Me contemplating the wound and taking out the stitches. Deep in thought, but none too happy.
This is the best example of the "pooch" up by the leg which will be in a prime location for girth rubbing. BLAST!
Surgery girl
These after pics really don't show the pooch which looks A LOT worse in person....
I think it needs to be redone. BIG HUGE SIGH OF DEFEAT....Sometimes you never know if you are doing the right thing. It seemed simple enough! Remove the tiny mass that was rubbing at the girth area. AH, NOT! After taking the stitches out there is a big pulled up area that looks worse than what I started with! Now I have not been riding in three weeks and if the vet fixes the obviously UNFIXED area, I will be out of MY horse even longer! Thankfully, I DO have other riding options, but I WANT to ride MY BOY! I think the vet should fix this free of charge. If she will not, I will take him to another vet. I may anyway. Money is really tight right now being the single mom with Mile's dad in Iraq. They have messed up his pay so we have gotten no help so far.... So while many of you may not understand why I would take him back to the same vet, that is why. And, could this not have happened with any vet's work? Always quite possible. Working as a nurse and going to the OR for c-sections, you sometimes see the best docs not always do what you would think is the best incision ALL the time. Well, I need to send the vet some better pics then the ones above which really don't show how bad that area up near the leg looks. She's really nice and I think will do right by him, I am just frustrated. On the up side. It happened in the hottest darn part of the year you could possibly want to ride in anyway (temps of 102 degrees daily). My best riding buddy just had knee surgery and is out for four to six weeks recuperating. My dressage trainer has been sick and cancelled our last lesson where I was going to ride Lorri's AngloArab. Soooooo. YES, Mindy things can always be worse so SMILE! Also, I had had some really bad news two weeks ago that my dressage trainer Allison was moving! I hadn't even had the heart to blog about it. But I got good news! Many factors have changed her mind. She won't get what her house is worth and at her age has decided to stay put! I am SOOO happy! Her lessons are worth their weight in gold, really, no joke. I have had many instructors and she is a perfect fit for me and Jackson. I did a little dance when I heard!!! Not to mention, I have lost 36 lbs. so I guess I'll start wearing riding pants again. I suppose this is good news, but I still think I AM WAYYYY too fat for the darn things. I just simply refuse to be too fat for my horse!!! HA! I lost the weight to be a better rider! :)
Laughing with Allison....
Bummer! But like you said, it's so hot no one is up for much riding. I never thought the summer was too hot to ride, but this is something else!
ReplyDeleteI think you should give the vet a chance to fix the problem. Sometimes things happen, it's not always about the vet's ability.
Soooo, someday we'll get that ride in!
Sometimes these things resolve over time as excess tissue is absorbed -sometime they don't. I'd ask the vet who did it what their opinion is. Once it's really, fully healed, you could try a fuzzy girth - there are some good synthetic ones out there, or a Neoprene girth - that might very well not chafe. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad you'll still have Allison to give you your lessons. It's great that you've found someone you click with so well.
ReplyDeleteBut I really want to know what kind of knee surgery your best riding buddy had that is onlu going to put her out of commission for 3-4 weeks? I wish that was all I had to deal with. It's been almost 8 months since I've ridden and my knee and leg are still weak (of course, I did suffer a broken knee a couple months ago, too. But still. Knee injuries and surgeries usually take months of rehab and healing to get back to normal activity again.)
That's so frustrating about Jackson's wound and how he has a bulge right there at the girth. I hope it can get figured out so it won't cause any future problems. :)
~Lisa
Kate-- Well, I have one of each type girth so cross your fingers. Yesterday it was already looking a bit better...I think you may be right (I HOPE!) and the tissue will absorb....I know I sounded selfish on that post; the most important thing obviously is that what I am dealing with is MINOR as far as problems and injuries can go with a horse...I am terribly grateful for that!
ReplyDeleteLisa--She had a torn meniscus with arthritic changes...no injury ever, just one of those things. He went in and cleaned it up and she is doing fine. She was walking the day of the surgery with virtually no pain. She hardly even takes pain meds. She needs orthodics now to accomodate for less cushioning in her knee and she starts phys. therapy next week and will be out of work 5 more weeks and can't ride for four more-- *unwanted update from the doc as of yesterday*-- BLACH. Nowhere near what you've been through which was a traumatic accident. Her issue has been creeping up for a long time. She's older than us too...49.
Oh..I am remiss in knowing how this happened...need to read myself up.
ReplyDeleteLooks okay now...and I would try a "Mattes" Sheepskin girth cover. It has velcro for easy on and off and fits normal or dressage girths...very soft.
GLAD for you that your teacher is staying...invaluable trusting someone with learning you and your steed!
KK
I agree, I would let it heal a bit more and see if it fixes itself. My horses have had some wounds over the years I SWORE would never heal correctly, and now there's not even a scar.
ReplyDeleteBummer about not being able to ride though! What about bareback?
Awwww...good luck with the repair. 102 degrees?!?! That's when I'd have to be at a barn with a nicely lit arena and become a night rider LOL. Man Texas is a killer with heat!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the weight loss! That's great! And I'm glad you're trainer is staying! It's hard to find one that you really get along with!