and adjust as needed. We've had to adjust 2 or 3 times on some horses to get it right, waiting at least a month or more between the time we change dose and the next test. Pergolide is not one of those things that works overnight.

Second, be sure you know what concentration your pharmacy sells. We've had some pergolide that was 1mg/ml, meaning the horse gets 1 ml of liquid to get 1mg of the drug. We've also had some that was 0.25mg/ml (4 ml liquid = 1mg of drug) and now use 0.20mg/ml (5 ml of liquid = 1 mg of drug.) One advantage to the more dilute form is a lesser difference in dose if you don't measure to the exact hair.

Finally, *when* you test ACTH levels has an effect on results. ACTH naturally increases as winter approaches and is lower in summer, so season will affect your test results.. Some people compensate by giving a different dose of pergolide in the winter than in the summer. We haven't done that, but it is something to be aware of.

Mmmmm. Good Stuff.

If you have any doubts about Reiki as a relaxation/stress-lowering technique, take a look at a few of the photos taken today when Janet Dobbs returned with some Shoden students for a little more practice working with animals. Enjoy.

The March Hair

Imagine this:


...and this........


........and this.......

plus twelve more just like them, shedding all that hair all at one time.

After just one grooming session last spring, it looked like Sonny should have been bald, but looking at him, there didn't seem to be any visible difference:

HELP!!!

If you are in the Spotsylvania, VA area and would like to spend a relaxing hour or two brushing, currying and generally helping our elders shed their very impressive winter coats, please give us a shout. info@equineelders.org or 540-972-0936. Dress for March Hair.

Reiki II Workshop April 18-19, 2009

Janet Dobbs, of Animal Paradise Communication and Healing will conduct a level II Reiki Workshop at Traveller's Rest Equine Elders Sanctuary Saturday and Sunday, April 18 & 19, 2009. A portion of the workshop fees will be donated to the Sanctuary, to support the care of resident elder horses and educational programs promoting humane care of equine seniors.

From the Animal Paradise Communication and Healing web site:

What is Reiki?
Reiki is a gentle, hands-on, Japanese healing practice and system. It is similar to Healing Touch or laying on of hands. It is not massage. Reiki is a very gentle energy that you must experience to fully understand. Some people feel heat or warmth, slight tingling or even coolness coming from the practitioner's hands. Reiki rebalances your energy so your immune system can kick in and you can heal yourself.

Reiki Level II

This class is for people that have completed Level I Reiki. In this class you will continue on your healing path with Reiki and continue your work with animals. The focus of this class is on more advanced meditations and Reiki practices. This course is unique because we focus on both humans and animals.

Day 1 Participants will receive the three level II attunements and will be taught three Reiki symbols and their mantras. Building on what was learned in Level I, students will learn more exercises to help increase the flow and level of energy in themselves. We will practice group energy healing, long distance healing and much more. Students receive the level II manual.

Day 2 Students will learn how to send long distance Reiki to animals as well as continue their practice and experience with in person Reiki with animals. Level II students will develop their intuition when working with Reiki. Upon completion of day two students will receive the Level II Reiki practitioner certificate.

Recommended reading: Your Reiki Treatment by Bronwen & Frans Stiene

To register, visit http://www.animalparadisecommunication.com/Workshop_Schedule.htm or contact Janet at janet@animalparadisecommunication.com or (703) 648-1866

Arthritis study: Surpass better than bute

A study at Colorado State university concluded that Surpass cream is both safer and more effective than "bute" in treating equine osteoarthritis.

David Frisbie, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS sumarized:

"This is the only study published to date that demonstrates that a topical NSAID can not only ameliorate the clinical signs of (osteoarthritis), but is capable of altering cartilage metabolism. That is, diclofenac liposomal cream possesses disease-modifying properties."

See article

Whoosh! Real Snow!

For the first time in at least five years, some of Traveller's Rest's horses were confined to stalls due to weather. Under normal circumstances, our horses are always turned out, allowing them to move about at will, keeping up body warmth and preventing stiffness in arthritic joints. Last night, however the combination of very wet snow and swirling wind called for a change in management style.

The fence in the two photos below is black. This shows how "horizontally" the snow was blowing last night, sticking to everything it encountered.

Not only was the snow blowing sideways, it was swirling in every direction. Enclosed shelters all had snow inside. It came in under doors, between the top and bottom sections of dutch doors, through the eave vents and even beneath the roof ridge vents.

In one rare spot, seemingly protected from the winds, we got an idea of how much snow fell.

Guess old Punxatawney Phil was right!