Hi, Doc.

My rescue from last year is doing well. He is still battling a "fat leg" but we are hoping that with work we will see an improvement in this. His blood work is looking better, but, his WBC is low (but coming up) but his kidney function is like 1.2/1.3 (whatever that means.

Are there any "suggestions" for what I can do, change, add or otherwise to help this guy out? He is 15 YO WB. He eats Strategy, oil, beet pulp, flax seed and alfalfa (Arizona alfalfa).

I suspect that the value you are talking about is creatinine, which is a very sensitive indicator of kidney function. My normal range for creatinine in horses is 0.9-1.7. Creatinine in the blood is derived from muscle cell turnover, and some heavily muscled horses such as drafts and warmbloods can normally have a value over 1.7. I don't think that 1.2 or 1.3 is at all abnormal, despite what the laboratory normal range might say - I suspect their normal ranges are off a bit. So, my suggestion is not to change anything you are doing!

Thank you. He is going to start back to work and he looks wonderful. Even my vet smiled when he saw him.

Now if I could just get his cellulitis (which I believe is now lymphangitis) under control, which so far I am at a draw with it ... so long as I keep it wrapped.

I am hoping the work will help. I am using Gluta DMG EQ and have him on MSM. Any new "stuff" you might have read about you would care to share?

Exercise should definitely help. If this is lymphangitis, which makes sense with his history, you may always have to do some wrapping and deal with fluid buildup from damaged lymphatics. But, again, the exercise should help to move fluid out of the tissue. I don't know of anything else new but I'll keep my eyes and ears open.

Thanks ... a farrier on one of the boards said that he had great success with frog support pads with silpac or heavy leather wedges with either Forshners or Magic Cushion as sole pac... to help with circulation in that limb.

He said he likes leather wedges because over the course of the shoeing cycle the leather between the horn/wall and the shoe compresses and the pad contacting the frog does not. This actually passively applies increased contact over the cycle, which increases return of circulation which helps keep the blood moving and recirculating in both the foot and limb. Stating that cellulitis and lymphingitis are both circulatory issues.

I was going to run this by "The Virtual Farrier" and see if it makes any sense to him. How about you?

This makes some sense to me, but I will definitely defer to the farrier experts on this one.