[probarrelracer]

We went back to LSU again, today. We were hoping for skin grafts, but instead ended up trimming proudflesh instead. He had extraneous granulation tissue that has failed to subside, therefore keeping his wound at the same size for the last week. The tissue on the top of the right hock injury has failed to reconnect to the tissue beneath, and has ceased healing. This also had to be trimmed so that it may once again attempt to reattatch itself properly. The tendon, that I thought was only partially damaged, was actually severed completely and had to be trimmed also.

Here are pics from today. WARNING!! EXTREMELY GRAPHIC!! BLOODY PICS!!





This is Static with most of his vets . . . His "real" vet, Dr. McCauley is the guy in purple down on the floor.





Hydrotherapy . . .



This is what the wounds looked like this morning (notice they have not changed much lately.).



The round "ball" looking piece of tissue is the end of the severed tendon. (Pic from a few days ago.)



Static resting after being given his first dose of sedative.




Beginning to trim on the left hock. . .



The rest of the proudflesh trimming on the left hock. . .





Using a thick towel and Elastikon to try to stop the bleeding (took 30 min.)

[kvmt10]

By golly he is a good patient! It can't be fun for him, but he seems to be coping really well.
Its a shame to hear that recovery has slowed down, but my prayers are with you, and I hope the healing process quickens up from now on.

[cowgurly02]

Oh poor Static! Those pictures really made me cringe and just want to hug the poor guy. Now how much longer until he can get skin grafts??

[probarrelracer]

Here is the other hock. . . Same procedure as with left.







Stopped for more sedation . . .





The blood coagulated quickly, and was so abundant that it had to be removed from the area with a large shovel!



Still sleepy!





His outpatient stall. . .







Going Home At Last!!

[probarrelracer]

Now, they say that recovery time depends on him. 90 days to 6 months. Hoping to have grafts within the next couple of weeks. They want a healthy granulation bed for the procedure. They will remove skin from under his belly, then wait two days before creating the mesh and applying the sheet graft. I prefer the sheet graft because it stays more stable than the punch graft, and is cosmetically more appealing when healed. Of course, it is more complex than the other two types, so it costs a fortune.

[madvoice]

He is such a good patient. That is a HE (double hockey sticks) of a lot of blood. I had a funny feeling that skin grafts wouldn't happen with the proud flesh. Thanks so much for keeping us updated. You really do deserve a medal for what you're doing for this guy.

[probarrelracer]

Yeah, I think he lost about a gallon of blood. I was hoping that the Animax would take care of the proudflesh, but it could only do so much.

[DressageGirl]

Thats so awful!

I would hate to know what the treatment is costing you, but for something you love money is no object.

Hope all gets on the improve soon, give him a cuddle from me

[cowgurly02]

It sounds like the vets are really good and doing their best, and even at 6 months that isn't too too bad. He's such a brave boy, really. I can't beleive how much blood he lost! He's very lucky to be in your loving hands

[probarrelracer]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

Thats so awful!

I would hate to know what the treatment is costing you, but for something you love money is no object.

Hope all gets on the improve soon, give him a cuddle from me

I don't want you guys to think that I am such a great person. I stand to lose alot, financially, if he doesn,t pull through this. There is alot riding on his future as a breeding stallion, as well as a barrel horse. Don't get me wrong; I really like him and care about him, but it's not the only reason I am trying to fix this problem.

I think that we are approaching the $10,000 mark, but not quite there yet. The grafts will probably push us past that, though. It is about $400 for each weekly visit, and our estimate on the grafting procedure is $1500, if it works the first time, and if it can be done all at once, which is not probable. It costs about $50 per leg each time we wrap them (every other day). We also are spending quite a bit on bedding to keep his stall really clean at all times. The medicine is also quite costly. It is alot to spend on an uncertain future, but they say that he will have no problems breeding, and, thankfully, many people have already been put on a waiting list for when the time comes, even though he has not begun competing yet.

After spending all day at LSU today, we had one of our good barrel horses go down with colic at about 6:30 tonight, and had to go back to the clinic. He is still in surgery now, and they say he will be fine, but he was winning two saddles, and will lose them because he will be out of competition until next year. He has already won two saddles in NLBRA this year, so at least the WHOLE year was not completely wasted. I guess that all we can say is that when it rains, it pours!!