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In Loving Memory...
~ Gogo Fatale ~


6/2/01 - 10/11/11
~ Forever the Marest of Them All ~
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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Some Good News!

Earlier in the week, our vet Dr. H came to the main farm to give the first of our spring shots and pull Coggins. After I had roached Gogo's mane and cleaned her all up, I trailered her over in the morning to the main farm, and when Dr. H arrived, I asked if he would be willing to take a quick peek at Gogo as a fresh pair of eyes (he's our 'leg guy' and specializes in the lower limb). He said yes, and before we drew blood we pulled her out of the stall she was temporarily in and watched her jog.

Now, I get to see Gogo trotting and cantering around her pasture on a fairly regular basis. She mostly walks, but she does trot and canter over to see me on a fairly regular basis whenever I come to the gate. I've mentioned before that the lameness has improved over the past two months in turnout, and has progressed as such: for awhile, she was a little off at the trot, but noticeably off at the canter when she could only canter on the left lead behind (could canter on both leads up front but would crossfire behind). A few weeks ago, she started being able to canter on both leads comfortably and regularly with no more crossfiring and no heat or swelling in the leg after any of these episodes. She was just a hair off at the trot, and if I didn't know her as well as I do I would be willing to say it's not noticeable unless you're very versed in hind-end lameness. However, the day before the vet appointment, I watched her trot away from me while I was attempting to shoo her away from her favorite rolling spot after I turned her back out into the field following her bath. Wow.... she looked awesome! She was honestly and truly what I would really call sound. I don't give any benefit of the doubt anymore. To me, if she's even the faintest hint of uneven, she's still lame.

When I pulled her out for Dr. H the next day, I didn't expect her to look as good as she had the day before. I expected that since she had been running and playing the day before, she would probably be off, even if it was just a bit. I handed her off to the tech, gave them both a case history, and Dr. H and I stood back and watched while she and the vet trotted off.

"Wow," he said. "If you hadn't told me anything I would be asking what the problem is." She looked GREAT.

We discussed what my original plan was for rehab, and what modifications we should be making at this time. I told Dr. H that originally I had planned on turning her out in January 24/7 (which I did), reassessing in June just to see what we had going on, turning her back out for another six months, and then doing a total workup in December. Dr. H's comment on this was that we should stick to this plan at least up until June, "but if she looks this good now, there's no reason she can't go back to work in June." Personally, I think I am not willing to move any faster than my original plan states. This is exactly how it's been every single time - she comes sound quickly and without any major treatments, but one misstep and she's back to where she originally was. To me, that seems like we just haven't been giving this the time it needs. These past two reinjuries, even if she was sound and the ultrasound looked good, the tendon was not strong enough, and in both circumstances all it took was one misstep for the tendon to fail her. Doing things any faster than we are at the moment just doesn't feel like a good idea. What's six months to me anyway? I've got time. And so does she.

And I really like looking at her out my back window.

14 comments:

Alighieri said...

Wow, that's awesome news!

On another note, I hope you come out to Greenwood to see some Area V eventing on the first weekend in May. The weather's usually really nice, and we've got our only FEI event in the area running there. It's in Weatherford, and while I don't know exactly where you are, I'm betting you're pretty close. Just wanted to make sure you know about it!

Andrea said...

Oh you KNOW I'll be at Greenwood! It's about 10 minutes from my house! :) I have the option of competing one of my boss' horses in it but I decided I didn't want to.

Alanna M said...

That's excellent! I think the turn out could be key in her recovery as she will become stronger on her own.

Unknown said...

Fantastic to hear!! It sure is nice to live with our horses isn't it? I currently have mine literally right outside my window, literally. It's fantastic :)

Kristen Eleni Shellenbarger said...

That is great news!!! :) Having the zero pressure of time to allow more healing is great too.

Barbara said...

That is awesome news. And I agree that considering her history, the extra time is well worthwhile.

jenj said...

Great news! And yeah, it's awesome to have your horse right out your back window. :)

Alighieri said...

Awesome, I'm glad you're coming! I'd introduce myself and show you around, but ironically this is the first year since I moved here that I'm NOT coming. We're headed up to Jersey Fresh the following week, so I'll be riding/packing/galloping that weekend. That normally wouldn't stop me from spectating anyways, except that I ALSO have four finals the following Monday and Tuesday before I get to go up to Jersey, so I'm going to have to be studying that weekend instead of spectating. I'm pretty bummed about that.

We'll see though, some procrastination might happen and I might happen to 'accidentally' go watch XC on Saturday or SJ on Sunday. We'll see.

Nicku B said...

This.is.GREAT.news! Congrats girls!

Anonymous said...

Great news!! And I think you're smart to wait for as long as possible... as long as you have the time, letting her enjoy her pasture is a great option!

Brooke (FBX Adventures - In Parenting) said...

I'm so glad Andrea. Btw, my word identification is (and no joke) gogoica

Lisa said...

Very good news. I think you are very smart sticking to your original plan. Definitely wait it out. What is the worst that could happen? You miss out on 6 months of riding?

SprinklerBandit said...

Awesome! So happy for you.

Val said...

Excellent news!