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Re: [RC] colic and surgery - merryben

There is a story Steve Lenheim told me about his 16 (I think then) gelding. The vets suggested that surgery might not be wanted because of his age. Steve said "Here's my credit card, save my horse."

-----Original Message-----
From: Tracey Lomax <bandipops@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: merryben@xxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, 8 May 2006 18:23:50 -0700
Subject: RE: [RC]   colic and surgery

 We own this big chestnut TB called Harry.  If he survives adolescence
he'll be a superb showjumper but he's such a ditz that if I were to wrap
him in cotton wool and put him in a padded cell he'd come out with a
scratch.

During one of his "lame" moments (I forget which one, there've been so
many), he got a necrosplenic (sp?) entrapment.  Man alive did he go down
like a ton of bricks!!  Had to give him torbs to load him in the box and
get him to the vet or he'd have gone down.  When we got there, colic
surgery looked like an inevitability.

So there I stood, with an untried, untested, unsound 5yo TB, being
chased around the lunge ring to see if the arthrodene and exercise would
fix the twist.  Vet turned to me and said "is he really worth the
surgery?"

I didn't flinch, just said "he's too nice a person not to give him a
chance".

We're mad, really, we horsepeople.  There isn't a planet in the solar
system on which that decision made rational sense but I'd have done it
in a heartbeat.

As it was, the arthrodene worked.  Harry hobbled around for another 18
months (although never on the same leg, he was an equal-opportunity
leg-dinger, even starting on his penis at one point, but that's a
different story).

He's currently sound and up to jumping 1.20m.  He'll get there in the
end.  But damn, he'll make us work for it :)

And I wouldn't want it any other way.


Tracey
PS Did I mention that this is the horse who walks into telephone poles
and gets stuck in trees??


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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

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Replies
RE: [RC] colic and surgery, Tracey Lomax