Recovery week 5 9/3/15

It is now 5 weeks since Jacks kissing spine surgery and he appears to me to be recovering well.

The time has actually gone really quickly and we may only have 1 week of box rest left! (Everybody please keep your fingers crossed for us!)

I'm very excited that a week today we will be on our way to Oakham for his x-rays to see how the healing is going inside. I'm really looking forward to seeing the x-rays and comparing the before and after pics as I have not seen any yet due to picking him up on a weekend.

With how well he appears to be healing on the outside I am hopeful for good news and if they are happy with his progress we will finally be able to turn him out. I'm not getting my hopes up too much as they may decide he needs a bit longer on box rest. Having said that I cannot wait to see him out grazing and enjoying life again. He has become rather grumpy and sour from the box rest and I'm praying that disappears when he is able to go back out and begin work - he has always been a horse who has a better attitude when in regular work, he seems to get a bit full of himself and less respectful when he's off, hes never nasty or naughty just not quite such a nice person! While his has been very tolerant of the box rest in the most part he obviously has been affected by it and I will just have to hope that getting back to normal will see his attitude and demeanour return to normal too as he is usually a lovely cuddly person who enjoys a mutual groom and lots of fuss.

So once we get the all clear for turnout then there will be the long process of rehabilitation which I will be doing all myself. I have to be honest although it will be hard work and probably frustrating at times I am soooo looking forward to getting started. We are a long way off ridden work yet and the vet will be going through a detailed rehab programme with me when we go next week but I am expecting a couple of weeks turn out with no work at all followed by around 5 weeks ground work using a pessoa or similar lunge aid and long reining before beginning ridden work. All being well the vet is hopeful I will have a fully fit horse able to event before the end of the season. Obviously a lot has to go right for that to happen and I do not want to put myself or Jack under any pressure so I will follow the vets advice and do everything by the book but if I feel we need to take things a bit slower for Jacks sake I will. The most important thing is that he is happy and pain free and able to enjoy his work especially jumping again. I have a feeling it may take a long while to regain his confidence having been in pain for so long but given time and a relaxed attitude I know we can get there and build up his trust and confidence again. I'm going to be doing some more groundwork and join up with him too to build the bond and trust between us.

I am also going to be on the look out for a new physio to work with throughout the rehab and beyond to keep Jack as comfortable as possible and help identify and alleviate any problems along the way. As I have lost all confidence in the people that I used before due to them all missing the kissing spines/back pain on more than 1 occasion I want to use a different physio. They will need to be vet referred in order for it to be covered by my insurance claim and I think I have found someone who has come recommended very highly by a friend so fingers crossed that works out.

His other wounds are continuing to heal really well too and the large gapping wound on his foreleg is now barely noticeable. The wound on his hind is about half the size it was and the pressure sore is now smaller then a 5p piece. I am continuing to bathe and flush them twice a day with cooled boiled salty water and will do so until they fully heal but am happy that even in muddy turn out they are well healed enough not to have any problems.
It has been fascinating watching them healing!

This is the fore leg - left pic was taken 17/2/15 and right 9/3/15 - a huge improvement :)