Conference noted::equitation

    Just thought I should enter a note about my decision - I did decide to
    buy the horse with the loose stifles, referred to in .0.  Thanks for
    all the input.  I've been riding this horse since early January and he
    just keeps getting better and better.  So, for now, I'm very happy.
    He truly has a "one-in-a-million" attitude and an excellent combination
    of cuteness/safeness as a hunter.  His rear end is getting stronger and
    stronger - he did 3 consecutive flying changes the other day when he
    was turned out; we've been working on the simple changes under saddle
    and he's very good.
    
    I sort of trusted my trainer's instinct on this one - she felt that
    even though he has weak stifles, he is not unsound because he will 
    really rock back on his hind end at the start of the jump - as opposed
    to "lunging" at the jump from a long distance.  Plus, she hadn't seen
    him take a lame step in the 2 years she's known him (granted, he had
    only been very lightly worked).  He's getting alot of work now, and is
    holding up well.
    
    This same trainer has continued to believe in my poor lame mare...who
    is finally looking sound, since last Thursday (after being not right
    since Christmas).  It's a long story - but when all is said and done,
    it looks like the source of her being off (more like head-bobbing lame)
    in front, was a combination of being trimmed too short and having
    wedge pads for navicular (she was x-rayed and does not have navicular
    changes, but the previous farrier was dead-set on keeping these pads).
    The new farrier was afraid to just yank the pads, so he used them as 
    well - the mare was so sore he finally pulled the shoe and did
    furacin/dmso poultice.  The longer she went without the shoe, the 
    sounder she got - shifted to being off on the other front foot which
    still had the shoe.  So, now she's "barefoot" - diaper/duct tape combo,
    very attractive! - and will have new shoes put on in 1 week - just 
    regular shoes, no bar shoes, no pads.  The new farrier had been
    convinced that my mare needed to go to CSU - that she probably had a
    fracture or bone chip - and couldn't understand why my trainer was so
    convinced  there wasn't something more serious...it looks like this
    mare is one of those horses, where the pressure from the pad on the
    sole, makes her sore.
    
    I skipped alot of details in that story, but I guess the point is,
    my trainer has about 25 years of good solid experience and I feel 
    very lucky to have her working with me!  I already have huge vet bills
    on that mare, and she could glow from all the x-rays... my trainer
    saved me the additional expense and trouble of hauling up to CSU.  I'm
    now looking forward to having 2 very nice, sound horses to get ready for 
    the hunter shows this summer!
    

    Sharon,
    
    I'm glad to hear you're happy with your new horse - I hope everything
    continues to go well for you!  
    
    

    I was thinking about this note this morning too. A week ago I put Ebony
    on Yucca pellets [there's one old note 1425 but not much info]. Last
    night I rode hium and he was 100% better, not lame at all, even after a
    canter and then a working trot. I don't want to get my hopes up too
    high yet, but if this keeps up I will be able to avoid having him
    injected in the spring... I'll let you know in a week or so if he's
    still doing good.
    
    Sherry 

    Sherry,
    
    Which type of yucca supplement are you using?  I have never really
    wanted to have all these personal experiences with lameness, but due to
    the problems I've had with my mare, I have been exchanging lots of
    "war stories" lately... one that you might be interested in: a horse
    who had a bone spur, was put on the Sungold Yucca supplement and in a
    few months, the bone spur had dissolved.  Not  that this is conclusive
    evidence that the yucca was the reason...but this was enough
    circumstantial evidence for me to give it a try.  I guess it is a
    natural steriod (I'll have to check out note 1425).  It did seem to
    help my horse (before the shoeing problem really did her in) - who
    has a "calcified ligament" in the left front fetlock.  The bad news
    is, I have been out of it for awhile because the tack store I get it
    from has also been out of it.
    
    I'm very interested to know if your horse continues to show 
    improvement - will keep my fingers crossed.  I'm getting pretty
    familiar with the injections too... would you believe stifle, hocks,
    and fetlock?!  Poor horse is a pincushion.
    
    And my new horse who I did all that bragging on - especially about
    his great temperment - spooked *twice* yesterday while I was working
    without stirrups!  Ha!  Serves me right.  But I still love him!  We
    just thought of his new show name - Riverdance; it had been "On Cloud
    Nine" and I just couldn't deal with it.  I still need a new barn name
    for him; he has been called "Chico" and it is not a good fit.  My mare
    is Mandolin Rain aka Mandy.
    
    Good luck with Ebony!
    
    Sharon

    I tried Yucca with my arthritic mare - she wouldn't eat it so I can't
    say anything about it's effectiveness.  She is on Flex Free, which she
    consents to eat and does seem to help.  Inflam-x is also supposed to be
    very good and is considerly less expensive than a Flex Free/Cosequin
    type of thing. My vet does feel that in time she will need the
    Cosequin, though.
    
    re: the new horse's name - if his show name is Riverdance, why not use
    Danny as a barn name?  When I was a kid there another kid in our 4H who
    had an Appy named Cloud Nine.  I know what you mean about not being
    able to handle bad names. My new mare's registered name is
    G-Speed.  NO thank you.  I changed it to Miles To Go, in honor of her
    new career.  Around the barn she's called Mirah (pronounced the way a
    New Englander would say mirror) .... although most commonly she's
    called GETAWAYFROMTHAT!.  :-)
    
    Just idle ramblings ....   

