A Happy Update

I want to thank everyone for their comments over the last week or so. Reading each one meant so much to me. Knowing you guys understood just how terrifying that experience was helped make the whole situation a little less surreal.

For the first couple of days after the accident, Guinness' condition was somewhat touch and go. While his attitude was good, I couldn't get a good handle on managing the swelling in his legs. The amount his legs were stocking up was worrying to me. I was pretty confident he didn't have a soft tissue injury, but the amount of swelling made me second guess myself. Plus, my inability to reduce the swelling made me worry about the possibility of developing cellulitis.

Is there a leg in there? I can't tell. Looks more like a red log.

Moving stiffly, Pig wasn't helping matters. Even though he was turned out in the big pasture, he wasn't moving around much. He basically stationed himself at the round bale, and would shuffle from there to the auto-waterer. I hand walked him daily, but it didn't make a dent in the swelling.
Handwalking the elusive mud-yak in it's natural habitat... the rain.
Finally, I resorted to doing compression wraps with Sore-No-More on him for a handful of hours every day. The wraps would bring the swelling down some, but not all the way down to normal.

Swelling down somewhat, legs still feverish and puffed.

The holidays forced me away from the barn. Keeping an eye on a horse from afar might be one of the most stressful things in the world. My BO would only send me texts when his legs were swollen badly, so I assumed that's what they looked like all the time. I did end up driving back one day to wrap Pig, after my BO sent me a photo of his legs looking more like tree trunks than legs. Apparently after that wrapping session, his legs did go down significantly. A friend helped me out by hand walking Pig, which also brought his legs down every day.
Normalish legs! It's a miracle!
After 8 days, Guinness finally seems to be out of the woods. His legs aren't stocking up as much, he's weaning off bute, and he's totally sound. The totally sound part is the best part, because yesterday I hopped up and got to glimpse the world from behind two perky red ears again. From up there, everything finally feels like it will be alright.
Doing rehab rides back the safety-first way, by hacking my hyper horse bareback down the wet road. Yep.

Comments

  1. YAYAYAYAYAYYYYYY!!! Oh this is such a happy post! Happy Tears! So glad you and Guinness are ok!

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  2. Such good news that he is totally sound!! Glad the stubborn swelling is finally going away. What a stoic guy!

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  3. I am so glad everything is okay and that your horse is sound! You've handled this situation with such grace. Best of luck to everyone as you continue to recover!

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  4. That's great that Pig is almost back to normal!!!

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  5. So happy to read this post, I have been worried about you both. I hope you are healing alongside the G-man. That was some trauma you both went through, hopefully it isn't taking a toll on you now that the worry of his legs is lessening.
    *hugs* to you both

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    1. Well, I ended up with a bit of a cold, probably helped along by stress. But, we'll both be okay. :)

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  6. I'm glad he's recovering well!! What a miracle <3

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  7. glad that he's doing well. I was worried that there might be damage that appeared later. You look good sitting up there.

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    1. I was worried about that, too. I still have one spot I'm concerned about. I think it'll resolve, though.

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  8. Ahhh I'm so glad he's okay!! What a terrifying incident and it's hard because it's not just over when it's over, there's the whole soundness thing afterward too. Keep up the good rehab and he'll be back in no time!

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    1. That's exactly it. The day of the accident was never ending, and the next day I launched right into aftercare mode. It was really tough.

      Rehab coincided with Pig's already scheduled break. Hopefully he comes back from his time just as good as before. It's going to take a long time to get him back up to fitness, though. Yeesh.

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  9. I'm so glad to hear he's OK! Poor guy - he must have been really sore and stiff. Glad he's on the mend and what a wonderful thing to be able to see the world from between those cute ears. Yay!

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  10. This post made me smile!! Glad he's starting to come around and get to feeling better!

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  11. phew - what a relief!!! you must be exhausted from the stress and anxiety... fingers crossed that he continues to get back to normal!!!!

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    1. Exhausted pretty much describes it. I didn't realize how tired until I was able to relax.

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  12. So, so glad to hear this! As a sidenote: I stumbled across your blog via the lovely note you sent the company who makes the blanket and shipping boots you had on the big redhead during his accident (I work there). Blog world is small and I see many familiar names in your comments :) So, hi!!!! :D

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    1. Aw yay!! I was so happy to get to share some success stories with Dover, despite the scary circumstance. Once I get home and get some more pictures, I have another post planned...

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