Doc: American River Ranch ~ 1

Temporary Home: American River Ranch

Friday May 30, 2003
The 12x24 foot stalls in this open air barn are so clean there is NO fly problem! It is great! (I hope that doesn't change as it heats back up!) Doc has a stall on the end and doesn't have a horse immediately next to him. There are tons of friends to whinny to in the barn and they do converse quite a bit, but no horse-to-horse physical agitation is possible (like with his herd back home) because of where he is located. There is a great round pen and arena available if he is feeling up to it, but for the next two weeks we will just take him out for special times of munchies and brushing and to have his bandages changed and maybe to walk him around just a bit.

The surgeon said he isn't hurting any worse than he was when he came in (how do they know these things? LOL!).

The ride home with Doc was a dream. Talk about the power of prayer! We had talked about having him sedated and the tech said, "Well, should we try loading him first without?" Well, I was skeptical. My friend, Paula, loaded him right up. I didn't even tie him until he stayed in there without any hesitation. My trailer even worked great for him. He is a big horse and I think he has probably been hauled around in a livestock trailer before. When he got out at ARR, there was not a drop of sweat on him! I was so encouraged!!!

In fact, within 5 minutes of being introduced to his new stall, he tried to roll. He dropped to his front knees and then lost control of his right back leg. I think the bandages threw him for a loop. He came back up with some struggle.

When the kids and I went back later (at the time the picture was taken), though, Doc had apparently figured it out! He was covered with shavings, from rump to forelock, so he must have rolled! I am thrilled. I hope he eats well and figures out the automatic waterers. I am sure he will!

The surgeon actually spoke to me before we left. He said that someone had actually DONE a surgery on one of Doc's hocks before!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!!!! Not only is that bad, meaning someone knew they sold a LAME horse, but they knew what kind of problem it was and that trying to fix him hadn't worked!!!! The surgeon told me that this could mean that Doc's body won't do the fusion...it didn't fuse before and it might not now.

I, of course, don't think it works that way. Doc now has more people praying for him than he ever has (I am willing to bet NO one has ever prayed for him, let alone loved him!)! The surgeon also told me that because of the previous attempt to surgically assist the ankylosis (that is what this process is called), he went in there with a size larger drill and drilled the bajeebers out of the joints....then went through again with an even larger size drill. Man alive! How do surgeons talk about body parts like car parts! LOL! Anyhow, he said that he scored the joints and that if this doesn't fuse them nothing short of inserting metal plates ( a $3000 surgery...gulp...) would do the job. (Again, God is at work with this horse, I am convinced!)

Please keep praying! Thank you so much! I could not believe that Doc was so at peace when we landed at ARR! No sweat! No nervous skittishness! You would have thought he knew where we were, even though he had never been there before!!! I am just as pleased as can be.

Off the kids and I go now for the last visit for the evening to give him his pain med. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep praying that God, the Mighty Surgeon, will FUSE those joints! I also hope, of course, to be able to do some real bonding with this guy during this time he is away from his herd. I figure now is a good time if he is up to it. I hope to do some of the PNH "Seven Games" that we started with, but that we stopped when things got somewhat hairy (his pain intensified and he was cranky). If he is up to short sessions, we may try it. If not, that is ok, too. I can play "Game 1" which is called "Friendly" (to those of you who don't know) and rub him all over. He loves that. have never seen a horse so respond to the touch of a human (in my vast horse experience! LOL!)

Thanks again!

Saturday May 31, 2003
Doc's hydration is a concern to me. He is ok right now, but I am paranoid. He seems very at peace in his new place. I think he loves the socializing he can do from a safe distance without having to worry about being messed with. He appears to be in less pain, too. But the amount of water he lost this past week and the heating up of our temps here has me really hoping he will start drinking more. I did make a late night visit and a subsequent call to the vet on duty. He told me to be alert to his condition worsening. I visited him at 5:30am this morning and he was laying down. At first I was alarmed. (A horse I loved in highschool, laid down after a back leg surgery, got dehydrated, colicked and died...I hate how similar things can look to that awful experience...) I approached him and he stayed laying down. I sat down next to him, began chatting with him trying not to allow my emotions (fear) to run wild, as I think the horses feel that. I got up to check the water consumption. Hard to say as he has an automatic waterer that may be working now...drat. While I was poking around he began to roll again. YAY! (That seemed good!) Then he stood up and took a long pee! YAY! His pee was light in color. A good sign. But this proud momma is asking you to keep him in your prayers today for tons of water drinking!

Thanks so much all!

June 1, 2003 Sunday
Some of you have been emailing me asking how Doc is.

He seems fine. Not sure how much of his calmness is his sweet disposition and how much of it is him not feeling well. He shows an interest in all the things going on...that is good. I just wish I knew what was happening with his water. For now, I don't see any indications of dehydration. So I assume he is preferring the automatic waterer over the big bucket of water.

I had to change one of his leg wraps today by myself as the one he had was falling low on his leg and his incision was exposed to the elements. I hope that the way I did it works. It sure was freaky trying to do it myself, but he was incredibly patient. Kept sighing...I really get the impression that this guy has been through all this so much. You know when you think about it, if he did have this surgery before, and the person responsible had him recover for any length of time before starting to ride him again, he has spent almost as much of his young life resting, recovering or in pain as he is likely not to have. He was born five years ago this month. Hard to believe.

Thanks for asking how he is doing. Your continued prayers for fusion of his hocks is appreciated. I can't tell you just how encouraging I find your comments, notes, and words of encouragement.

Later, Same Day
Doc's bandages were changed on both legs today. He was very sweet about it. But I hope I don't have to do that again until Wednesday! Yikes! It is a bit overwhelming to be messing with a sore leg of a horse that size (any size!) with my head in good smashing range. He could kick my brains across the barn if he wanted to. There is little I can do about it without stressing him more. But he was incredible.

I am thankful that nothing on his legs is infected or oozing. YAY! The suture site looks terrific. You can hardly tell where he was stitched!

Doc has figured out the automatic waterer in his paddock. YAY again! He has been drinking a lot...

The not so good news...tonight he is sweating again. I know that sometimes when the pain hits, he sweats ...so maybe he was in pain tonight. He took almost all the grain that had his bute med in it, so hopefully that took the edge off.

He is eating well. YAY!

I sure would appreciate it if you would continue to pray for fusion of his joints to occur, pain not to occur, and for him not to get chilled in the evenings when he has been sweating like tonight. I welcome prayer that he continues to stay hydrated.

Some of you have asked how *I* am doing dealing with this. I do have my moments of total sadness... and all the pressure of the last two weeks just sorta accumulates and the dam bursts. I went from saying my goodbyes to him out in the pasture to suddenly now, it seems, here we are... hoping hoping hoping, praying, waiting, caring for him--looking to a future that I hope to have with him. He is worth it, but the emotional toll is intense at times.