Horses and a shunt in brain?

[Snowfilly]

Uncle was told he needs a shunt in his brain to siphon off excess fluid which is apparently what’s been causing his problems walking and carrying things.

He currently has 3 retired at grass horses who the rest of the family have been caring for since his health started declining in July, although his pony mare is on borrowed time and we’ve agreed to put her down before his op. At present, he does a little grooming, talks to them and generally spends time with them in the field while we do the work.

We cannot get any sort of sense from the hospital as yet, as to whether he’ll be able to be near animals again. The prognosis is good for improving his walking and balance, but we can’t find any info on if grooming and feeding is likely to be too high afterwards because of the risk of infection or dust near the shunt.

Does anyone have any suggestions / experience? Obviously we’ll continue doing the heavy work but if he can’t visit them safely then some conversations need to be had.

 

[EventingMum]

I have, in the past, taught RDA riders with shunts so they must have been cleared to be around horses.

 

[teapot]

Seem to remember from my RDA days, we just had to be extra careful re hat fittings and falls, and think I had one rider with one in my old job.

 

[Parrotperson]

my friend has just had this done. she waited 18 months because of covid so was v poorly in the end. she has already improved and can walk short distances with sticks in 3 weeks.

however id be guarded about what your uncle is likely to be able to do. it'll be a bit wait and see I think.

 

[Velcrobum]

When the scar has healed it will be perfectly safe for him to be near horses, feeding grooming etc will not cause an infection as the whole system is contained within the body. It will almost certainly have a small valve under the surface of the scalp. There are a lot of people that have shunts to drain excess Cerebro spinal fluid, as stated up thread hat fitting needs to take into consideration the sub-scalp valve.

 

[SO1]

My dad probably has to have this operation. I am glad to hear about improved mobility so quickly.

 

[Snowfilly]

This is all sounding quite positive, thank you. His horses are well past the working stages of their lives now now so at least we don’t have to worry about hats but it’s good to know he’ll be able to keep visiting with them. He’s lost his job and his independence because of this, so the prospect of being able to groom the oldies a few times a week will help give him something to live for, I’m sure.

 

[Velcrobum]

This is all sounding quite positive, thank you. His horses are well past the working stages of their lives now now so at least we don’t have to worry about hats but it’s good to know he’ll be able to keep visiting with them. He’s lost his job and his independence because of this, so the prospect of being able to groom the oldies a few times a week will help give him something to live for, I’m sure.

It will certainly enrich his life if he can continue to visit, fuss and chat to them.