Friday, April 30, 2010

Not Good News

I wish I had better news, but it could always be worst right?

The vet came out this afternoon and we got Ms. Denali out of her stall. I've never seen her so worked up. EVER. We tired to take her into the arena, but she flipped out and the vet had to give her a little "cocktail" to help her calm down a bit and not injure her leg worse. We had to put her up against the wall to do that though, she freaked out over the needle. She's never done that before. Poor thing. She's a nervous wreck.

She's really lame, and in a lot of pain. She has swelling and pain around the lateral splint and superficial/deep digital flexors. The vet thinks there is a chance that she broke her splint bone, but that's only a chance and we won't know for sure until Wednesday when we do x-rays and sonograms.

Today she spent her first day on stall rest. She HATES, HATES, HATES it! She has a standing wrap on now, and I bought an ice boot instead of cold hosing it everyday. I have a stall guard that I put on for about half an hour today and I just stood in the aisle way hanging out with her. I can't leave it up and leave her alone. She'll try to go over it. She's a very determined girl.

The vet suggested looking into Pegasus Rehabilitation Center because they have a therapeutic pool and an underwater treadmill. She thinks that can help burn off some energy without her hurting herself more IF (key word IF) she is going to need to be on stall rest for a long time. The price online said $60.00 a day, so not as horrible as I imagined. Again, my thoughts are if I plan for this then I won't need it. She actually LOVES, LOVES, LOVES water so I bet she'd love the pool.

I went to Petsmart and bought a large ball that has holes in it, I stuffed it full of hay and carrots tonight and that seemed to keep her entertained for a few moments at least. She has every stall toy you could imagine, so I'm not sure what else to do to keep her occupied.

The vet will be back on Wednesday, so I'm hoping when she comes Ms. Denali is walking fine and back to her normal self. The vet did give her a shot of Reserpine which is a long acting sedative. It is suppose to last 30 days, so hopefully that will help take the edge off for her.

I wasn't planning on going to the barn tomorrow, but it seems like I'm going to be spending a lot of time out there now.

7 comments:

Beth said...

I am so sorry. That is such horrible news. It will give you this time to take lesson on another horse though, so when she is sound again, you'll be more confident.

Hugs to you and Denali!

Leah Fry said...

That's too bad. $60 a day is nothing to sneeze at. Let's hope it's only for a few days.

Wait for the sono and xrays and hope for the best.

Becky said...

Maybe this was Denali's way of telling you she needed a luxury vacation at a poolside resort? Ok, unlikely... but maybe? At any rate, so sorry to hear the bad news. I'll keep my fingers crossed she's back to her normal self ASAP & the Xrays come back with nothing to worry about.

Kristen Eleni Shellenbarger said...

UGH..are you kidding?! Seriously, now I DO think that Laz and Denali are talking..
Ok, so hopefully the xrays show something that isn't long term and a faster recovery for her. $60 a day isn't so bad when u view the site and how nice the facility, but coming from someone who has spent a fortune on trying to heal her horse..that adds up so quickly. I will be hoping you dont need to take her there and she can heal on her own at home, quickly.
I've never heard of a 30 day sedative...hmmmmmmmmmmm ;)

Muddy K said...

Oh, I am so sorry to hear this about Denali. My Scout just passed her soundness exam after having surgery on a broken splint bone in December.Stall confinement was the hardest part of it for her, nine weeks of 24/7 rest indoors. I'm a little confused about the advice you were given about Reserpine. Scout was given a scoop of powdered Reserpine morning and night, in her Safe Choice, for nearly all of her confinement. She developed a taste for it, too, I must say, and became a bit of a junkie!

Though I'm really relieved to have come through this with Scout, I'll never forget all the hours we spent together when she was on stall rest. I learned so much about her.

in2paints said...

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear about Denali! I'm thinking good thoughts for x-ray and ultrasound day... with any luck it won't be as bad as projected, or maybe she'll be all better by then!

I finally got back on my mare after a 6 month rehab program for her torn tendon. We spent a LOT of time together. It was kind of nice, actually. :) (minus the vet bills)

Dang horses are so fragile.

Brooke (FBX Adventures - In Parenting) said...

She took today a little better than yesterday. The Reserpine kicked in and she's super mellow. It makes me a little sad to not see her so hyper, but I know it's to keep her safe.

MuddyK, it's not a powder, it was an injection. It's suppose to last for 30 days, so we'll see. I didn't even know they made a powder!

I'll give a full update this weekend or Monday. Lots to fill everyone in on, I'm just hoping everything will look good on Wednesday.

Thanks for your kind words!