Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Shit Meets Fan

So over the weekend, as I was just starting to dig myself out of my mental rut, Foxie (my 21 year old first horse, for those of you who are newer to my blogging) apparently went through the fence.

The queen Fox
Foxie is a horse who tends to attract strife and bad luck; she has come back from two horrible, nearly life-ending injuries. The first, was a low DDF injury on her right front. She came back 110% from that, despite all of the vet's predictions, and we took up eventing. She was beasting around Training level XC a handful of years ago now and jumping better than she ever had, and then she shredded her right hind suspensory in 4 places (4 quarter sized tears). Her body basically freaked out and dropped all of the suspensories in all 4 legs, and for a while there, she was in so much pain that we heavily considered letting her go; the pain was too much to ask of her.

Birthday portrait from earlier this year
But the minute you say that, she comes back. It's been her way.

So she went through the fence. She also seems to have flipped - or sat down? - with the end result of mashing her whole back end into a traumatized, swollen mess.

Her tail bone is broken (muscles are still in tact, so she can swish... but it bends up. NOT NORMAL).
She fractured a splint bone (not a big deal)
She appears to have damaged the large artery running down the front of her already-damaged "suspensory" leg, with the result that the leg, which was already going to swell, is swelling in new and excitingly gross ways.
Her right leg is swollen from fetlock to butt cheek; I've nicnamed it the Dinosaur leg, because it's so swollen it appears to belong to an elephant, or a dinosaur, not a horse. The hock area is particularly traumatized and is so hot that she is regularly sweating through whatever bandage I put on her.
Image result for horse hock soft tissue
Her left leg is swelling, too. And the tendons that sit over the point of her hock are sliding to the side under the strain of her resting the more painful leg.
Her legs shake a lot of the time from the strain of supporting her body; she laid down before the vet came to take x-rays and fell trying to get up. My heart stopped in that moment.

Her body is horribly, horribly traumatized by whatever happened to her.

Now that we're managing her pain in a more effective way, she is no longer pawing and pawing and pawing in pain, nearly catatonic to everything else around her; she engages with me, and she's even gotten her personality back a little bit. She's still not eating or drinking well; she's been eating hay and grazing with the most enthusiasm, but she hardly touches her grain (and the stomach supplements and anti-inflammatories I'm trying to get into her). I tube her pain meds into her - she has never been willing to eat powdered bute, and she's not eating enough grain for me to chance putting the liquid banamine the vet gave me on grain.

She's still dehydrated, though she's drinking better. She's probably losing weight, though it's hard to tell when she's so sucked in on herself to begin with.

But at the same time, she's still here. She's still fighting.

She whinnies for her sisters, and though she is still limping horribly, she's moving a lot better. She's willing to move herself, especially when "cruising" around in the tall grass and clover I haven't had time to mow, grazing. She walked herself over to the gate to touch noses with Arya, and she tried to bite her. Her eyes are brighter, she looks up at me with her royal way when I come into the barn, saying "U SERVE ME NAO". So things are already improving from the horrible state they were...

But this sucks, guys.

11 comments:

  1. Oh no! I am so sorry! I hope Foxie recovers. I just had to put my 17 year old (too young!) mare down last week because her hind end (hocks, stifles, SI joint) were so damaged by her racing career before I got her. My first horse lived to be 32 and I had to put her down three summers ago. I totally understand. I cannot see my horses in pain and letting them go was the kindest and most difficult thing I have ever done. :-( Hugs

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    1. So sorry about your ponies :( Thoroughbreds are such amazing creatures - they can tolerate so much, and mine, at least, doesn't want to show she's in pain. I've been ready to let her go so many times... I hope she can come back one more time for me. It was my dream from the beginning to retire her to graze in my backyard - and we've achieved it - but I'd really prefer she stick around and be a total curmudgeon for many more years.

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  2. Oh my gosh, that sounds horrible. I hope she pulls through for you again. I'll be thinking of you guys!

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    1. Bay OTTBs defy science, logic and vets, right? I'm hoping she has one more come back for me... I don't want to lose her this way.

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  3. How awful :( sending you guys good thoughts!

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    1. :) you guys are making me tear up at my desk at work. Thanks for reading my drama... I have no words for how much I value people reading my crap blog and making me feel like I'm not alone.

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    2. It's not a crap blog, and you're never alone! My work has gotten too manic to let me leave as many comments as I want lately (although I am trying to at least skim everybody's posts to stay up to date) but I just wanted to let you know I'm pulling for Foxie! I've had a few defy the odds and I know that awful limbo of feeling so scared and alone. Sending hugs.

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    3. It is NOT a crap blog and you are NOT alone! Many of us have gone through similar things. Never feel bad for reaching out. That is what is so great about the blogging community IMO. Sometimes you just need to know that even when life is sucking, others out there care and are thinking about you. Chin up, girl. *hugs*

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  4. Oh no! That's awful :( Sending good vibes. She's a tough cookie!

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  5. that's horrible :( wishing her a speedy recovery!!

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  6. oh my god, that is so so so terrible :( :( :( crossing my fingers for her, that really sucks.

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