Zeke had a great time cruising the property! At one point he was running so fast that my camera and I could not keep up and those pictures came out blurry. There was no hitch in his gait either which is amazing considering the damage he sustained in the past. His hind leg was a mess and there was damage to his deep digital flexor tendon. It took us many days, hours, months-over a year- to help him heal.

Zeke made a point of visiting Joey & Deacon while cruising the property.

Look Ma! No Nasal Discharge! Veterinarian gave Zeke another 15 cc's (2 shots -- 7.5 cc's each) of antibiotics. In 10 days he will have another round of shots.

Zeke's appetite is GOOD and he does the Gray Horse Thing (roll in mud and dirt) on a daily basis. He's pretty grubby looking, but we are keeping our fingers, toes, hooves, ears and eyes crossed that the infection gets obliterated for all time! LOVE the Zeekie Boy!!!

Huge thanks to Ingrid L. for once again transporting a TIER horse!  She made the long drive to our new facility in Gavilan Hills, CA to get Zeke to his appointment in Chino Hills, CA with Dr. Hoyme.  Thank you so much Ingrid!

Zeke loaded and hauled well for his trip to the vet.  Once we were there he was pretty excited and was walking all over Ingrid, myself and Dr. Hoyme.  He was given a sedative to help him calm down so that he could be x-rayed and have the endoscopic exam done.  He ended up having 3 sedative injections during the procedures.  Dr. Hoyme said he hadn't seen a horse come out of sedation so quickly!

Endoscopic exam showed no discharge from the guttural pouch.  Yay!
X-rays of sinuses were another story.  From vet report:  "Probable roots of upper cheek teeth in mandibular sinus".  The roots of Zeke's teeth are very short as are some of his teeth.  The teeth themselves are not in the best of shape.  Some are very short and others are long...thus the difficulty processing hay.

The roots and teeth causing the problem are short which would make "pulling them out" difficult.  There is the possibility that they would crack or break off.  Because of this, the surgery to remove the offending teeth would mean that the vet would need to make a large incision in Zeke's face and then push the teeth out (lateral buccotomy). This would leave a large hole in his face and at the tooth site which would need detailed aftercare.  Due to Zeke's age, this may not be his best option at this time.

Our vets both think the best route to take right now is use of antibiotics to see if it will knock out the infection.  Zeke received 15 cc's of Excede antibiotic split into two 7 1/2 cc injections.  He will received another dose (15 cc's) in four days (12/7/2015) and then another dose ten days later.  It is hoped this will knock out the infection completely.  Keep your fingers crossed and please send healing thoughts Zeke's way.

He is now on an Older Horse diet of Senior Feed that includes a probiotic, a bit of corn oil to help him gain some weight, soaked pellets, a bit of O & M (Oats/Molassases) and A & M crumbles.  The amounts are not enough to cause founder and he also does get some fine stem/leafy hay.  Zeke LOVES his hay and it keeps him busy during the day, but the bulk of his diet is now mush! 

Current vet bills were a bit over 1,000 and we are grateful to those of you who were kind enough to donate to help with costs!   300 was contributed towards the vet bills which made a big difference!  Assistance with the remaining vet bill or increase in feed costs for Zeke would be greatly appreciated.

Zeke was doing well after completing the Uniprim dosage for the nasal discharge. 3 days later the discharge is back. Our vet suggested he have a scope done in case of guttural pouch infection and/or x-ray for sinus infection. Since he does not have access to this equipment I called our previous vet, Dr. Hoyme, who has helped numerous TIER horses over the last 16 yrs.

I explained Zeke's symptoms and treatment to Dr. Hoyme. We have an appointment to do x-rays or scoping or both for Thursday. Dr. Hoyme said it could be an abcessed tooth that is causing a sinus infection, plain old sinus infection or guttural pouch infection and the x-rays/scoping would tell us more.

Please keep Zeke in your thoughts. Current Vet bills for Zeke and Edith Ann's recent issues have substantially impacted our reserves to the point that we could use some help with paying the upcoming bill for x-rays/scoping. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

11/16/2015
Please send positive thoughts for Zeke. He has an incredibly snotty nose this morning (left nostril only). Vet will be here at 7:30 am.

11/17/2015
Left Side Nasal discharge Possible Upper Respiratory or Lft side Guttural Pouch infection.  Uniprim (antibiotic) for 7 days.

11/18/2015
Isolated in arena discharge is less. Appetite is good & he is alert/bright eyed. Ate all the feed with the Uniprim.

11/20/2015
Vet was out for follow up.  Zeke's nose is not as runny but the vet gave him an injection of antibiotic and we are to continue with the Uniprim.

