Horses Will Be Horses

Black being adorable!

Well this last week has been filled with phone calls, icing, wrapping, cold hosing, research, hand walking, and some crying. And repeat. This probably describes my past 13 years with horses but I've never had it all in one week! As most of y'all know Black injured his front right outside suspensory branch after landing from a fence in our lesson on Wednesday. I'm heartbroken of course but there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. Black was fit and doing his conditioning sets. (Actually fitter than he had been since summer!) I was not asking anymore of him than I had been in the lesson. I only jump once a week and I make sure it's in good footing. I warm him up and cool him down properly every time I ride him. I ice, poultice, and wrap his legs after every cross country run and I give him his down time. Earlier in October I had two weeks that I only rode Black once a week because of school work. This week I have been going over and over and over in my head if I should have brought him "back" slower than I did. The first week all he did was light hacks and I didn't even feel comfortable jumping him until 2 weeks later!! You could say I'm a little paranoid... But there was nothing I could have done differently. While that gives me some peace, it makes me nervous about how I am going to prevent this from happening after Black is rehabbed. But Black has given me and his previous owner more than either of us could ever imagine. I am so blessed to have Black in my life and I will do EVERYTHING I can to bring him back to where he was. And if I can't- I'll make him as comfortable as I can. I owe him that much.
So far Black is handling stall rest surprisingly well! He's been very calm and enjoys sticking his head out in the aisle so he feels involved in the activity. Rachel has been so great about working with me to make him more comfortable and sane. I'm so thankful for her! Our next appointment with Dr. Boone at Tryon Equine will be next Friday. We will ultrasound and Black will get his second shockwave treatment. That ultrasound will tell us more about what we're in for and how bad it is. There was so much swelling, fluid, and edema on Wednesday since it just happened that it was hard to tell what was a possible tear and what was fluid. All I know is that the giant black hole in the middle of my horse's suspensory was scary compared to his inside branch. I am praying my heart out that we will get good news next week but I am trying not get my hopes up. Dr. Boone warned me that I should count on 4-6 months and that she can't hand me a sound horse in 3 months. So I'm prepared for a long road as this will be enough of a emotional roller coaster. We will also discuss Stem Cell Therapy and PRP on Friday and that will hopefully help to prevent a reinjury- which is my primary concern. Casey Sokol, my farrier, has been AWESOME about trying to find the best way to shoe Black to help him recover. He has contacted numerous other farriers to find what has worked the best. How awesome is that?! We're looking at putting him into bar shoes, wedges, and a rim pad with frog support up front to help support his heels.
Black and I have the best team behind us that I could ever hope for so I know we will get through this. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and are keeping Black in their thoughts. The horse community is truly one of a kind!