Anyone who has gone through this or any other large water damage issue knows just how bad it smells. All the more reason to head right out to the horses. First one to check on is Chance, who had her hernia surgery on Thursday and is stalled with Prince William so she doesn't go stir crazy thinking she has been left by herself while the rest of the horses are enjoying the pasture.
Chance is doing well. Her incision site is a little swollen, but that is to be expected. There is no drainage and she seems to be in good spirits. P Wms spirits are good too because he loves being with his big sister - she shares her feed with him :) . But he is limping - not good!
Doesn't take but a glance to see what's wrong. His left hind fetlock is swollen twice it's size and his hoof looks unusually pigeon toed. He is putting weight on it but not much and only on the outer toe area. As a gaited Paso Fino his legs have a little turn in his walk, much like a TWH, so his gait is the same, he's just carrying his foot wrong.
His temp, pulse and respiration are normal and he's eating which are all good signs. The fetlock is not hot or mushy, but to us something is twisted badly or perhaps even fractured. No visable signs of injury, no cuts, scratches, blood - nothing. Two weeks ago we had to call the vet out for Jet on a Sunday morning, now here we are again calling her on the weekend. At least it's Saturday so she won't miss going to church with her girls again for us.
After a thorough exam and series of radiographs we find out that there are no apparent fractures which gives us a chance to take a deep breath and thank the Lord that he doesn't need to be hospitalized. He will definitely needs time to heal without putting a lot of pressure or extreme movement of the area.
We set up a smaller pipe corral for him sharing a panel with Chance so they continue their companionship and sharing their food. Hosing it twice a day with cold water for 15 minutes and then putting a good wrap on it to help give support to the area. Top it off with some anti-inflammatory medicine and a little pain relieve - but not too much because we don't want him thinking his ankle area is fine and putting stress on it - and some supplements to give his body a little boost with healing.
We will take a few more radiographs after the swelling goes down, probably on Monday. So in the meantime he and Chance will be getting a lot of TLC - everyone's prayers will help too.
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