The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!

I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[HairOfTheDog]

This thread needs you... guy asking about alternatives to feeding hay...

Price of hay!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

He passed with flying colors...he did so well, he even got a treat out of me:) Yikes!

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Softy.... you’re spoiling that horse ;~)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

WEll, it was only 1 tiny cube:) I haven’t gone that soft.

I sure hope he is as good tomorrow. He really shocked me the other day bucking the way he did.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

I think you made him do it just to test Julia’s nerve. ;~)

[Duchess47]

Sounds like maybe you have cherry tomatoes there. They won’t grow once they start ripening. Oh - I would love to have ripe tomatoes now :)

[Duchess47]

That is a beautiful picture. Alison is on her way :)

[Duchess47]

Some people do trim them but I don’t think it matters much. I just let mine grow.

[Duchess47]

It’s possible that he doesn’t need as much though once you’ve loaded his system again. Especially since you’ve got his weight down a bit. Did the vet say whether or not it would cause any problems to keep him on it long term?

[CindyDawg]

They are big cherry then. I got pics:’) It’s with all the others. I can’t figure out why I can’t get this camera to download.

[HairOfTheDog]

We did talk about it and it appears to be a very safe drug to use long term.

We also talked about trying a lower dose than he was on.... after loading him again, like you said, I may cut him from twenty to fifteen and see.

[Duchess47]

I love cherry tomatoes. I had a couple of plants last year and they never made it to salads. I pick them and rinse them and eat them like candy :)

[Duchess47]

I’ll keep my fingers crossed then - it will be better for both of you if you can cut the dose. Less expensive and less build up in his system. I’m glad to hear there is no problem with long term usage though. You wouldn’t expect there to be since it’s designed for just that, you never know though.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Hey, I have a few questions for you, since you followed the Barbaro story.

At the time it happened, right after his surgery the vet held a news conference and made the comment that the horse practically jogged back to his stall dragging people with him. Do you remember, or did you know, that in actuality the horse woke up in a sling lowered into a pool and then carried in the sling to his stall, and held till he was steady? I’m wondering if they ever clarified what the vet said and what really was?

I’m just curious. I watched that show again this morning about Barbaro and noticed this time, there was a bit of exaggeration in the news conference, but I also wondered if they were even showing the whole conference in this show. Or if what really happened was ever discussed at the time?

Becky

[MissTargets]

After the surgery, they took him by sling and had him wake up in the pool. You saw what happened to Ruffian when she woke up on the floor. All that thrashing around. Some people get combative when they wake up from anesthetic also. When he was awake, they removed him by sling and walked him back to his stall.

I am glad they tried to save him, if only for the knowledge that was gained. A lot of money was raised for research and a cure for laminitis, because of the public love for Barbaro.

[MissTargets]

Good Morning.

Sure has been a beautiful week. Hay is being put up everywhere. There should be an abundance this year.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I know that....my question was do you remember the news conference right after the surgery, where the vet made the comment about the horse “jogging back to his stall dragging people”. Did they then explain that that didn’t really happen? Did they explain at the time about the sling and the pool, and that he was carried back to his stall in the sling, and held till he was steady? He did not right after surgery walk back to his stall? Unless this documentary is not accurate. That’s my question, which is it? did he walk back, was he carried? This show “shows” him being carried to his stall, not just lifted out of the pool.

I’m not raising the argument about if it was right or not what they did. I’m just wondering when it was going on, what all was being told to the public? , and how accurate is this program. They appear to not be matching up?

Becky

[AnAmericanMother]

The sling runs between the surgical suite and the recovery pool. I saw the video at the time.

After the horse recovers in the water, he is run via the sling back to the surgical suite and removed from the sling. Then he heads back to his stall under his own power.

Note that the surgical repair itself was perfect and healed beautifully -- it was the laminitis that killed Barbaro. The laminitis developed not as a result of the surgery itself but was a byproduct of the recovery process -- restricted motion, compromised circulation, favoring the fractured leg, or a combination of all of them.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Note that the surgical repair itself was perfect and healed beautifully

Note:) it did not.

I did not follow this story close, because I didn't think it was right to try to fix him. But I did catch a few reports, and saw some video of when they led him out to graze the first time. I remember thinking then, they never really showed clear pictures of that leg.

They showed clear ones in this program, and it did NOT heal perfect and beautifully. It was very very crooked. He moved it in a horrible way when he stepped. It slapped the ground hard with every step. I thought when I saw it, that would never hold up, if the horse ever got the chance to be turned out to run and play on his own.

And in one sense it was the laminitis that killed him, but it was more, at least from what you gathered from this program, that the horse was just wore out from pain and discomfort, is why they finally gave up.

Now, I'm just trying to figure out what the reality of the situation really was.

Becky

[CindyDawg]

I didn’t see the program so I can’t comment on his leg but most bodies are going to be stiff and guard extremities after surgeries. I think many of us had an idea what the outcome would probably be but as long as he wasn’t suffering I was ok with it. Look at heart surgery for humans. When I first got out of school, it was a last resort and most didn’t survive long. We learned so much , almost to the point that it is common now. If they learned anything to help other horses from this, I’m ok with it and if the owners put all that money out without breeding him them the horse community owes them a big thanks IMOOC.