11/23/2015
Zeke is improving! Lungs are clearer, very light nasal discharge.

11/28/2015
Completed antibiotics. No runny nose/discharge for 2 days. I put him back in his pen today. No lethargy, appetite is good. He was running around in the arena, bucking, kicking and frisky. I think he is over the hump. Putting on some weight. Yay!

His leg was degloved and there is damage to the deep digital flexor tendon. That sure doesn't keep him from putting his best foot forward!

Zeke patiently waiting at the gate for his cookies and carrots. He such a lovely boy! Great personality and a wonderful patient. The injury to his right hind leg has FINALLY stopped producing large amounts of proud flesh. In fact, it has somewhat reduced. The exaggerated movement that looked almost like String Halt has decreased considerably!

When Zeke gets turned out he immediately heads for the sand pile, rolls, jumps up, bucks a couple times and then runs around the arena.

Due to the severe injuries on Zeke's right front leg, right hind leg and the multiple injuries to his other legs, hips, etc. Zeke was very much in need of Dr. Moore's help.

Zeke's right hind leg injury causes him to adjust his body to compensate which puts his hips, pelvis, back, neck into unbalanced positions.

Dr. Moore adjusted his ankles, knees, stifles, hips, pelvis, neck, poll, back.....

Now that Dr. Moore has given Zeke some relief, it is hoped that he will now be able to gain a bit more weight as his body can process his food intake better. He eats more than any other horse at TIER! Thanks to Dr. Moore, our supporters and volunteers, Zeke is more balanced. He is a wonderfully kind and personable horse.

ZEKE FACE! This is such a personable, well mannered and genuinely nice horse!

Zeke is doing well. His leg wound is healing. The vet was out and he said that the progress is good, but it will still take quite some time for this large area to heal.

He gets along well with the other horses and, of course, loves to roll in the dirt (especially right after his leg wounds have been cleaned/medicated).

Katrina (left) thinks the sun rises and sets on the Zekester! She throws a fit if he is turned out and she is left in her corral. To avoid the drama we turn them out together. Zeke doesn't care one way or the other and is perfectly happy to be turned out alone or with others.

Zeke's leg wounds are slowly healing. Medication is applied daily. Every other day the wounds are washed, all scabs removed, dried off and more of our vet's mixture is applied. The proud flesh and scarring are has diminished a bit, but it will take continual care over a long time.

The proud flesh on the inside of his right knee has reduced quite a bit. The wounds at the back of his heels/ankles are healing as are all the other smaller wounds...and there are many! One of the issues we are dealing with is that it is fly season. The medication works well to dry the wounds, but when the flies land and Zeke uses his face to brush them off, he scrapes the top of the wound. This just attracts more flies. We have also been using AluShield spray on bandage to help combat the flies.

The thickening/swelling below the largest wound has gone down considerably. There are wounds to the back of all 4 legs that are healing well. The large area on the front of his right hind knee is also healing, but this is the area that will take a long time to heal. There is an area between the top portion and the larger lower area that has a deep gash that is almost 1/2 inch deep. It was deeper and wider before treatment.

There is damage to the flexor tendon. When he walks, there is exaggerated movement of the right hind leg. It looks somewhat like Stringhalt. At this time, it is not known if the damage is caused by scar tissue or if the flexor tendon was damaged by the wire he was caught up in. Once there has been more healing and debriding of scar tissue (at a later date), we will have more information on what the tendon damage is.

In the meantime, Zeke is happily eating, loves being turned out, getting brushed and having treats delivered! He has formed a bond with Chino, and they scratch each other over the fence. Zeke LOVES to roll......especially right after we have cleaned up his wounds and applied all the medication! HA!

Zeke's teeth were in VERY BAD shape! Despite being fed pelleted feed mixed with some Senior feed and hay, he wasn't putting on weight properly. No wonder! His teeth were so bad that he couldn't chew his feed enough.

Phillip Rue checking Zeke's teeth. Lots of hooks and unevenness.

Once Phillip had finished floating Zeke's teeth he guesstimated his age at between 12 - 15 yrs. old.

Zeke has a wonderful personality, well mannered and gets along well with other horses. This poor horse has endured some unspeakable pain and neglect and still has a shining personality!

Zeke is doing okay.  Surprisingly, he is a picky eater and does not like Orchard Hay.  Most likely this due to needing his teeth floated.  He does leave stems from the alfalfa hay.  We are in need of funds to help with this effort.  Cost for a dental float is 85.00.

