What A Horse!

What A Horse!

Spirit is his name.  He has had the most complicated issue on our ranch and had survived and almost unheard of physical challenge for any young horse. 

Spirit seemed fine before he grew very big.  We have some great pictures of him running around the ranch and learning from the other horses. 

I actually bought his mother before he was born.  It was very exciting for me since it was the first time that I was responsible for a mare in foal, let alone the responsibility of being a part of the newborn horse experience.  We made sure to get all of the proper professional veterinary advice and care for our newest members of the ranch.  Our foaling kit was fully stocked and a tent was pitched near the corrals.  My new horse had been a broodmare all of her adult life, in fact this was her fourth foal.  I bought her from a woman who took very good care of my new friend.  I chose my mare for her beautiful confirmation and grace, she moved like a dream.  I now have a friend in her and we share a special connection that all true horse loving people desire and understand.  Our partnership started while she carried that foal and she is no longer used as a broodmare.  She tolerated young children around young Spirit and the imprinting process he was given, with considerable respect.

When a horse is born and grows up on your ranch around your other horses, a special bond is created from the moment he is imprinted.  As he grew, so did our love for him.  But no one could have told us what we were about to discover…

One day, as my husband drove up, he noticed an awkward gait that Spirit had developed during his attempt to stop out of a canter.  He made it looked like it was difficult to get started from a trot and also to stop, but he always seemed to be playful.  That week, when our farrier was working with Spirit, he fell down!  The farrier was very concerned and called our Vet right away.  I was advised to saddled up his mother and pony Spirit to the fairgrounds, where the local Veterinary hospital Great Basin was doing their fall shots clinic, since they thought it may do him some good to get out and strengthen his growing limbs.  Even though we administered our horses’ basic care ourselves, it was a great opportunity to have my favorite Veterinarian, Reese Hand, check Spirit’s gait.  The fairgrounds were not far at all and Spirit seemed to enjoy the outing.  When we got there, our Vet did some initial sensory tests, but didn’t rush Spirit in to the hospital at that time.  He just asked us to come in for x-rays, to narrow his uneasiness, since he did believe ‘something’ was not right. 

The professional diagnosis proved to be something very rare.  Spirit’s neck was broken!  As he grew and his head became larger and heavier, it impinged on his spinal cord, which created a loss of sensation and balance of his hindquarters.  He quickly got worse and was confined to a small stall until we could reserve the specialist for the surgery that would save his life.  It was very expensive and he is currently one of only a few surviving horses who are known to have had this surgery, as his type of injury or birth-defect (we were not sure of the cause) was extremely rare.  He received an implanted bucket to replace a broken piece of the upper cervical vertebrae, which was then filled with the shavings of the displaced piece.

His hospitalization was extensive as well as his recovery time, but he was cleared for a normal non-competition horse life at the end of last summer.  We have ridden him on the trails with our other horses and he couldn’t be a nicer family horse.  He still experiences some tightness on one side, but as long as he is handled in a manner that respects his condition, meaning he cannot compete, he does his best to perform normally.  Spirit is four years old this year and enjoys his play-buddy, a four year old Percheron/Paint gelding.  They rear and spar in the turn-out daily and Spirit has taken the dominate lead among the horses he mingles with.  He is a success story for the Veterinarians who performed the surgery as they continue to monitor him.

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