Getting Ready for Spring - - The Discovery

Part 1

Once we were sure the foal was alive, the vet took Solidare out of the palpation chute to look her over in her normal stance. It was then he discovered the reason for Solidare's recent lack of movement.

Just the way the mare stood with one hock stretched out behind her told him the mare had probably torn the tendon over the back of her left hock. When he examined the hock more closely he confirmed the diagnosis. The change in Solidare's gait and her reluctance to move were the result of this new injury.

This diagnosis put us in a catch twenty two. For the hock to heal the mare needed to stay as quiet as possible. Yet, if the mare and the foal were to survive, the hand walking needed to be continued to restore the lost muscle tone so the mare had a shot at a normal foaling.

The foaling issue would have to take precedence over the tendon issue. There was no question about that but there were added risks if the tendon did not heal. The more compromised the mare's legs are the more likely she will harm herself getting up or down. There was the likelihood she might tear something else. If that happened it would most likely be catastrophic.

I know first hand from the dislocated fetlock back with Lindsay's therapy horse that a horse with weak ligaments or tendons is at risk of further injury. That horse had a mild strain to his suspensory ligament that led to that dislocated fetlock.

From what we could tell, the horse laid down with the weak leg underneath him. Then when he tried to get up, the suspensory ligament couldn't support all his weight putting part of it onto the collateral ligament. Not intended for such use, the collateral ligament blew out allowing the bones of the fetlock to spreak all over the place.

Luckily for us Solidare is wiser than that gelding. I'd noticed recently she has been exclusively laying on one side as evidenced by a stain I keep fighting on that side. The mare is not laying down with her weakest leg underneath her. The question is how long her already compromised legs will hold up to the abuse they're taking because of these injuries.

The vet did recommend some changes in Solidare's diet. He wanted the mare to be getting more fiber so I was to cut back on the alfalfa and feed her at least half of her forage in grass. Also, her senior feed was changed to T.A.C.O. but the ration remained the same. Minor adjustments really so I was left still worrying about my mare.

Before I took Solidare home we talked some about the big decision. Watching this mare the past months, it has been at the forefront of my mind. When is that time? When enough is enough? When does an owner make the decision to put a horse down?

For me it is about the horse. It is not about my own discomfort looking at her condition. It is about what Solidare thinks of her life. As long as she has that twinkle in her eye that says she's happy to be alive, I will respect that and give her the time. When the day comes that she tells me she's had enough, I will respect that too.

This day at the vet was a hard one for me. While the mare's eye clearing showed her discomfort, it did not say she was done to me. I thought it was clear she was looking to us for help. The mare wanted to be better. She believed she could be better. I needed to believe it too.

I guess I needed to know I was not reading something that really wasn't there so that's why I began talking to the vet about that difficult decision. I wanted to know if the vet saw the same look that I saw. I wanted to know I wasn't prolonging this mare's life just to save a foal. I wanted to know that Solidare had a chance and that she wanted that chance.

To be continued...................

The Next Step



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