Ian's Story

[Tammy Breckenridge]

Hey guys,

We have so many creative people on this board that I know y'all can help me out! I need to write a short story about what happened to my gelding Ian and his treatment he received at UGA Vet School but I am horrid at writing and it needs to be a short paragraph to fit on a calendar page for their success stories calender. So here is his story (long version) so feel free to edit it down for me please!

On April 19, 2009 my gelding Ventura's Ima Bold and Buckeroo Too(Ian) and my stallion MCC's Robin Hoods Golden Boy(GB) were involved in a trailer accident on the way to a fun show in Conyers, GA. What happened inside of the trailer we will never know, I just know that when we got to the show grounds and open the trailer it became one of the worst days of my life. GB was laying on the trailer floor with his right hind cannon bone severed but still alive and Ian was standing beside him apparently unhurt. The call went out to the show vet for the horse park and she arrived and began to work to stabilize GB when they started to unload Ian it was discovered he to had a severely fractured cannon bone in his hind leg.(many people mobilized from the riding club and vendors to help us) After both of them were stabilized and loaded back into the trailer (I road with them this time) the call went out to UGA Vet School to notify them of our arrival. They were in full trauma mode when we arrived and had both boys xrayed and medicated within 45 minutes of our arrival. All of the faculty, students and staff were so supportive that day when the doctors can out and informed me that they couldn't save GB due to lack of repairable blood vessels to his hoof and they thought Ian had about a 5 to 10% chance of survival with surgery. As I grieved the loss of one of my Ian they whisked Ian into surgery where he would stay for over 4 hours. He emerged with 4 plates and 14 screws holding hid cannon bone together and some bone marrow as "Spackle" to fill in the holes. After the surgery they told me the biggest problems he was facing were infection in the wound and in the bone and founder (think Barbero) Due to their excellent care and Ians willingness to put up with daily antibiotic infusions at the surgery site for 2 weeks they bummed his survival to 35%. Ian solved the founder problem like most minis would by sleeping as much as he ever did, which is to say about 10 hours a day During our whole stay (over a month) everyone at UGA was helpful and supportive, kept me in the loop and always had Ians best interest in mind. After many rechecks one plate was removed last month and he has been given the thumbs up to go back to training.

OK guys help!

Thanks

Tammy

btw here is a picture of Ian a few days out of surgery with his cast on. Im hoping to get some new improved pictures this weekend if the weather holds.

 

[ruffian]

I'm thinking there isn't a lot of room on a calendar, but how's this:

What began as a day of tragedy turned into a success story thanks to the incredible staff of UGA. A freak trailer accident left my 2 miniature horses severely injured, Ian with a severed cannon and GB with a fractured cannon. UGA was in full trauma mode when we arrived. Ian could not be saved, but the supportive staff helped us through that horrible time. They didn’t sugar coat the fact that GB had a very small chance of survival. His 4 hr surgery left him with 4 plates and 14 screws in his leg. They aggressively treated him to prevent infection, one of the complications that cost Barbaro his life. GB’s strong will to survive, and ability to accept the treatments combined with the tremendous efforts by everybody at UGA has meant that today GB has been given the thumbs up to resume his training. THANK YOU UGA Vet School.

 

[Bunnylady]

Oh, man! I don't know if they want the personal touch, or "just the facts, ma'am." I mean, it's really tragic about GB (sorry for your loss, btw) but this is about the success with Ian, right? I see no real need to drag Barbaro into this at all - yes, he had a fractured cannon bone too, but he has no real involvement in this tale. Stripping your story to the bare bones, this is what I got:

In April of 2009, Ventura's Ima Bold and Buckaroo Too (Ian) severely fractured a rear cannon bone in a trailering accident. He was stabilized and transported to UGA Vet School. Promptly upon Ian's arrival, his leg was x rayed and deemed repairable, although his chances of surviving were thought to be slim. In an operation that lasted more than 4 hours, surgeons used 4 plates and 14 screws to piece the gelding's leg bone together. Great care was taken to prevent infection, and the miniature horse proved to be an excellent patient. Within two weeks, his prognosis was upgraded significantly. After a month, Ian had made so much progress he was allowed to go home, though he returned frequently to allow the team to monitor the healing process. He has done so well that one of the plates was removed in September, and approval was given to resume his training.

Too dry?