Vet provided his own mixture of topical wound medicine.  It contains Phenol for pain, some Iodine and other stuff.  This mixture is only used for the areas with proud flesh  which include a large area on the front of his right hind leg.  The other area it is used on is on the inside of his right front knee.  All the other wounds are being treated with Derma Gel.  We will be getting some Equine Elite Wound Relief lotion and using that for a bit.

His movement on the right hind leg is exaggerated.  There may have been some damage to the flexor tendon.  The focus right now is to promote healing of the wounds and minimize any additional scarring.  The wounds on the coronet bands/heels (all 4 feet) are healing well as are some of the smaller wounds on his hind legs.

He is a very good patient.  Daily application of wound medicines and spraying with AluShield to keep the flies from bothering him.  Truthfully, as long as he has hay or pelleted feed in front of him he is a happy camper.

This boy can eat!  Normally, the TB's at TIER do eat more than the other horses.  Their metabolism just requires more feed.  But Zeke is eating more than the TB's are!  He did not come in emaciated, but was a bit thin/ribby.  I think he was being fed sporadically and not enough for a long time.  HE IS HUNGRY.  We are hoping that when we get his teeth done that he will be able to process his feed better and perhaps not keep his head in the feeder!

Zeke is doing well at this point.  He certainly has an appetite!  He buries his head in the feeder the moment I deliver his hay and only pulls it out to drink. Fortunately for our feed bill, his tummy seems to be getting filled up and satisfied quicker in the last 2 days.  The first few days his head stayed in the feeder!

Treatment of his wounds is going to be a long journey.  At some point we will have to have the vet back out for wound debriding (cut off the proud flesh).  In the meantime, the vet has mixed up some medication (phenol and other ingredients) to put on the right hind leg to help it to heal and minimize the scarring.  The numerous other wounds (right front knee, fetlocks/heels/legs) are being treated and are then covered with AluSpray (aerosol bandage) to keep the flies off and promote healing. 

Zeke is such a GENTLEMAN!  I ran into town early to pick up some Aluspray (PRICEY!) so that I could spray his wounds to help keep the flies from feasting on him!

I cleaned his wounds this morning using Oxygenated Water.  A friend has a machine that makes this water and we have used it previously on wounds.  It helps speed up the healing considerably.  Once the water had dried, I sprayed with Aluspray.  It took a whole can to cover all the wounds on this poor boy!  The wounds on his front heel bulbs were pretty raw.  Wounds on his back left hind leg are looking better..they were the ones with pus in them.  The Derma Gel helped quite a bit and there was also noticeable improvement on the skin of his right front knee.  The right hind leg is just a mess.

His legs are now silver!  HA!  Vet will be out tomorrow and I will let everyone know what he recommends.

After taking care of Zeke's wounds I gave him a brushing.  It's obvious that he hasn't had anyone grooming him as he still has the remnants of winter hair all over.  I just knocked off what I could and will do more later.  He was a very good boy for all this fussing around, but he is HUNGRY!  Somewhat surprising since he is a bit thin, but not emaciated like a lot of the rescues that come in.

Yesterday, once we had cleaned him up and put him in his pen, he buried his face in his hay and didn't come up for hours!  He wasn't even interested in meeting his neighbors.  This morning, as soon as I put the hay in his feeder he dived in again.  This is a big boy with a big appetite!

Funds to help with Zeke's care would be very much appreciated as hay prices remain high.  Pelleted feed prices have also risen.  We mix medications in with the pelleted feed, Senior Advantage and supplements.  Zeke will also be getting joint supplements.

Thank you all for caring about Zeke!

Zeke has arrived! He is a Fleabitten Gray and is one big boy! We think he is between 16.2 - 16.3 hands.

Before we put him in his pen we wanted to clean his legs up. He was a very good boy. Bonnie hosed his legs while Kristy held him. Once the yuck covering his wounds were softened up, we washed them out with diluted Betadine.

There are wounds on all four legs. 3 of his legs have wounds on the heel bulbs. There is a massive amount of scarring. Left front knee has proud flesh and there is some on his right hind leg.

Front Right Knee (Two Views)

Hind Leg Injuries (Front & Back)

We spent a long time cleaning the wounds out and then Bonnie patted them dry. We then applied Veterinus Derma Gel to all the wounds, nicks & scrapes. Washed his face off and then led him to his pen. He was not interested in meeting his neighbors Sunny & Autumn. All he was interested in was FOOD!

FRONT RIGHT KNEE-2 MONTHS WITHOUT PROPER CARE. Zeke's injuries will require long term care. Vet will be out to evaluate the extent of the damage and advise on treatment of the infection and scar tissue. Hopefully the joint on the knee is not damaged.

RIGHT REAR HIND LEG INJURY 2 MONTHS WITHOUT PROPER CARE