I can’t sleep so thought I would post a little update on Ben.
We have reached week 14 and he is now much happier and more content. There is no more door kicking, barging or stressed behaviour. He is almost back to his old self being cheeky and affectionate.
He has swellings on his sheath, stomach and legs. With the swellings and his muscle wastage I now have no idea what shape he actually is anymore. It is sad to watch my once toned and fit horse change so much. He has regular physio and massages where he is always found to be tight on his right side, but that is hardly surprising when he is only allowed to move for 10 minutes per day.
At the last vet visit he was still 4/10th lame in his right hind. He had this stifle reinjected but I know it still hurts him. He lifted his whole leg off the ground when I picked up his opposite diagnal yesterday and this is not a good sign. His right stifle is warmer than the left, but the experts tell me this is a sign that healing is happening inside.
The vet comes back in 2 weeks. I know he won’t be sound. So what to do then? It keeps me awake at night worrying about it (hence why I am writing this at 5am). I can’t turn him out knowing he has no cartilage to cushion the joint, this will just make him worse. As he is now settled in box rest and happy in himself I think I will opt for another 8 weeks of box rest to take the total box rest up to 6 months. If he is still lame after that, I really have no options left. It is incredibly hard to face the possibility that he may not recover. It is so unfair. When the option to have him put to sleep is way in the future, it is easy to say that is what I will do. But when it comes down to knowing that I probably have to do this in 10 short weeks, it is heartbreaking. He means everything to me. It is not about riding him or doing things with him, his companionship is enough for me. What will I do without him?
We have reached week 14 and he is now much happier and more content. There is no more door kicking, barging or stressed behaviour. He is almost back to his old self being cheeky and affectionate.
He has swellings on his sheath, stomach and legs. With the swellings and his muscle wastage I now have no idea what shape he actually is anymore. It is sad to watch my once toned and fit horse change so much. He has regular physio and massages where he is always found to be tight on his right side, but that is hardly surprising when he is only allowed to move for 10 minutes per day.
At the last vet visit he was still 4/10th lame in his right hind. He had this stifle reinjected but I know it still hurts him. He lifted his whole leg off the ground when I picked up his opposite diagnal yesterday and this is not a good sign. His right stifle is warmer than the left, but the experts tell me this is a sign that healing is happening inside.
The vet comes back in 2 weeks. I know he won’t be sound. So what to do then? It keeps me awake at night worrying about it (hence why I am writing this at 5am). I can’t turn him out knowing he has no cartilage to cushion the joint, this will just make him worse. As he is now settled in box rest and happy in himself I think I will opt for another 8 weeks of box rest to take the total box rest up to 6 months. If he is still lame after that, I really have no options left. It is incredibly hard to face the possibility that he may not recover. It is so unfair. When the option to have him put to sleep is way in the future, it is easy to say that is what I will do. But when it comes down to knowing that I probably have to do this in 10 short weeks, it is heartbreaking. He means everything to me. It is not about riding him or doing things with him, his companionship is enough for me. What will I do without him?