My pony got surgery yesterday. I cried.

[LittleblackMorgan]

So yesterday, Fat Pony had his cyst removed. He took 4 viles of sedative-the vet was amazed.
Unfortunately, he is stall bound for a month, (this horse has never lived indoors). He cant put his neck down and is going to be realllyyy cranky in about 2 days.

Everything was going really well until he used my chest for balance. holding his head up and seeing him drunk, and the blood coming down his leg...I promptly passed the lead to the assistant and had a good cry in the parking lot.

The surgery took about an hour and a half, cost almost 1k, and emotionally wrecked me. It made me realize the mortality of this horse.

He now has to be hand walked 1-2x a day, his drain cleaned everyday-more if needed-and the wound may split and become an open wound. He's on SMZs for the forseeable future (I didnt even KNOW they came in bottles that big). He will always have a divit in the should, and depending on how he heals he may never take a jump again (which just sucks. Absolutely sucks. He such a wonderful hunter and loves it).

Is it always like this? The emotional roller coaster? I want to cry everytime I think of his pain...he has internal and external stitches. There isnt anything I can do for him besides his bute and fabulous dinner mashes I make him.

Does anyone have any advise on how to deal with this as horse-mother? I think its harder for me than him!:(

[RubysMom]

Easy there, LBM....My horse had a sinus cyst removed June 1st, major surgery. He had a flap opened up in his skull and the cyst was quite huge, (bigger than the CT scan showed :eek:). I too was freaked out, but he's healed up beautifully and going really well a bit more than a month later.

He is going to be depending on you to be his "rock". Be calm and do what you have to do, take all the precautions you need for you both to be safe.

He will buck the program at first, especially if he's never been stall bound, but, trust me, it goes by quickly and he will be out and about in no time.

One thing I"ve learned in dealing with vets, (and human Dr's!), is that they will give you the absolute WORST case scenario, so you are prepared for it, but it usually turns out to be better than expected. Don't jump the gun, (pun intended) and immediately assume he will never jump again.

Let your pony tell you what he can do as he heals and just cross each bridge as you come to it, no use fretting over his career, yet. Get him healed up and take it from there.

Hang in there, these guys do a stupendous job of healing. You can't even tell that my horse had facial surgery now, his hair has grown back and he looks (and feels!) great!

Edited to add...as for pain, they really are quite stoic. My horse never really seemed like he was hurting. I had him on Bute for a week after surgery, (as per vets orders), and his appetite was huge from the moment he came out of recovery, (he wobbled over to his stall and immediately started devouring the pile of hay in there. Cracked up the surgeon, he said, "well, there is sure nothing wrong with his appetite!"). I'm sure he was uncomfortable at times, but he was always bright and cheerful, so I really don't think he was horribly uncomfortable.

Keep food in front of him to keep him busy, lots of good hay will go a long way to keeping him busy and happy and good nutrition will speed up healing also. Spend alot of time with him, getting him out of his stall and grooming him, hand grazing and generally making him feel like he has a "job" will help him adjust to being stall bound, too.

My horse was ridden up to the day before his surgery, he's quite fit (schooling 3rd level dressage), and was kind of "high" the first few days after he got home, but a stud chain for hand walkies and lots of attention really went a long way to keep him mellow and happy til he was able to get turnout.

It IS harder on us, lol, seriously, I was a wreck in the days leading up to his surgery and during his surgery I was able to watch him in the OR being worked on. When he got calmly to his feet after waking from anesthesia I busted out in tears. He had no idea what happened and was totally non-plussed about the whole thing...LOL!

[Bluey]

It is ok to cry, your pony will be there for you.:)

Our 29 year old just had a squamos cell carcinoma bigger than a tennis ball taken off his sheat.
They had to leave 5% there, as it was in a sensitive part that would have involved amputation to remove.
Now he is getting twice a month chemo to try to reduce what is left, or we will keep whittling at it.
He is in no pain whatsoever, or if his quality of life was impacted, we would not go on with this, so we are lucky.
As long as it doesn't spread and we can stay ahead of this spot, he still will have some good years ahead.
After being around him for 18 years, it seems that he would be here forever and this let us know, as it did you, that time is finite for all, horses and people.

The way I see it, it is best to be thankful for the half full part of the glass life gives us, than sad for the empty half.:)

[Watermark Farm]

Hang in there! Our equine buddies always know when we are trying to help them. Give your baby lots of TLC and talk to him often and let him know what's going on. It's an emotional roller coaster because you love him and care about his well being!

[stryder]

I hope your horse heals well.

Instead of mourning this loss of riding time, try to think about it as an amazing opportunity to bond with him. After you've tended a horse for an extended period of time, you'll develop trust in ways you never thought you could. Just "be" with him. It will make a difference.

Good luck.

[LittleblackMorgan]

Thank you guys so much.

I got to barn today (hours after I intended...it took some guts). He's doing well. The swellling has gone down tremendously. I let him graze for about 15 minutes (he couldnt even put his head down yesterday). Then we went for a shorter than expected walk-after 5 minutes he was short stepping on the right fore-side of the wound- we went home and he got a good grooming, and a really great snack of hay stretcher, molasses, oatmeal, carrots, applesauce and cookies. My trainer has to hold the bucket for him to eat while I *attempt* to clean the drain site.

He's actually far better in the stall then expected. Not a peep out of him. He's super super cuddly every time I go in there with him. Of course, once he starts healing up and things get itchy, he'll start hollaring and missing his boyfriend.

I mentioned the possibility of the end of his jumping because the vet discovered, much to his dismay, that the sack (I forgot the technical name) extended UNDER his withers, and just barely missed the ligaments. He didnt take any muscle tissue, but I wonder how it will impact him in the future, that void of tissue? Who knows, we may be doing dressage or w/p forever!!!

I'm still in a bit of a funk, but like I said, he's doing well and being cautious of the area. Thank god for great trainers (mine is my BO as well):sadsmile:

[Beasmom]

Best wishes to your pony for a complete and uneventful recovery. Here's hoping he heals better than new.

[redsky]

That void of tissue most likely won't be a void for long! The body can do really amazing things.

The vets told us that my pony might never walk again after a disastrous accident involving both hind legs, but I opted to do surgery and see from there. He healed so well that within 18 mo we were doing everything we had done before with the exception of jumping. I'm sure, 5 years since the accident, we could jump a little if I wanted to, but we are both happy doing flat work only now.

So basically, these ponies will surprise you! Remain optimistic and give him lots of love. That's what is going to make him want to get better faster.

[LittleblackMorgan]

He is healing AMAZINGLY. No swelling, happy as a peach (he tried trotting on the lunge line while being hand grazed yesterday...someone's feeling better!!)
He gives me NO grief about cleaning the drain, and is enjoying playing pretty-pony while I groom him with in one inch of his life!!!:D