This shows what Maddy's injury looks like. Her wing bone is not completely broken away, but instead cracks half way down. The prognosis is good. This is a fracture that usually heals quite well. My vet has told me many horses have had this same injury and gone on to do great things. At this point, I just have to try to stay positive and hope for the best. I was out at the barn yesterday and she was quite content in her stall. They put the pony next door and the window is open in the next stall so she can see outside. Lucky for me, the barn is very active. There are lots of kids, dogs, four wheelers, and people in and out all day long. We changed her diet. No more oats and she gets eastern hay at three different intervals throughout the day and beet pulp at night. The farrier will be out to put shoes on her with 6 clips. This will help support her foot. I am just going to focus on working little projects in her stall with her. Working a lot with her feet and flexion. I want to maybe try some clicker training with cones and I have even thought about teaching her how to paint on a canvas. I am lucky to have a very supportive network of horse friends that have called and emailed me. Everyone is pulling for her to get better. I need to look into stall toys. I am just focusing on keeping her mind active. If anyone out there has ideas or suggestions for me, I would love to hear them. Also, I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through stall rest with their horse. Horse ownership poses so many challenges, this one will be tough for me.
Monday Spa Day
4 hours ago
7 comments:
((HUGS!!)) and glad to hear the prognosis is good!! I think teaching your horse how to paint is a great idea! I've actually been thinking about that with Diago. He can do the artwork for my hobby room! ;) I don't have many suggestions for things to keep her bored but maybe you can teach her some tricks/behaviors to keep her mentally active...ones that don't involve much movement such as hugs, kisses, yes, no, being ashamed/hiding, drinking from a bottle of water, smiling, etc. If you decide to teach "tricks" lemme know if you need any help teaching them. I do have a book and a few resources on doing such as I've been teaching "D" a few tricks here and there...he knows how to hug and kiss! :D Quite the kisser he is too...LOL! Anyway, good luck!!
I like the idea of tricks. Maybe you could look into equine massage techniques to help relax her also. Or equine stretches to help with her bored muscles.
At my friends they have hung apple licks from the ceiling and I have also seen them hang empty milk cartons for the horses to bat around and chew on.
Hang in there!
I've had a couple of different experiences with stall rest.
My older gelding injured the sheath to his tendon but not the actual tendon. I kept him on stall rest to be on the safe side.
He was also on stall rest for a while during his treatment for EPM because he was having trouble telling where his feet were and we were afraid he might fall and get hurt with our irregular terrain.
During both times I scaled down his diet, provided him with stall toys, and I used an equiball. It's a ball that you put pellets into (I put a grass pelleted feed) and he would have to roll the ball around to make the feed come out a few morsels at a time. It would take him sometimes close to an hour to empty the ball.
My twins had to be on stall rest because the filly's bones were not sufficiently hardened at birth. We couldn't keep one in without the other and then that meant the mare had to stay in with them.
They were harder to keep quiet because they were younger and they would wind each other up. But I hung toys from the rafters, gave them old rubber boots, old feed tubs, balls and a large water tub usually about half full of water. The tub became a fun thing to dunk their other toys in. It's pretty funny to see a horse shooting baskets but they do!
The one thing I can say about this for me was it turned out to be a great bonding experience for me and the horses involved.
Sounds like the location of her injury is cause for a good prognosis. That's very encouraging. And you already have a plan with the farrier, that's good too. Being proactive in this process will make a huge difference for you horse.
oh Im sorry to hear about Maddy! I hope that she gets remarkably better much sooner than you expected! Sending all the healing warmth I can from NZ!
That's good to hear that the break will generally heal well. Keep positive thoughts for that. :)
I have been thinking about you and Maddy a lot. While it is tough to live through this, on the other end you will be able to see the bond to your horse and the commitment you have to each other. I think Precious and I became very close after all of her problems, because she knew, no matter what, I would take care of her.
In terms of activity, it might be a good time to gently introduce her to silly things, but be careful that they are things she won't react to.
Excellent time to work on advance retreat with all the tough stuff-clippers, wormer, spray bottles, feet, water (sponge baths), blankets that she might tolerate in one place, but not another.
I love the idea of clicker training.
This is also a great time to work on you. Find a horse to ride and practice YOUR skills and YOUR equitation, not just focusing on your young horse in training can do wonders for you. And watch other people ride that gives you a good eye. Read, absorb new information and of course, blog.
It sounds like things are definitely going to work out just fine for the two of you.
If you have Maddy paint you have to post it on your blog, so we can all see it!
Sending positive thoughts your way.
Deanna
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