Springside Update: Surgery Successful

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Danzig

if you've seen how barbaro walked after his surgery, or dancinginmydreams with her fused ankle, you'd see why.

Yes but they had what? A few dozen fractures in one bone? Couldn't multiple mean 2? Come to think of it, the Bloodhorse article on Springside said "a fracture" (I know Josie Carroll said multiple) although it did mention several screws to keep the bone in place. That doesn't mean the little bits of bone necessarily. My thought was though that if retirement is a foregone conclusion, at the very least you expect some blurb about it being career ending and breeding plans haven't been decided or she won't be able to breed this coming year. Heck even 'we'll miss the '09 breeding season anyway so we'll just see how she's healed by the fall and figure out whether to race her at 4 or breed her.' Either it's not a foregone conclusion or it's sloppily journalism. Sounds like the latter but I won't assume. There'll be a surgery report tomorrow, maybe they're waiting for an official statement from the connections to print it.

This is why I was confused though. It would seem like multiple fractures would end a career. I didn't get the various articles not saying as much even once. If someone sees one that does, let me know. I thought it was weird. I get that you'd think it would make sense cuz it does. She's got a G2 win so really it's not like they have to get on it and bring her back even if they thought it was doable. She's got something flashy on her resume as a broodmare prospect.

[Riot]

Doc, the physical ability to pin, plate, cancellous bone graft, etc. is relatively easy in a horse leg, but horses do have multiple non-human issues that appear as soon as you try to recover them from anesthesia and continues for months, predisposing them to unsuccessful outcomes.

The first is their special (non-human) weight-bearing issues - they never go non-weight-bearing (thus pin loosening and slow- or non-union is a big threat.) They will spin, turn, suddenly load, twist, strain, stomp & kick, etc, often blowing apart or damaging their repair or breaking their hardware in the immediate weeks post-surgery (huge worry).

They cannot be healthily immobile (they are physiologically designed to walk with their heads down nearly constantly). They readily have circulatory issues humans don't have regarding laminitis threat. They colic at the drop of a hat post-surgery (post-surgical ileus, hospitalization ileus). They don't mentally tolerate pain, nor do well with many common types of pain meds (opiods).

Keep them in stall rest and they urinate and defecate all over their surgical site (infection risk very high).

Multiple pin placement in a shattered pastern (and the healing involved) often permanently scars/disrupts/thickens tendons and the joint components above/below the long pastern bone (which is equivalent to P1 of your middle finger); and if you take their pins out the bone remodeling in the pin tracts is often slow and they'll lightly stomp a foot at a fly a month later and refracture right through the pin sites.

I've got a front leg skeleton from a 16.2 hh TB gelding (big horse) and the long pastern bone is 4-inches long, and at it's center I can encircle it with my thumb and forefinger with a half-inch to spare.

Tiny bones, big heavy critter that will not stand still nor non-weight bear.

[ddthetide]

very interesting riot, thanks for posting.

[Kasept]

Latest:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle....&nID=43&src=RA