*
edited to add - Solo is still warm & huggable, my apology for any over-scare, but we did discover an injury effectively ending his ridden days beyond the occasional amble*
I tried to type last night, but..couldn't. But before I continue (
warning: it's going to be long), let me say that Beka Burke, of
The Owls Approve, is just completely awesome. For example, when random people send her crazed text paragraphs.
Solo did achieve some improvement with
his newly invented shoes, but over this fall, some soreness returned in both his shoulders & in the past month, his right front foot. I made him rest (
which earned me plenty of dirty Solo-glares) & began my own differential analysis.
Combine a stoic horse with a subtle "NQR" & the result can be a diagnostic rabbit hole. I knew I needed to consult Batman Dr. Bob further, but to get the best actionable information, I also needed to know what questions to ask & where to point.
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| I can stare too, mom. (sry, old pic) |
Step 1: Patient Scrutiny
An extensive Solo interview (they do tell you, so long as you listen), a whole lot of staring, & last week, a very helpful meeting with Wonder Farrier's hooftesters narrowed things down to some sobering options.
The resurfacing of muscle soreness coincided with my observation that both front frogs were fairly pathetic-looking. This told me Solo was not placing his heels on the ground first as his feet landed, reducing circulatory flow to the frogs, which steals away their fat, healthy cushion.
He was also reluctant to pivot smoothly on that RF & tested sore across the width of his heels. Pulling up my mental image of hoof anatomy, this all pointed to sidebone, navicular pain, or bruising/calcification along the back of his coffin bone. He didn't stand
with toes pointed like a true "navicular horse," & he's had good hoof care, so I hoped for the "best," a.k.a. least limiting.
Now that I could circle general region of the problem, it was time to take him in.
Step 2: Look On The Inside
I was pretty close. How I wish I wasn't.
Dr. Bob deployed his magic hands, his kind practicality, & all the experience we rely on. After a jog & flexions of fetlocks, knees, & elbows, a single palmar digital (rear of the foot) nerve block confirmed where we'd take pictures.
A lateral & dorsal (front-on) view of the RF told us all we needed to know. A flexed radiograph of the same knee, taken just in case, was thankfully clean.
Step 3: Decipher, Plan, Cry
In short, Solo tore his DDFT (
Deep Digital Flexor Tendon) where it cradles his
navicular bone. Essentially a low bow, only much lower than horses normally have, on the rear of his pastern, nestled between heel bulbs, because it's Solo, & conventional is nowhere in his playbook.
There is some scar tissue in the 2" tear, some still healing, but the navicular bone itself is also degraded in the process, or to quote Dr. Bob, "falling apart." The coffin joint is still clean, although P2 (
the short pastern bone) is slightly pushed up by some fill in the navicular fluid capsule.
Which Means...?
He can never jump even a tiny thing again. Because if he trips or lands a little heavy on that foot, he could
fall & kill us both. The thing that makes him glow, the lights him up with joy such that he still hunts anything jumpable every time I sit on him, is off limits.
All flights officially, permanently grounded. Which is excruciatingly difficult to explain to a horse who believes retirement is a synonym for punishment. Even when his owner is sobbing like a dying animal.
Not even his hated dressage; he has to move however he needs to in order to be comfortable. Which means crooked, lopsided if he needs it, whatever is necessary for his muscles to adapt & let his legs travel wherever they want.
There Are Bits Of Good
He can do light hacks if he wants. The injury itself would have stemmed from a "simple" bad step in the pasture. So being ridden is still ok & even important to maintain range of motion & muscle tone, as well as circulation.
And our invented
shoes were right; Dr. Bob said they were "the most a farrier can do for him at this point." And my instinct to rest him was correct. I couldn't have prevented anything, although it's impossible not to wonder if I could have "done something" (what, magic bone re-grower??) sooner.
There are many more details & some fantastic sources of information, but they'll have to wait until I can emotionally catch up.
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| Whatever he needs - for he gave me the world |
While I waited for Dr. Bob last Tuesday morning, I was fully prepared to hear Encore had torn a meniscus or something & I'd have a full-fledged retirement farm.
