Crow Hopping Chronicles: Update 3

Well, there is good and not so good. Here's the scoop:

One of our wonderful boarders offered to haul us up to Athens last Wednesday for the ultrasound. The appointment was scheduled for 10:30, but it was an extremely busy day at the hospital and it was closer to 1:30 when Kwik was seen. My doctor watched him walk and trot out, and he confirmed the severity of Kwik's right hind lameness. The ultrasound revealed "very mild protrusion of the medial meniscus" and "mild effusion and synovitis of the medial femerotibial joint." All in all, there wasn't anything to really go on save the mild protrusion of the medial meniscus which he said could indicate possible cruciate damage. NV was able to attend the ultrasound, and after discussing the findings with her, we decided the best way to proceed would be to leave him overnight for arthroscopic surgery the following day.

I was a nervous wreck at work all day on Thursday waiting for the phone call, and I finally heard back from my student around 6:30 that evening. The arthroscopy revealed trauma to the synovial membrane over the cruciate ligament. While no tear was observed in the visible portion of the ligament, the presentation along with the displacement of the medial meniscus is highly suggestive of a cruciate ligament injury. The surgeon couldn't give me a definite prognosis, but he was encouraged by the appearance of the cartilage and the rest of the joint. Kwik will be on stall rest for two weeks, and once his sutures come out at the end of the two weeks, he can go out in a small medical paddock for another two weeks. At the end of this two weeks, he'll get an HA injection (no steroids at this point) and can go back out with Sky. He will enjoy a nice long 6 month vacation after which we can then reassess whether or not he will be able to return to work.

So, the way I understand it, it could be much worse. Hopefully the injection and rest will be just what the doctor ordered and he'll make a miraculous comeback in the spring. In the meantime, I'll hand walk him, groom him, and love on him, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up some rides here and there. I'm so glad to have a diagnosis and a plan, and 6 months will fly by!

Crow Hopping Chronicles: Update 2

Today was by far the most educational veterinary experience I've ever had. I tried my best to keep mental note of everything I learned today, but I don't have the notes from the exam yet. Hopefully I remember everything accurately.

When New Vet (NV) arrived, I gave her Kwik's back story, and she asked if I had noticed any inconsistencies in his race record. I pulled his record from equibase, and he kept a fairly consistent 3 week schedule from August 2005-September 2009. Then he had a nine month break (September 2009-June 2010), raced twice more in July, and retired thereafter. It's possible he sustained an injury in September 2009.

I sent NV the notes from his past two lameness evaluations and chiropractic adjustments, and we went straight to flexing the hock/stifle. He flexed extremely sore in his right stifle, and we went out to the round pen to watch him at the trot and canter. Kwik obviously didn't want to leave anything on the table, and he made sure NV got the memo that something wasn't right. The crow hopping, bucking, and kicking out was the worst it has ever been.

We decided to x-ray the stifle next (I got to hold the cassette!), and while NV set up the equipment, she gave me a great overview of the joint's composition and what exactly you can see on a radiograph. I had no idea how complex the stifle joint is, and apparently radiographs are only capable of assessing about 30% of the structure since they do not detect soft tissue. Ultrasound and arthroscopy must be used to assess the soft tissue structures. Surpisingly, Kwik's stifle x-rays did not show anything concerning.

NV decided to block him since the radiographs were clean, and we saw significant improvement after trotting him out. We headed back to the round pen to see what we had at the canter, and in NV's words, "he went from bucking rodeo bronc to children's hunter!" He did not kick out, he did not crow hop, he did not buck, and he picked up the correct lead every time in both directions. The difference was absolutely incredible.

Sooo... it's likely Kwik has some sort of soft tissue injury (worst case scenario) or inflammation in the stifle joint, and ultrasound is the next step. NV has an ultrasound but thinks it would be better to take advantage of the mega fancy equipment at the UGA Veterinary Hospital. The plan is to haul up to Athens in the next couple of days to have the ultrasound, and if necessary, the arthroscopy performed and then go from there.

 I'm trying to be optimistic and not worry too too much until we have a diagnosis. Thanks so so so much for all of the well wishes yesterday- it really does make things a little easier having some cheerleaders on the sideline!

Cooking With Crisco!

It's been quite some time since my last post, and a lot has happened since then! Dr. B came out to assess Finn's locking stifle situation. After taking some X-rays (which didn't show anything concerning!), it was determined that he is probably suffering from luxation of the patella. From what I can gather and now understand from tons of online research, that basically means his knee cap doesn't work correctly. Dr. B decided to perform a procedure called blistering. She injected a solution of 2% iodine in an almond oil base within and around the middle patellar ligament to create an inflammatory reaction. Normally we horse owners never EVER want inflammation, but in this case, the inflammation creates scarring of the ligaments which in turn shortens them and helps pull the patella back into its normal position. Which mostly means his knee cap will hopefully work properly and his stifles won't lock. I wasn't too excited to have this procedure done because I didn't love the idea of creating scar tissue in his stifle and causing soreness/pain, but I was running low on options at this point. So Dr. B drugged up the Finn man (which was horrific and hilarious at the same time) and the procedure took all of 10 minutes.

I gave him the rest of the day off, and as per Dr. B's instructions, started him back in work the next day. Finn's been in training with JK 5 days/week, and I ride on Saturday and Sunday, and let me tell you, HE IS DOING SO MUCH BETTER! We are cookin with Crisco now, baby!