Monday, November 28, 2016

Bow Knows... No Bows? Bows.

Bows.  Not happy, pretty bows that you put on a fluffy, girly dog.  No.  Rotten bows.  Bows that happen on horrible footing to previously clean, tight legs on my favorite horse in this province. 

That's right.  Jose has a bowed tendon. 

The worst part is, I didn't even see it!

Jose came in last week with uneven swelling on 3 legs.  I bandaged him, buted him for a couple days, and kept him on stall rest.  A couple of bandage changes and some hosing later, I pulled his wraps and felt no swelling on any legs, everything nice and tight.  My dearest husband was with me and I'm grateful for his keen eyes. He kept telling me there was still "swelling" on one front leg.  But I couldn't feel anything.  He pointed at it.  I was down at his legs in the stall and couldn't see what he was looking at.  Finally, I stood up and walked out of the stall and looked at him from a distance.  There it was, plain as day, a tendon bow. 

Ugh, I died a little.  I know it's not life ending and fortunately not career ending for him because he's not a show horse, but it's not a fun injury to deal with and certainly it could render him unfit for riding in the future.  No, we don't "show" but we have a lot of adventures and he's my Mr. Reliable.  Not being able to take him for rides again is a horrible, daunting thought! 


I left the wraps off overnight so I could see what was really going on.  The next morning, yup... there it is.  Swelling around and definite tendinitis...  So, back to aggressive treatment right away. Cold hosing, bute, borrowed some BOT wraps today from my incredible friend and got Jose his early Christmas presents with some ice wraps and lik-it boredom breakers.  Two days later, the swelling has reduced remarkably and he's continued to be weightbearing without hesitation.  Small blessings!!!  I'm so fortunate to have a veterinarian who allows me to pick her head for anything I might have overlooked or not considered.  Sweats, cold treatment, bute and something new, Sinew-X supplement. 


There's still definitely thickening back there, but I'm THRILLED with the response it's given already.

I'm also so thankful for all the support at the garrison saddle club.  Many more hands to help keep his water bucket full and his hay net loaded.  It's a beautiful thing to have a group work together. 

Send lots of happy thoughts Jose's way please!!!  <3  So we can join you in your Happy Horseing!

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