Today Ben has a vet check up. He is now 6 months post surgery and has been on full box rest all that time. It has been difficult to say the least.
The bottom line is that he is still lame. His stifle is still swollen and he trots up 2/10 lame normally and 4/10 lame under flexion. I am absolutely gutted that there has actually been very little improvement in all the time he has been on box rest. It makes it seem like a pointless waste of time, money, energy and tears.
I told the vet that I was really struggling with handling him and that my nerves were completely torn apart. We agreed that a phased return to turnout was in his best interests and that the only option we now have is to wait and see if turnout and gentle exercise could help him. He did say that he has seen stifle injuries like his take 18 months to heal properly so I wasn’t to lose hope.
But I have lost hope. I just know that he is going to decline. We agreed on 6 weekly check ups from the vet and 6 weekly physio appointments so that discomfort and decline could be spotted early. And I have decided that as soon as he starts to get worse, it will be time to say goodbye to him because I just will not watch him suffer any more than he already has.
The vet is keen for me to keep hacking him out in walk daily. He says this is good for Ben in all ways and would be good for me as well. The only problem is that I have lost my nerve and the very thought of hacking him like I used to seems unreachable.
So I am sorry it isn’t better news. I feel completely heart broken. I have tried everything to fix him, I love him so much and I know we are facing the inevitable end. I don’t ever want to be involved with horses again after he goes. The good times do not make up for the bad. It is too painful and I can’t describe how sad and completely gutted I am.
The bottom line is that he is still lame. His stifle is still swollen and he trots up 2/10 lame normally and 4/10 lame under flexion. I am absolutely gutted that there has actually been very little improvement in all the time he has been on box rest. It makes it seem like a pointless waste of time, money, energy and tears.
I told the vet that I was really struggling with handling him and that my nerves were completely torn apart. We agreed that a phased return to turnout was in his best interests and that the only option we now have is to wait and see if turnout and gentle exercise could help him. He did say that he has seen stifle injuries like his take 18 months to heal properly so I wasn’t to lose hope.
But I have lost hope. I just know that he is going to decline. We agreed on 6 weekly check ups from the vet and 6 weekly physio appointments so that discomfort and decline could be spotted early. And I have decided that as soon as he starts to get worse, it will be time to say goodbye to him because I just will not watch him suffer any more than he already has.
The vet is keen for me to keep hacking him out in walk daily. He says this is good for Ben in all ways and would be good for me as well. The only problem is that I have lost my nerve and the very thought of hacking him like I used to seems unreachable.
So I am sorry it isn’t better news. I feel completely heart broken. I have tried everything to fix him, I love him so much and I know we are facing the inevitable end. I don’t ever want to be involved with horses again after he goes. The good times do not make up for the bad. It is too painful and I can’t describe how sad and completely gutted I am.