    Sharon,
    I believe it's Horse Health products, the white tub with the purple
    cover. It's in a pelleted form [I've seen other brands in crumbles] and
    Ebony will eat absolutely anything tht remotely resembles grain, so
    this is not a problem. Poor guy is such an easy keeper he literally
    gets a cup of grain at each meal, so between the yucca and his daily
    wormer he's going to think we've doubled his grain! :) We think he's an
    air fern, even if we didn't feed him he;d still gain weight...
    
    Anyway, I am going to do some research myself and let you know what I
    find out. I think that even if he was 'just having a good day', he
    would not have been half as sound as he was last night. to be
    continued.....
    
    Sherry

    Sherry,
    
    I've been using Viva brand 100% yucca for a couple (2.5?) of years on my
    horse, and I honestly believe that it has helped him.  Since I've had
    him on it, I seem to have been able to cut down on the frequency of
    needing to get his hocks injected. He has bone spavins and I was
    getting his hocks 'done' about 2-3 times a year. Since he's been on the
    yucca, I've only had his hocks done once. [We've also needed a coffin
    joint and navicular bursa done, but those weren't the reason I was
    feeding the yucca - the hocks were (and like the hocks, those have only
    been done once since starting the yucca).]
    
    It comes in a powder, and it gets mixed right in with all his other
    'goodies'.  
    
    Since he's been on the yucca, he has changed his whole way of going -
    he's much more on his hind end than he used to be.  I don't think it's
    just that he finally learned how to shift his balance. I think he
    truely feels better.
    
    At this point, though, I'm not going to mess with something that ain't
    broke.  He's going well, and I'm not going to mess with the chemical
    mixtures that he gets each day to see which one(s) are making him feel
    so good.
    
    kathy

> Not  that this is conclusive evidence that the yucca was the reason...
> but this was enough circumstantial evidence for me to give it a try.  I 
> guess it is a natural steriod (I'll have to check out note 1425).  

	An AltaVista search for "yucca near steroid" turned up this:

http://www.acenet.auburn.edu:70/0/programs/anr/agwaste/biblios/animl_wst
[...]
TITLE:  AIR QUALITY AND LIVESTOCK WASTE: MANAGING WASTE HANDLING
        SYSTEMS.
AUTHOR: Jacques, K.
SOURCE: *CAB ABS., Biotechnology in the feed industry. Proceedings of
        Alltech's 4th annual symposium [edited by Lyons, T.P.]. 1988,
        315 330; 26 ref. Nicholasville, Kentucky,; Alltech Technical
        Publications.
CONTS:  Factors affecting efficiency and odour production during
        microbial waste decomposition are discussed for aerobic and
        anaerobic facilities. Animal waste characteristics are
        tabulated for total manure production and nutrient content.
        Feed additives also affect waste breakdown efficiency; Yucca
        shidigera plant extract offers many benefits to confined
        livestock wastes and its use as a flavouring agent in food
        helps to reduce ammonia levels in litter and other animal
        wastes. Trials involving sarsaponin, a plant steriod from the
        yucca plant, are described for growing and finishing pigs,
        turkeys and poultry. Weight gains, improvement in feed
        conversion and reduction in ammonia released to the atmosphere
        are discussed.
KEY WDS:Conferences; Alltech's fourth annual symposium; Animal wastes;
        Odour abatement; Plant extracts; Yucca shidigera.
[...]

    
    	I did some web crawling too, and found a few tid-bits... Yucca was
    used by Native Americans as a natural steriod for joint problems such
    as arthritis and rhuematism. It also said it helped disolve mineral
    deposits and other impurities, as well as 'establish' intestinal flora.
    Three different sites mentioned arthritis and yucca's anti-inflamatory
    properties. 
    
    	The tub it came in only says 'a natural supplement', with no
    indication of what it's supposed to do. I guess that's the nature of
    it, they can't provide a written 'guarantee' of what it will do. [does
    that make sense?]. 
    
    	[I did my search on -yucca extract medicine- on webcrawler. I also
    found more info on the Yucca Mtn nuclear hubub than I'll ever need :) ]
    
    Sherry
    

    Sherry wrote:
    
    >The tub it came in only says 'a natural supplement', with no
    >indication of what it's supposed to do. I guess that's the nature of
    >it, they can't provide a written 'guarantee' of what it will do. [does
    >that make sense?].
    
    Actually, that's probably a tactic to sidestep the sort of requirements
    that the FDA has slapped on human supplements sold in health food
    stores etc. If scientific studies haven't been done to the FDA
    standards, you can't make claims for the product even if it's been used
    that way for 2,000 years. And, the FDA standards are such that one or
    two small scientific studies showing this or that make no difference
    in whether or not a company can make claims for the product. Sad but
    true...
    
    j