Wind Dancer

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

We're going to help all we can!

[snowshoehair]

Gee Rowdy... do you have any "face" pictures of the little guy? I'm trying to picture the rest of that blaze.

[Rowdy]

Face picture:

Eva and Wind Dancer 10.jpg

[Rowdy]

That last picture was taken in Jan 2010 at 7.5 months of age. Here is one from the day we brought him home, 4.5 months old. He has a super-thick coat that disguises his malnutrition. He is 4.5 months old in this picture and only weighs about 100 lbs; the huge pot belly is due to parasite infestations in the "dangerously high" category. All he wanted to do was EAT!!! This was the first time he stood still and let Eva pet him. Notice the effusion in the fetlocks already present. The hope was that, with proper nutrition, the joint swelling would go away on its own. Unfortunately, that was not the case, as you know.

Eva and Wind Dancer a.jpg

[Rowdy]

We got the health certificate yesterday for the trip across state lines to get the surgery done. Wind Dancer put on another 11 lbs in 4 days, and tipped the scales at 310 lbs yesterday! The stall rest is helping with the weight gain since he is in forced inactivity. It is wonderful to feel the spaces between his ribs filling in, and a bit of padding on hips and shoulders that were stretching his skin not long ago. Our vet did not charge us for the exam or health certificate--what a wonderful break that was!

We started him on Gastroguard and Banamine paste this morning in preparation for tomorrow's trailer ride. The Gastroguard is a preventative measure since foals are notoriously susceptible to ulcers, and the Banamine paste is for pain control. We will borrow a friend's padded horse trailer.

Dave is flying tomorrow; a dear friend will take care of Cecilia and Andrew while Eva, Wind Dancer and I make the trip to Ocala Equine Hospital.

We will have a long road to recovery in this situation. We'll keep you posted!

[Madge]

Prayers, good thoughts, and safe driving to you!!

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

Wind Dancer has his own thread under Horses in Need - folks please cross post his story and the fundraiser where ever you can. Thanks!

[snowshoehair]

What a unique, sweet little face he has! Thanks for the new pictures Rowdy!

[fxtrtrgrl]

Very flashy-looking, very handsome fellow.

[DoxieLover]

BIG prayers on the way...

[Rowdy]

Keep the prayers coming--I am certain they have sustained us so far! Here is Wind Dancer in surgery...poor boy!

DSCN3069 - Copy.JPG

[Rowdy]

This is what we came home to the day after surgery...

Snow 12 Feb 2010.JPG

[Rowdy]

So glad to be home, safe and sound!

DSCN3111 - Copy.JPG

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

[fxtrtrgrl]

What a pretty picture of the barn, even though it was snowing.

[Rowdy]

It is a 36'x30' metal shed that we built stalls inside of. It has 5 10'x12' stalls, three on the left and 2 on the right, as well as a 10'x12' tack room on the right (with the small door). One stall and the tack room are still under construction, and we are doing it all ourselves. Large doors open on both ends of the 12' wide isle, allowing lots of ventilation to flow through.

The stalls themselves have compacted road base mix for a sub-floor, topped with Stable Comfort brand matresses and rubber top that mimic the ground horses sleep on in nature. All of our horses love to lie down in their stalls, they are so comfortable. We decided on this floor since our 20 year old Hackney pony was getting stiff and sore and our Peruvian had hock sores from the hard stall mats in the stable of the Air Force Base (we kept them there before we bought this place last August). It gives slightly, and has been the best possible floor for Wind Dancer's recouperation.

The metal roof is extremely loud, even deafening, when it rains. We are looking into some kind of insulation to dampen the noise. Eventually we want running water and electricity...but those are future projects as our finances allow.

[Rowdy]

Here is Wind Dancer in his stall this afternoon, after the sutures were removed. He just got up from rolling in his fresh sawdust.

Wind Dancer after Suture Removal.jpg

[snowshoehair]

oooohhh, fresh sawdust..... how fun!

[Rowdy]

He loves it if we just put a big pile of sawdust in the middle of his stall. He'll paw it a bit, then roll and groan like it is the best back scratch he has ever had! By the time he's done, it is all spread nicely about.

Wind Dancer after Suture Removal rolling.jpg

The fact that he is shedding like crazy could be part of the issue. He will not roll in a messy stall, and hates being dirty. He only poops and pees in one corner of his stall, as far away from his food and sleeping areas as possible.

