We took Rebel to the vet this morning..The trotted him up and down like 10 times, stretched his shoulder, felt his ligaments...nothing. They did a nerve block on his shoulder joint, nothing. Then they decided to take x-rays..I thought about how excited I was to get to ride him again, the vet thought it might just be arthritis. Nope. The xrays were something I never would have wanted. At some point in his life, we don't know when, he fractured his shoulder bone down by his joint. It healed very well, but it did not heal correctly. A small bone fragment had slowly started to bore away at the joint. The vet said there is nothing that we can do for him, just let him be a horse. He's going to enjoy a long, happy life of being a pasture buddy..He's only 7. I thought I would have many more years left to ride him. I had dreamed for so long to get him to the APHA World Show one day...I doubt that. It hurts him everytime he extends his leg too far infront of him. We are going to keep him on joint supplements and maybe start giving him steriods if arthritis does develop. I'm going to miss riding him so much....it feels like all of my hopes and dreams were suddenly ripped out from under me...its not fair...but at least he will be with me for a long time. He's so sweet..there will never be another horse like him.
But on a happier note, I'm looking for jobs for my beautiful boy. Personaly, I think he should get into modelign with State Line Tack..he looks so fancy when he is decked out in a english saddle:P My boyfriends mom gave me the idea of him being a therapy horse for special needs childeren to learn about horses and how to groom them, but he would get to nervous with a lot of kids around him. I'v been trying to think of ideas for him..I don't want him just sitting around in a pasture all his life. I want it to be fun for him. I'm thinking about hauling him to my shows where I take Dusty and Rosie, so when I go with one of them, Revel will be there to keep the other company.
"Hey mom, aren't I pretty?" :)
Can you ride him casually at all? Easy rides or trails?
ReplyDeleteHe is beautiful. Halter showing perhaps?
I think he'd make a great model.
Rebel is lucky to have such a responsible caregiver. :-) Sounds like Rebel needs a job. I like the idea of therapy. Being a therapy horse could also mean just grooming and not necessarily riding. There's also horse agility, which still gives him a workout without having a rider and still maintains a bond between horse and handler. It allows him to be a horse. :-) It's very popular in Europe and the UK.
ReplyDeleteVal- The vet said the most I can do is a casual lap around the pasture bareback, no faster than a walk..and I would love to do halter or showmanship with him, but he limps now just as the way he walks..its not hurting him, it just how he walks to keep from hurting. Its very noticble at a trot.
ReplyDeleteWolfie- Thanks!:) And I'm not sure if like really hard work is good...if he trots or lopes to much he gets reallly sore. He's still a very happy horse though!:)