Well, here we are. Two weeks away from Thoroughbred Makeover, the big event that so many of us have been working tirelessly toward for the last six to eight months. This update is not the one I want to be writing, and comes to you a week after I spent the day at King Animal Hospital, waiting for Mr Nobility to receive laser scarification on his soft palate. How did we get here?
Shortly after the last show, we were preparing for another run at a Meadowlarke schooling show, when the big horse went basically unrideable. With not much to go on, we did another round of massage and chiropractic, and I got the saddle fitter out again to check my tack. The good news, he had put on so much muscle and weight and really evened out the muscling across his back. Bad news, there wasn’t really anything that we found wrong with him, aside from being very locked across his SI region.
He also decided around this time he no longer wanted to jump. He would trot one or two cross rails and then he was absolutely done, running sideways, too stressed to think logically — very unlike a horse who normally enjoys working and learning new things.
Throughout our training we knew he had a breathing issue, which was his reason for retirement from racing, however it had never really impacted his new job aside from some coughing and hacking at the beginning of the ride, and then he would be fine. But the coughing and hacking episodes got longer and more frequent, and we started to wonder if his lack of breathing ability was creating stress and then lower back pain.
After contacting his track veterinarian to see if we could get more information and details about his past medical issues, we decided to scope him again since the last scope he was so filled with bloody mucus my vet could not get a clear picture of what was going on with his throat.
During the scope, his soft palate was displaced nearly the whole time, including when my vet pulled out the scope to give him a break and then replaced it in the other nostril. This led her to believe that he might be displaced for most of the duration of our rides and not even coughing or letting us know that he can’t breathe, aside from his giraffe-like tendencies, which are most likely stressing his lower back.
So, what are the next steps? Are there any steps?
First and foremost, I want this sweet boy to be comfortable. He seems to really enjoy working and doing things, so he needs to be comfortable doing that. My vet decided to consult a well-known surgeon for ideas on how we might proceed and to see if the Thoroughbred Makeover is still within the realm of possibility for us.
After a few days, the surgeon got back to us with the possibility of the scarification of the soft palate. The procedure is relatively non-invasive, done standing up, and normally has a return-to-work schedule of about a week.
They use a scope to go up the nose, and with a laser they basically burn dots along the base of the palate to induce scar tissue which will stiffen the palate and prevent displacement.
If successful, he should be rideable before the Thoroughbred Makeover and would last several months to a couple years, depending on how it goes. We were hopeful that this would allow him to breathe during work and hopefully allow him to move more freely and relieve some stress his back.
A few days after the surgery, he was able to start going on the Equi-Ciser at a walk for some exercise. He is not able to be turned out because the big, athletic boy does not know how to do things in moderation and most likely will want to run around and stretch his legs. He was being mostly good about stall rest and walking 30-40 mins twice a day, plus hand grazing, but I can tell he is bored and wants out.
Six days after the surgery, I got on for a walk ride. The main thing is that we don’t want him coughing, so I can do as much as he tolerates but if he coughs, I back right off and do less. Luckily, his brain handled the minimal work quite well and we should be able to continue from there!
In a journey that could be titled, “anything that could go wrong, went wrong,” we are still hoping to make it to Kentucky. The big boy is fit, and luckily very smart, and therefore I’m hoping when I am able to ride him again fully, he will pick up right where we left off.
The beauty of Thoroughbreds is that they don’t often forget what they have learned. Therefore, we will rely on the training we have done up to this point.
We are entered in dressage and show jumping; fingers crossed we still get to compete in at least one of those. Right now, we are taking things day by day and keeping our fingers and toes crossed that we can still make the trip south.
The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.
~ courtesy America’s Best Racing
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