Back in May my horse Ty was in a bit of a wreck. At first we didn’t think anything was seriously wrong, but a day after the accident he was stumbling around and his neck was really sore. So I took him to WestWind Clinic at Tofield and the x-rays showed he had broken a piece off the bottom of his 4th cervical vertebrae. Not good. The prognosis was unclear; since there was damage to his spinal cord he could get worse to the point where he might not even be able to stand up. Or he could make a full recovery…or anywhere in between. Cautiously I hauled him home. Wendy, a good friend of mine had a small paddock with barn access. I took time off work to take care of him – we got to know each other really well. I started him on some high protein feed for the muscle damage, and some supplements designed to keep the internal swelling down and start him on the mend. Nutters and the Mill Store in Okotoks were great helping me out. I did a lot of research in spinal injuries and considered several options: $10,000 neck stabilization surgery wasn't affordable but I wasn't about to consider putting him down. In July I took him to the Okotoks Animal Clinic where he was attended by Dr. Best. She took more x-rays which showed that there had been no change in the bone – the broken piece was still there, and no bone growth was present. He was still showing signs of spinal cord damage – stumbling a bit and reluctant to back up. They told me to keep doing what I was doing and bring him back in 3 months. We turned him out in the pasture shortly after – which he loved after being confined for so long. I started to see some small signs of improvement. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take him to Lone Horse Camp for the summer which was the plan, and I was at camp for most of July and August. Another friend of mine, Laura, took good care of him while I was gone. When I returned in September I drove right to his pasture. I got out of the truck and walked up to the fence and yelled, “Hey Buddy!” He came running around the corner full tilt and almost knocked me over! It was hilarious – he was bouncing around like Dino in the old Flintstone cartoons when Fred got home from work. I guess all that time we spent together while he was confined paid off!
(on the left - Chuck and Terri's daughter, Taylor takes a snooze on Ty!)
Back to the present...a couple days ago I took Ty to the vet for a follow up appointment. Dr. Webber did an exam on him and said, “I don’t see any reason why this horse won’t make a full recovery.” Those were the best words I’ve heard in a long time! But we’re not out of the woods yet. We’ve got a lot of work to do before I attempt to ride him again – and he may not ever get to that point. With lots of care and prayer and help from friends – thanks everyone - we’ve made it this far. Hopefully in the new year you’ll see Ty in the mountains again.
