Achieving the Perfect Smile :) – Email 17

Hello There

I hope all’s good with you? We seem to have a lot to get through at IH HQ at the moment! We’re so nearly at the finish point of the IH Magazine. All credit to the writers, Abi and Sharron for pulling it together and, our designer, Sarah Kingsley – those pictures and paragraphs don’t all get in the right place by themselves you know!

We're continuing competing with Hugo this year and have a one day event at Cirencester on Sunday. I did a 4 furlong canter on him on Monday and although he’s a little bit ‘thick’ in the wind (old expression – I’ll come to that another time). He was barely blowing once we got up the top of the hill.

There's this photo I love of Daisy and Hugo at Hickstead with their 'Prefect Smiles'. I had to share it…

Obviously he and Daisy will be doing a dressage test on Sunday which I imagine will be their weakest point, partly because he tilts his head just a little to the left at the trot (not at the walk or canter) and their transitions still need work. Abi (she who is a qualified equine and canine physio) had a look at him yesterday and marvelled at how much the tension in his poll and neck has improved. However, we can still feel some tension there (which is good in the way that we know what we need to work on) and Hugo’s letting Abi massage in there for short moments. It’s so interesting to watch his eyes as they go from ‘I don’t like that’ to very soft and ‘yes that’s OK I’ll let you in there’.

We’ve looked at some alternative treatments as well for that area and again to discuss another time. For some reason I have a sore neck at the moment and I’d like to test the treatments on myself when I get the time.

I had dinner with Jessica Kidd and Sue Dyson on Friday and I’m so fortunate to be part of such a wide and generous horsey circle. I hope I can spread the knowledge that I gain from these super special equestrian experts to the standard it deserves.

PLUS! I don’t know if I told you Hugo had to have additional dental treatment in April this year? I took him to a local Chris Pearce Clinic in March for a ‘routine’ check up and (groan) we got this:

“The presence of a dead necrotic pulp canal all the way to the apex would be highly indicative of widespread and potentially serious pulp disease that could result in apical abscessation or potential fracture. Due to the aetiology and likely development of such a pulp problem, it is likely that the initial inflammation and pulp death occurred up to two years previously.

At this stage, there is a window of opportunity to stabilise the tooth by performing endodontic (soft tissue) therapy. However, it is imperative to understand which other pulp canals within this tooth are also affected, and that can only be done reliably using a CT scan”

Sooo… off we went to the Dorset Clinic (with Blondie as well for company) for the scan.

Here's a picture of us bonding while we waited our turn!

The Question Was: 'Is 107 cheek tooth partially or completely dead / diseased, and can it be saved by endodontic therapy, or would extraction be the best solution?'

The Answer (Diagnosis / Recommendations): 'Cheek tooth 107 has non-vital pulp canals 2 and 4 only from the CT imaging. This fits with the published data that pulp groups mesially and distally often separate and become grouped as mesial or distal groups, suggesting strongly that only the distal group is diseased, requiring only treatment of these 2 canals. This is a positive for case selection for endodontics as only the distal pulp canals require treatment.'

Warning – Don't watch this video of Hugo's dental check up & CT scan if you are very squeamish.

So we went ahead with treatment!…

What's next?: "No further treatment is required in the short term however pulp 4 will require retreatment in 1-2 years to replace the 3 layer filing with a single layer resin composite restoration. Follow up advice I advised 3 days antibiotics and NSAIDs, then gradual recurrence of work after this.”

So there we go, Hugo and Pie will be having another ‘routine check up’ on the 9th October and fingers crossed that goes smoothly.

I’m sure anyone who has ever had toothache will be deeply sympathetic as it can be incredibly painful, I’m so pleased we’re getting (literally) to the root of Hugo’s mouth issues. Also I’m experimenting with no or a very loose noseband on Hugo to see what he wants to do with his mouth rather than hiding what’s going on there.

I’m hoping the real life story of Hugo will encourage other people to explore what might be going on with their own horses, as I know for sure anyone on this mailing list wants the very best for them.

Must go – but don't forget about our webinar coming up next week with Equiculture or to sign up for the members prize draws. See what's coming up for IH members and followers here.

Lots of Love

Kelly x

PS. if you have a friend who might find these email interesting do pass this on!

…I'll leave you with this video of Chris Peace mobilising Hugo's Jaw during a sedated assessment (something Abi says he resists during physio sessions, so is hard to assess). Well… at least we know it can move!