Winston Update

Thank you all for your well wishes. Please keep Winston in your thoughts. I am a big believer in positive thinking.
When I got home yesterday, Mom told me more about the day. Winston did not want to walk in from turn out and it was pouring. Big red flag. His muscles were twitching from the pain. I have to say we have a wonderful vet. Mom called and said she really thought Winston was in a bad way and they immediately worked to fit him in between appointments. No questions. We are not ones to call the vet over small things, so they know if we call it is important.
Our vet in addition to the Banamine and Ulcer prevention meds, also put him on Thyroxine. This will induce Hyperthyroidism and hopefully help him lose some weight while on stall rest. We have a whole page of instructions for all his medicines. She said to mix the meds with applesauce, but we are just going to use wheat bran. Joyce Harman said that was okay. Dr Harman said to try and get him off the pain medicine as soon as possible. Too much walking is not good. Lying down is actually the best for him. And of course she recommended putting him on Pro Bi. Stomach health is a large part of managing laminitis.
We also have to ice his hooves and legs at least twice a day to help with inflammation. Surprisingly, Winston did not mind the big, blue boots. Such a good boy.

Icing session last night

Fortunately, Peggy and Larry had a spare Nibble Net we could use for Winston so that we could slow his hay consumption. We normally wrap hay in landscaping mesh and drop into a hay bag, but this net will be easier and quicker to use. Mom had to add some landscaping mesh to make up for a big hole one of Peggy's horse ate into it. Winston has very nimble lips and had no problem with the jerry rigged bag.
And finally...
At about 1am I received a response from the doctor in charge of the Laminil trial. He said "(Winston) is an ideal candidate, because the drug is most effective when used during 48-72 hours after occurrence." I just needed to have my vet send authorization and a shipping address and they would send the Laminil. How about that?
I immediately forwarded the email to our vet, whose opinion I trust, and asked if she knew anything about it and was it worth trying. Today I got her response. At first, she was leery since she had not heard about it and so many laminitis drugs are questionable. She recommended contacting Dr Harman for holistic treatment if we wanted a different path. Then about a half hour later, she wrote that she looked over the information about the trial and Laminil. She said "It looks promising, Let's try it." We sent back for her to go ahead and contact the trial group to start the process. Now we wait.
I am not normally drawn to this type of treatment, we normally go as holistic as possible. But I am a believer of "Things happen for a reason," and my seeing the trial article the day before is too big to ignore. Added to that, when I went to the Laminil website the trial is now full and not accepting any more horses.
So that is where we stand as of now. Winston is more comfortable looking, according to Mom, but it will be a long road.