April 1 Blog: HEIGHTEN. I haven’t said much about Heighten & his problem, lately. Most of all, it’s because I haven’t known what to say. If you’ll recall, he broke a bone in his left-hind hock a few years ago. It’s called the medial tarsal bone or something like that. Little bone, but because there’s a ligament attached to each end of it, every time he’d try to move his leg, the ligaments would pull against the bone & make it hurt like hell. Anyway, I built a soft cast for him at the time – all the way from his crotch to his hoof. And he was laid up – in severe stall rest – for fourteen months. All kinds of treatments. Cost us almost $15,000 to get him through it. Then, one day, the Doc told me to walk him a few feet every day & stretch out those walks until we were walking for 10-15 minutes every day. And he constantly improved. Finally, Doc told me to put him into the round pen, where he could get some exercise, but not build up enough of a head of steam where he could hurt himself. And we did that for 4-6 weeks. Finally, Doc said, “Go ahead….turn him out into the arena.” I said, “Not without you here, Doc – just in case something goes wrong.” “Fine”, he said. And he came out. And we turned Heighten out. And it worked like a charm. After almost 16 months. And he’d been fine ever since – running around with Hudson & all of that. Maniacs on the loose. True 16-hand, 1400-lb. beasts. For the past two or three years. Then, all of a sudden, a couple of months ago, he became three-legged lame again. Oh, no! And we had the vet out. And his hock is really swollen, though there was no liquid in the swelling around his ‘knee’. It’s hard tissue. Meaning, of course, that it didn’t or doesn’t seem to be an infection. Something else. Well, anyway, we started him on a regiment of Surpass (a topical steroid/anti-inflammatory). And we’ve walked him slowly every day, for 10-15 minutes. But the swelling has remained & he gets three-legged lame again every once in a while. Not often, but when he does, we can tell that it really hurts like hell. It’s like he ‘tweaks’ it or something. So, finally, we decided to have x-rays taken. Last Saturday. And what the doc found was that he has a bad, bad case of arthritis in & around that joint. And bone spurs that can really, really hurt if he moves his leg just right – or, really, just wrong. And that the arthritis will never leave him. Nothing much we can do. Oh, sure, we’re trying regular vet-prescribed creams & so on, but Marti has found a couple of other, more ‘organic’ things to try. And we will. Also, the doc told us that mild exercise is the best thing for him – just like it is with arthritic conditions in two-leggeds. And that, really, it would be okay if we turned him out into the arena for a few minutes every day – but not with Hudson (to MUCH exercise!). So, today, we bit the bullet & Marti turned him out. And, natch, the first thing any horse does when he or she gets into the arena is lie down & roll on his or her back. And Heighten was no different. And it scared the bejeezus out of us because the first roll was on his left side. Meaning, of course, that he’d have to use that gimpy left leg to push himself up again. And, just like we knew it would, it hurt. And he stood there on three legs for the longest time. Now, we were prepared for that & were ready to give him a double-dose of pain-killers if it was too bad. In Heighten’s case, we use Equiiox instead of bute – because he’s had stomach problems in the past & Equiiox is much easier on the stomach. But, guess what? After 10-15 seconds, he put that bad left leg down again & walked off just as pretty as you please. And didn’t have another problem for the rest of his time out there. And he went home happy & pretty darned healthy, too. See, it isn’t just the physical things – the physical problems – that hurt these horses. It’s the emotional things, more than anything. And when a horse gets depressed, we can feel it in our bones – just the way he or she can. And today was a great day. Because Heighten went home happy as a clam. And none the worse for wear. We made a commitment to him, this morning – that he will go out, every day from now on, for 15-20 minutes. And we’ll stretch out that time as he – what? – improves? And he was happy with that. Because, see – as John is the king on one side of the ranch, Heighten is the king on the other side. And if & when he’s feeling punk, it hurts him not only physically, but psychologically & emotionally, as well. And we can’t have that. And, most of all, because he’s my brother. I call him My Bruvva. Why? Because, one evening, several years ago, he & I had our heads together. And we were sharing secrets that can only be shared on a spiritual level. If you’ve never felt that, you just don’t know what I’m talking about. If you have, it’s a feeling that’ll never leave you for all of your days. And that night, Heighten – My Bruvva - & I realized something from across the Universe. And this might seem foolish to most of you, but – for me – it’s something neither one of us will ever forget. Because it was on that evening – in the gathering gloam – that we both realized that we’d known each other before……long in the past: That in the 1880s, in the badlands of North or South Dakota – I had been the horse & Heighten & been my human. And we loved & took care of each other, then - & that, somehow, we’d been reunited in today’s world. Weird? Maybe. Strange? For sure. The truth? You make up your own minds, but I’ve already made up mine. And so has he. So. My Bruvva……. As we’ve done any number of times before – in this or any other century - we’re gonna win this one. Always have. Always will. Right? Because that’s always been our promise to each other. For now & forever more. Go figure, huh? That’s it, kids. Believe what you want. And I will, too. Peace. Out.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 21:05:24 +0000
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