Everything about horses is a lesson in Murphy's Law. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
My gelding, Cash, is my boy. He's 18, and he was my school horse. When the offer to buy him came up, I may have hesitated, but I've never regretted that decision.
Until this summer.
While we were waiting for the farrier, I had my horses tied to the trailer. I was around the other side of the trialer when suddenly, Cash freaks out, pulls back breaks his lead rope and flips over backwards. He got up and walked around sound and just fine. I didn't think anything of it, rode him once and he acted like a looney toon. I decided it would be best to just let him chill for a while until I could have a chiropractor adjust him.
I began riding him a couple times a week in September, nothing hard, we would just trot around for about 5 minutes, lope a couple circles each direction and call it good. But Cash was having a difficult time with this. I assumed he was out of shape and just focused on his top line (his back has gotten a little sway to it the older he's gotten and the longer he sits) and working at the trot. At the lope he tripped a little and didn't much like bringing that Left hind under him.
FINALLY! The day arrived where I could have the Dr. Cahill adjust him. She was standing above him, looking at his back when she suddenly asks "Has he broken his pelvis?"
I rapidly rolled through denial and she says "You sure?"
Well, obviously not at this point.
She offered to let me see was she was seeing so I jumped up on her stool and looked down. Cash's left glute was atrophied while his right side looked awesome. Whatever he had done, he did a number. She said if it was a fracture and it felt stable, but still.myou don't tell me something like that and expect me not to panic! My horses stayed at Cherry Valley Equestrian Center for 10 days with my friend Natalie because my truck broke down, so I went home that night and thought about how to bring it up to Andy. I told him the next morning and went to work, where the worry began growing. Google helped. I found an article that said 77% of horses are performance or reproduction sound after a pelvic fracture heals. That was good, but not good enough. I messaged friends and asked their opinions and they all said take him to a vet. Mom said take him to a vet. I approached Andy with the idea. He looked at me and (in a nutshell) says "You've been worrying about this all day!? If it makes you feel better, of course take him to the vet?" So, I brought up that he was already 20 minutes from Wisconsin, how about hauling him to Wisconsin Equine? I felt like I was looking at a unicorn when he said "Fine." (Sorry babe, but you could have knocked me over with a feather!)
Fast forward to yesterday. After a terrible week, words do not describe how nervous I was. I stopped by CVEC to grab Cash and Natalie, my wonderful vet trip companion, and off we went! We saw Dr. Pigott, who is really nice and fantastic! He was astounded that Cash is 18. I wish I had recorded that conversation. It was pretty priceless. He did a lameness exam and while Cash tested positive for soreness in his left hock and stifle, I said that's the side he was positive on pre-injection this spring. Other that the muscle atrophy, he said he didn't look bad and he was impressed Dr. Cahill notices something like that. They decided to ultra sound his pelvic area and do a rectal exam (sorry, Cash). Rectal exam came back fine, nothing moving that wasn't suppose to! On the ultrasound, it looked like the tendon had pulled away from the ischium and there was a scar tissue build up along with bone fragments floating around. Dr. Pigott said as long as he's not resenting speed or turning the barrels, Cash will be fine to continue running! He suggested going left first to reduce the amount of pressure we put on that side of the pelvis and he also sent us home with Previcox and some Bute.
Considering I already sent my entries in for the Classic on both Cash and Koda, I am one HAPPY horse mom! Words don't describe how releived I am! Side note, I would HIGHLY recommend Wisconsin Equine Clinic. They're friendly and accommodating and their facility is AMAZING! So, a big thank you to them for taking such good car of my baby, thank you to Dr. Cahill for noticing something off about Cash's pelvis, thank you to my friends (Julie, Natalie and Katie) who listened to me whine, thank you to Natalie for taking care of my horses for 10 days, and a big thank you to Andy, for supporting me when it comes to the Cash Man! I couldn't have gone through this without you.
That's all for now! I'm off to ride my horses and spend sometime appreciating how luck I am to have them!
