Shadow Stifle Surgery Rehab

[lilhorseladie]

Shadow is now five days past his surgery and seems to be doing great. He seems to feel like a million bucks...literally! I started with two- four block walks a day. Today we extended that a bit. I am still hand grazing him and stalling him in the trailer, for his own safety. Because of the length of time of his locking, he has no hind end muscle. He also has to learn to stand, walk and move all over again. We are working on that slowly. I will keep him in the trailer for probably two weeks with supervised exercise. Because he isn't used to being led a lot, we are dealing with boy issues, such as nipping and kicking. I am elated he can kick, but now we need to nip it in the bud!

Here are baby pictures of shadow:

Here are some of Shadow now. Some before clipping his head and neck, some after. I realize that he is very thin, I am working on that. It isn't a lack of food, but a lack of his wanting to eat. Everything has improved since surgery. On the day he went in he weighed 97 pounds. When we go back in two weeks to remove stitches, I will weigh him again and hope for some serious results!

He can now graze freely without dragging his body with him!

Now he is feeling a little spunky...and stubborn!

Here he is moving freely...after almost nine months of complete stifle lock in both legs. He feels good! If it were up to him, he would be galloping where ever he went.

He is pretty shaggy, I have left him that way since last week it was 45 degrees, now it is 90, our temps are really fluctuating. He is also patchy because of the lice, but after spraying and Ivermecing, those are cleared up, he just looks rough. I did clip his neck though. Here are some new friends he met on our walk.

This is Shadow going back to the "stall" for the night. I think he would rather be running!

 

[Jill]

Talk about a whole new world, a brand new life!!!!! I can't even imagine how relieved you must be feeling and how happy he must be (chokes me up when I try to imagine!)

I think your boy deserves Lil Beginnings Hall of Fame Status to go along with some of the most unforgettable horses we've "met"

My guy, Blue, was gelded the same day and is doing fine, but he had only that one surgery... which he'd probably report was tremendous but it was really very routine and easy.

 

[Brandi*]

I love him

And I am just so happy the surgery worked for him

 

[AppyLover2]

The term "new lease on life" certainly applies to him. Great job!

 

[lilhorseladie]

This is what he looks like after a long walk this evening. I let him in the dog pen for a little stretch.

What do you want now?

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

Glad your little guy is doing and feeling better.

 

[lilhorseladie]

Thanks you guys! He is feeling great. I wish I could get him to eat. I can't fatten him up if he wont eat. I have been letting him graze as much as possible and hand pulling grass to feed at night. I am feeding 16 percent mare and foal feed. He has been wormed, and now I bought him a salt and mineral block. The only thing I can't do for him is make him eat it! I would love to see some results when he goes in to get stitches out on June 12. He only weighs 97 lbs. and probably could use a good 30 pounds on his bones!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Poor little guy, he sure does need to put on some muscle!

I guess 9 months of not moving will do that to you.

I wonder if the stress of his condition has given him an ulcer? Mine had/has one and it's amazing how much his appetite improved after a couple of weeks on Ulcergard. I hadn't realized how much his appetite had decreased until it came back!

You're doing the right thing by letting him eat grass as much as you can but ask the vet about ulcer treatment as well. If he improves after seven days on Ulcergard or Gastrogard then you know it's an ulcer and can treat appropriately. If he's still the same after two weeks then we need to be looking at other things. Has he had his teeth checked? Is he on any banamine following his procedure? Pain could put him off his food although with the rest of him so bright-eyed and the fact he's been like this for awhile I'm much more inclined to think it's an ulcer.

I, like Jill, still find myself choked up every time I think about Shadow's new lease on life.

Leia

 

[lilhorseladie]

I hadn't thought of an ulcer! I will try something for that. My vet here, although he does a great job, admitingly doesn't know much about horses. When I asked about getting weight on him, he said he thought worming him was enough. He grazes constantly and eats hay when stalled. I can't get him to clean up his grain or even make much of a dent in it. Right now, I have him nn full feed, he gets all the grass or hay he can eat and always has his pan of grain handy. I will look into Ulcerguard to see if his tummy is hurting.

Thanks!

 

[Jill]

Yes, he may have an ulcer so that will be a good thing to discuss with a vet. As little as he is, you wouldn't probably need that many syringes of UlcerGuard to do a full course.

Also, though, I wonder could he be / have been depressed due to his problem with his legs? If so, he's got to be in a better mental state now

 

[lilhorseladie]

Jill,

You also may be right...He doesn't seem depressed now. I will be honest with you, and it makes me sad, but I had kind of given up on him. Because of that, I knew with his weight and legs he couldn't make it much longer. I really wasn't doing much with him since I was going to have him put down. If I had been a diligent owner, lice and weight probably wouldn't have been an issue. But since it was, it is my mess to fix and fix it I will. I am just sad, that I didn't try something sooner. As a teacher, I just kept thinking, when I get through school I can worry about this. Often I would carry food out to where he was, but it just wasn't enough. I am so glad that many of you took an interest in Shadow and took the time to educate me. I honestly thought this surgery was a 1000 dollar surgery, If I had only asked, I would have known long ago, what a simple procedure it was.

 

[Keri]

Just takes research and talking with people to find out.

No worries. I'm sure you'll get him back on his feet in no time. He's young and he'll bounce back. I just found out my gelding has cushing's. Its overwhelming at first and I thought I should just put him down (which the option isn't totally out the window), but I'm finding diet and medication should keep him happy. I promise, my head is pounding still trying to digest all the helpful tips and advice.

Good luck to you and Shadow! I have a mini headed to stifle surgery this summer too after we move and get settled.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Don't beat yourself up Stacie, you did the best you could at the time. We all have things we feel that way over. He's fixed and on the mend now!

Leia

 

[Jill]

You've got him on the right track now, Staci

Every single one of us can think of things we too would have done differently if we could go back in time

That's how we all learn and you're doing great by him now