My mare needs some good luck vibes please

B

buzzles

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My mare who had the foal (now 6 weeks old) got caught in a gate the other evening (well thats all I can think that happened as her field is very safe and foal proof) and hobbled in with a very swollen hock. Got the vet out and she sent her up to the veterinary hospital to get x rays. She has fractured two of the small bones at the back of the hock and at the moment is bandaged and splinted until the swelling has gone down so they can scan for ligament and tendon damage. Best case scenario is that the hock will remain stable and the ligaments and tendons are ok (the vets think they are) and that she will get arthiritis in her hock and so will have to be retired as a broodmare. My plan for her was to bring her back into work after Basil (the foal) is weaned and compete again as she's such a brilliant mare, she excels in dressage and cross country and has never been beaten against the clock. However it looks like that's all out the window as she will be lucky to be able to hack again. Anyway just need some good luck sent our way in that she remains stable and can mend to be retired to grass. She's 14 and I've had some wonderful successes and memories with her so she doesn't owe me anything. The foal she had this year is a little smasher and she loves being a mum so hopefully she'll have some more babies. Also any ideas on how to occupy a foal on box rest. They'll be in the hospital for another couple of weeks and then on at least three months box rest. I know she'll cope fine but I don't know how Basil will take to it.
 
I wish you and your mare all the best
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Thanks everyone. I visited her today, she's quite relaxed and is on plenty of pain medication and is bandaged from the stifle down so has limited movement. Basil on the other hand is bouncing off the walls after only being in for three days. He's such a cheeky monkey, he wrecked the xray room while she was being bandaged and x rayed, he was knocking things over and pulling things off the wall and then getting his nose in the way when they were bandaging! He's so curious he kept wandering off into places he shouldn't be!
I think the next couple of weeks will be hard for him while they're in the hospital but when they come home I have a pen 15ftx16ft in a lean to where they can go and see the whole yard and which opens into a larger pen for him to go into. I'll also probably fence off a small patch in the field (15ftx15ft) with electric fence where she can go but leave it high enough for him to go under so he can have the run of the field. I also think the minature shetland will come in handy as a babysitter. I know it's going to be hard but I'll have to manage it, it may not be the ideal way for him to grow up and he may have to be weaned sooner than I hoped but he's already got a great temperment and is very friendly and easy to handle so I think he'll adjust ok. Fingers crossed everyone that they can come home soon!
 
Sorry to hear this, such a shame.
How big is your stable, is there any way you could fix up a pen around it so foal could stretch its legs? Alternatively, you could sedate the mare if necessary and take it out to graze and play in hand as many times a day as you can; it really does need to be able to stretch and play even if his mum can't. You could also (with vet permission of course) lead her out to graze in hand so foal can have a run round and get rid of some excess energy. You'll have to watch for it learning to be extra cheeky/bolshy and be ready to nip it in the bud. Like Vicjp says, it's not something you really want to do unless it's essential if you could get away with it. The only good thing is that the foal should be very good to handle after all that! I personally would not want to start putting toys in for the foal as they could teach it the most appalling manners; I would prefer to make sure the hay is ad lib; for the same reason I wouldn't use haynets, foal is likely to be a bit hyper and bound to kick up heels with the chance of getting himself stuck up in one, better to waste a bit of hay than that.
Good luck, let us know how you get on.
 
Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that
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I wish her all the get well soon vibes I can!

I agree with MFH_09 about getting him out to stretch his legs. He sounds like a sweet cheeky chappy
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I was giggling to myself when I reading about him trashing the room
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I do wish you all the best and that she recovers quickly
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