Recently, two horses from Best Friends’ Horse Haven returned from Sheridan, Wyoming, where they each had surgery to treat injuries that could have meant the end – if they didn’t happen to live at Best Friends.
The unfortunate reality is that horses are often euthanized for leg injuries that don’t warrant such an extreme measure. Sadly, people think they’re doing the merciful thing in making such a decision. They don’t realize that, with the right surgeon, many leg injuries are entirely treatable and the horses can go on to lead full, active lives.
Bryce, a six-year-old quarter horse, arrived at Best Friends with a severe cut on his right front ankle that occurred when he somehow managed to punch his leg through a fence. The cut was so deep that it reached the joints, called the pastern and coffin joints. His people exacerbated the wound by using a rather drastic method – a blowtorch – to cut the fence and free Bryce’s leg. Bryce ended up with a horrible burn around the wound. Over time, an extreme and painful case of arthritis developed in the two joints.
The other horse, Bambi, is an Appaloosa mare in her early 20s. No one knows how she sustained the injury in her left front knee, but whatever happened caused the leg to bow outward. The bones in her knee started to degenerate under the stress of the unstable leg and the more she moved around, the more the bones weakened.
Thankfully, Best Friends found the right surgeon for the two horses.
Dr. Ted Vlahos came to the attention of Horse Haven manager Jen Reid and Best Friends veterinarian Dr. Tara Timpson when they were considering their options for another injured horse named Riley. Riley’s leg had degenerated to such an extent that the only option appeared to be amputation. Two women from Wyoming who volunteer each year at Horse Haven told Jen and Dr. Tara about Dr. Ted, who has had great success fitting amputee horses with prostheses.
Jen and Dr. Tara got in touch with Dr. Ted right away, and he agreed to come to Best Friends to have a look at Riley. While at Best Friends, he also examined Bryce and Bambi, and decided he could help all three horses. He even offered to transport all three to Sheridan himself, free of charge!
(Read more about Riley’s surgery and her post-op progress.)
To help Bryce, Dr. Ted inserted some screws into the coffin and pastern joints. The joints should fuse in time, minimizing Bryce’s pain. “Bryce should be considerably more comfortable than he was,” Jen says. “And once the conditions are right, we should be able to get him adopted.”
As for Bambi, Dr. Ted stabilized her leg by inserting two screws and a small plate into her knee. Over time, the knee will fuse and optimize her range of movement. Already, Bambi is moving much better than she did before the surgery. Dr. Ted also managed to straighten her leg, and it now looks about as normal as the other three. “Once the knee fuses, she should have a hugely improved quality of life,” Jen says.
Bambi and Bryce are now in conjoined stalls after the long drive back from Wyoming, and there they’ll stay until each has recovered from surgery. Then, they’ll be moved into pasture – a pasture much greener than before.
Written by Ted Brewer
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