The Definition of Insanity.....

We have all heard the theory that equine veterinarians should not own horses being as how they always tend to be lame, sick, injured, or etc. One of my associates fondly comments that my own ownership of two horses is the best form of “ownership birth control” against her getting her own horse. My horses always tend to get themselves into trouble one way or another, and always in my absence at the barn. My latest escapade involved my older Lipizzaner mare who decided to break up a fight between a 25+ year old pony and a 22 year old gelding. I’ll never forget that phone call from the barn manager stating that I needed to get to the barn ASAP as my mare was kicked in the hind cannon bone, the leg immediately swelled up, and she was not bearing any weight on it. My immediate fear was that she had a shattered cannon bone. There are many things I have found myself capable of handling; however, performing the euthanasia on one of my own horses was not one of them. One of my associates volunteered to come with in case of tragedy and we headed out to the barn. On arrival, I felt somewhat relieved as in the past 30-45 minutes my mare had progressed to being fully weight bearing on the affected hind leg. The outside of the leg was significantly swollen, as well as the opposite hock (which had a relatively large skin abrasion present over it). My immediate suspicion was a fractured splint bone on the swollen leg. On radiographic examination, my suspicions were confirmed. She had a displaced fracture of the lateral splint bone that involved 3 separate small bone fragments, as well as the distal 1/3 of the splint bone. She would require surgical removal of the bone fragments and approximately 2 months recovery. The two instigators that started the fight were, of course, unharmed. On diagnosis, one of the barn hands commented to me it was lucky that I was a veterinarian, as I could take care of my own horse (as opposed to having to pay someone else). My only response to that was I think I should stick to owning goldfish!

Rehab

I recently received and e-mail from a client with a horse that had been treated for a minor orthopedic injury that required some time off work and turnout to rehab the injury. The horse was put back to light work with a few minor setbacks. After a few days work the horse was turned out in an indoor arena and proceeded to buck and play with reckless abandon; not unusual for a fresh horse. Fearing re-injury due to the horse’s behavior in turnout, the client asked my advice. There are 3 ways to approach the problem: 1) avoid turnout 2) tranquilize the horse prior to turnout 3) turn the horse out in a small round pen (30 feet in diameter). Of the options, number three is by far the best. It is important to have a small round pen available for horse being rehabbed. It gives them a space for leisure outside the stall while limiting the risk of injury or re-injury due to their normal horse behavior. Pens like this are easily constructed either as a permanent structure or as a temporary one made from corral panels.