It was time to check out how 'Mr F's bones were recovering. 'Suzie' had recently invested in an additional, stronger ultrasound scanner allowing her to penetrate deeper and hence scan a larger body mass - such as a horses' hip.
First off 'Mr F' had to be sedated so that he would stand still not only during the scanning but also prior so that his coat could be shaved where we had to scan. I am never comfortable when sedatives are administered, it seems to me a great shock these huge bodies are exposed to.
The sedative took effect quickly and 'Mr F' was off to another world. 'Suzie' shaved his rear end and prepared it for the ultrasound scanner.
I had never seen anything like it and was most intrigued by this machine. We scanned for quite a long time and took several scan screenshots. However, all that white mass is rather difficult to interpret for me. This picture below is one of the more clear ones. The thick white elongated 'blob' is 'Mr F's hip bone and you can see where it is fractured. The view is somewhat from above, but not quite.
If you look at the horse itself it is clearly noticeable that his hip point (the bit that 'sticks out', just like ours does) is now dislocated, as though it has broken off. That is another reason why he had to be totally calm at the very start of his recovery, to make sure that nothing is injuring any internal organs.
This is also when we discovered that 'Mr F' actually suffered two fractures. 'Suzie' also recognised on the scan the beginning stages of arthritis in 'Mr F's lumbar spine. Which would explain much of his stiffness.
It will be time for me to work out whether to start giving him medication. However, I am not all that keen on further feeding him bute as it is not doing his stomach any favours. Joint supplements will certainly be an option to go forward with.
And of course the question: should he be ridden again? Personally I will miss the riding of course but I equally enjoy going for walk or just spending time together. 'Mr F' has done a lot of hard work in his early days as race horse. Over the past months I have learnt his stoic side. He coped with the injury extremely well and is still full of life spirit.
One of the ultrasound scans showing the farcture(s)
'Mr F's half shaved bottom - you can see how asymmetric his hips now are.
'Mr F' will have some working out to do when he is allowed to be turned out again.
I suppose a person with loads of money available would have dealt with this situation very differently. But even if I had loads of money to hand, I would not have done things differently in the way I chose his recovery route. There are many things to take into account and while the medical side is quite easily figured out, the horses character and 'mental' needs also must be considered. The route I chose catered both and it worked well, 'Mr F' stayed very calm throughout (unlike me - I have sure lost my temper with others who were making things very difficult quite a few times!)
Another 3-ish weeks of being inside before he is allowed out totally calm. The letting him out part will be easy ... it's the keeping him calm bit that is causing me some concern ... 'Mr F' is easily, lets say ... stimulated ...
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