A George update - feeling a bit down

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Gorgeous George

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Hi all, i've not done an update for a while so thought I would in case anyone was vaguely interested :rolleyes:

Have to say I've been feeling a bit down of late :( if you don't know George has been suffering with some intermittant coughing and slight wheezy-ness and after a few vets visits and an endoscopy he has been diagnosed with COPD/RAO :( Thankfully George is well in himself, and his usual cheeky loveable self :) The vet has now started him on asthma type inhalers, and thankfully they seem to be working, but on getting the vets bill and discovering each inhaler is £130 (lasts 6 days) I nearly keeled over :eek: He is on a very high dose at the moment, and the long term idea is that he will be on a much lower dose and may only need them during the winter but still there really isn't much slack in my budget. Thankfully I'm covered by insurance at the moment so don't need to worry yet, but I am concerned about the long term :confused:

George was in a stable in a barn and the good news was that I was able to get George moved to an outdoor stable where he has lots of fresh air whilst he's in :) it is also the biggest stable on the yard by far which as George is a 16.3 shire x is great. He also loves it and seems to love watching the world go by over the door. Unfortunately for me the stable is slightly round the corner from the other stables and in the evenings after work it feels a bit lonely and is exposed to whatever the weather is throwing at it - how stupid is that :(

I wonder if the winter and dark evenings and rushing to get things done are getting to me?

We do have some plans for this year, and a very kind friend has offered me lifts and we plan to do some pressure free fun things, so the thought of that cheers me up :)

Apologies for the slightly down in the dumps update, perhaps you lot can give me a kick up the backside :D
 
Chin up, George is still happy and well in him self :) is there any chance he could live out in the future? We are on the way out of winter now so not long untill spring :D.
 
Aww, at least he is on the mend now though!

I think everyone is having a "blues" time at the moment. I've been having a bit of a confidence wobble and think I can't ride one half of my horse. I've given myself a kick up the behind by getting a slot for a lesson every week with my YO who also backed Bailey to try and combat this and stop me worrying and getting me to progress and build on it all. It also came about because my best friend's horse, the horse who got me my confidence back, was put to sleep last week.

Try not to feel too down, George as you said, feels ok in himself and once the weather begins to clear up you'll be off for lovely summer rides :D

Have you asked the vets if there are other things he could use or whether he can be weaned off the inhalers? I don't know if it is the same thing, but I used to need inhalers and I weaned myself off of them so now I only need them if I have a particularly bad asthma attack - this could be barking completely up the wrong tree but perhaps ask and see what they say :)

Have a Pancake to feel better :D
 
Hi there sorry to hear you are feeling low, i think its just the time of year really....we're all ready for some sunshine now and the longer days! I thought I would post because my NF pony was diagnosed with COPD a good few winters ago. I was really worried about him but fortunately after that winter he's not shown any symptoms of it again! (touch wood!) So hopefully it might be the same for George.

I also keep him in outside stables and we built a little pen outside his stable so he can be out as much as possible. He gets soaked hay but apart from that I've not kept him on any medication and he's been fine. He does the odd cough when he starts exercise and after a roll but that's no different to other horses really.

Hope you are feeling brighter soon and that George enjoys getting used to his new surroundings :)
 
I know how you're feeling but do not despair. COPD can be managed with very little expense and or persistent problems.

You have done the right thing by moving him to an outside stable and as long as you use a dust extracted bedding, feed haylage or soaked hay, once he is over his initial problem he should be fine.

Ventipulmin ( I prefer to use the liquid form ) is cheaper than an inhaler and you may find that he might need a dose at the beginning of a winter when you first bring him in. Try and leave him out as much as possible.

Me and my horses have had enough of winter too and am looking forward to some warm sunny days and no mucking out :-) x
 
Sorry to hear your having problems

At this time of year, were all down in the dumps. Everything is just so much easier and nicer in the summer! I've been having quite a bad couple of days too, having some confidence wobbles!

I hope the new outdoor stable helps George!

Chin up!
 
Oh, I think you might have a touch of the post vet bill February blues! It's been another long winter, but then, it could be a week long and it would be too long for me! But, Spring is coming and your boy is on the mend. There will be lots of fun to be had as the weather improves and you should most definitely take your friend up on her kind offer...

One of mine is stabled away from the other two. He has the biggest box on our yard and at 17.2HH and arthritic, he needs the extra room. At our previous yard, he suffered terribly from separation anxiety, but I think that he loves him large penthouse apartment! When the weather is bad, I make sure that his haylage is in the most sheltered corner.

Georgeous George will be fine, I am sure. Spring is just around the corner - in fact, we might get a sneak preview this week!

:)
 
It's lovely to get an update from you - and no, you are not alone in having a case of the February blues. It always seems really hard at this time of year. Winter is still here, spring is close but not close enough, and when you have a horse that isn't 100 per cent it can just seem endless and you forget why you do it. I know - I've had one that wasn't been able to be ridden from last May until December, and then when she was it was only in walk for up to an hour! Thankfully from last weekend we have been able to do light schooling some trot work and that has made a massive difference to how I feel.

At least George is on the mend, and you might be able to source your medication cheaper on-line, even if you do have to pay for a private prescription - it is worth looking at if you still need it when the insurance cover runs out.

Give yourself a hug rather than a kick, and just start counting out the days until the clocks change and the evenings get lighter. It isn't that far off!
 
Pleased to hear that George is on the mend. The longer daylight hours are approaching so chin up.
The stable sounds ideal for George.
Keep that stable of his nice and clean and dust/cobweb free by removing dust and cobwebs at least once a week.
Always feed well soaked hay from the ground so that George's sinus's can drain while he is eating his hay.
 
Thanks guys, you're making me feel better already :) and the forecast for the rest of the week is looking much warmer with some sun, so that may cheer us all up :)

Hopefully I've been doing the right things with George, he is also on woodchip bedding, soaked hay from the floor and his new stable also has an opening at the back so lots of ventilation.
 
Poor lad. Definitely a case of the February-end-of-long-winter-plus-hefty-vet-billls blue for you though :eek:

If you think he can hack it, finding somewhere he can live out might not be a bad idea, for next winter :)
 
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