[fxtrtrgrl]

What great pictures. He's having a good time rolling and getting that layer of shavings just right - all over him and the stall.

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

barbara - what are those stall mats you referred to?

[Rowdy]

We used Stable Comfort, which you can look up at http://www.stablecomfort.com. The initial cost is high, but the savings in bedding, cleaning ease, and comfort for the horses was worth the initial expense to us.

Here is the testimonial I sent to them today: "I am extremely pleased with the Stable Comfort floors I installed in our little family stable. Let me tell you why.

We were boarding our 19 year old Hackney pony mare and 9 year old Peruvian horse gelding at a stable that had hard rubber stall mats over a dirt floor. No matter how much bedding we put down, the mare was often stiff and sore, and the gelding had sores on his hocks. The mats shifted and were hard to clean. In addition, the smell of urine was tough to overcome. When we bought a house and built our own little 5-stall stable, we wanted something better for our equine friends. After speaking with several veterinarians and researching on the internet, we decided to install the Stable Comfort stall floors. That decision turned out to be more critical than we could have known.

I installed the floors in all five stalls by myself in a matter of days. We used well-compacted road base mix for a subfloor. All of our horses (we now have four) love their stalls, and spend time lying down in them every night. The Hackney pony mare, now 20, is as spry as a 6 year old; the Peruvian horse’s hock sores are a thing of the past. Our third horse, an Appaloosa gelding that had never been stabled before, adjusted to his stall without any issues. The stalls are very easy to clean and disinfect, and use of excess bedding has plummeted.

A few months ago, my 10 year old daughter earned $100 in one month to purchase a 4 month old Mustang/Appaloosa foal that was starving. Due to his early malnutrition, Wind Dancer’s joints did not form properly, and he ended up tearing the cartilage in his right front fetlock at 8 months of age. Surgery by an equine joint specialist was required to save the foal. In the days leading up to the surgery, he spent nearly all the time lying down in his stall, and I was very thankful for the soft floor he had to rest on. During surgery, a cartilage flap that had torn had to be removed, and he was left with bare bone--no cartilage--on the major weight-bearing part of the fetlock joint. The surgeon stated that it was the most significant damage he had ever operated on; prognosis for recovery was very grim. Following surgery, he has been confined to his stall for 30 days; we are now at the 12 day point in this stall rest period. With the cushioning of the Stable Comfort floor, his recovery has been nothing short of phenomenal, as assessed by our veterinarian yesterday as she removed his sutures. He walks and trots with only a minor limp, and does not seem to be at the level of pain one would expect from such massive damage. As his stall rest continues, I am so thankful that he has a safe, soft, cushioned place to recuperate.

I am thoroughly impressed with Stable Comfort, and recommend this stall floor to anyone who has horses, especially rescues and horses recovering from injury or surgery to the legs."

[Colleen]

Wind Dancer has better manners than a lot of people!

I'm so happy about his continued recovery.

Colleen

[Rowdy]

Our vet gave the go-ahead to have Wind Dancer's hooves trimmed today. This will be his first trimming since the surgery. We don't know how well he will tolerate the trimming of that hoof, or standing on that leg while the rest are trimmed. We'll see how he does.

Eva is home from church with the flu today...prayers for a speedy recovery!

Here's a picture of Wind Dancer as we took him off the trailer. It was the first time he ever saw snow. All he wanted to do was get into his snug stall and lie down...

Wind Dancer in the snow.JPG

[IMustBeCrazy]

Gee, all I wanted to do was get snug in MY bed too with that snow!

[Rowdy]

Eva let Andy visit Wind Dancer in his stall yesterday. He didn't even get up.

Andy Visits Wind Dancer with Eva.jpg

He has accepted the round pen with no problems at all!

Eva and Wind Dancer....jpg

[fxtrtrgrl]

Wind Dancer is looking great.

Lyn

[Rowdy]

Eva and her best friend, Emily, spent a very horsey day between grooming Wind Dancer, riding, and observing a Pony Club meeting. Eva rode for a bit, and the club leader wants her in the group with the older members since she is so far beyond the kids in the younger group with her horsemanship. Ceci also observed the meeting and wants to join, but she is not yet comfortable riding without someone leading her.

[Mr. Midnight's Mom]

how neat is that!!! YEAH EVA!!!

[Rowdy]

This picture is from a couple of weeks ago...

Eva and Wind Dancer.....jpg

Here they are a few days ago...

10 Apr Eva and WD..jpg

So much trust!!!