old, it already seemed like years since Freester’s birth the week before. He had already been through so much. The vet assured me that the prognosis was good. There was no displacement of the bone. As young and light as Freester was, the bone could recover fully. However, we were looking at a daunting six weeks of casting, re-casting, daily medications, and trying to keep a young colt from coming out of his skin being cooped up. We made it through
the first few days of stall rest in reasonably good shape. But enduring stall confinement soon began to take its toll. Our horses usually live outside and come in only to eat and if the weather is bad, so Dazzler was used to grazing 24/7 in a large field. As a first- time mom with a sick baby, she was already stressed. On Sunday she colicked. I could feel her desperation to get out of the stall and move around. The flies had been bad all week, and the stall was getting increasingly dank with the constant use. Pete had the idea to move her and Freester to a grassy paddock we have that has a large run-in barn. But we were supposed to be keeping Freester as still as possible. If we turned him out in the paddock, I knew he would take off. Pete and I hauled in several large gates and fashioned
a fourth wall to the run-in barn. It had the advantages of being light and airy and larger than the stall they had been in. I was hoping it wasn’t so large that Freester would be too active. But with grass right outside the gate, the plan was to give Dazzler a chance to graze several times a day while confining Freester on a leadline. I think the move saved us all. It was a relief to Dazzler to have more room, and both she and Freester seemed to relax. We had the first quiet week since Freester’s birth, and the following weekend I felt confident enough to leave and attend an L-program session (USDF training for judges) that was scheduled.
Another Setback Upon my return Sunday, I noticed Freester was moving
differently than when I’d left on Friday. When he’d first gotten his cast, there had been immediate relief in his body. It was apparent that he felt more comfortable with the support of his cast, and he walked and stood more correctly than he had without it. But now, I could see that he was once again favoring the leg and looking uncomfortable. We had an appointment to have the cast
Above: Freester with his walking cast. Photos courtesy Sara Warner Right: Freester at his RPSI Inspection. Photo by Jeff Stockwell
removed the following Wednesday, and I spent the next two days on the brink of taking him in early and telling myself to be patient and let things work. I wish I had listened to my internal alarm bells. When
the vet saw Freester on Wednesday, he was amazed—and worried—at how much he had grown. When the cast was removed we found that the leg had outgrown the cast, and a deep wound had been rubbed into the fetlock. The vet ordered more confinement and daily hosing and bandaging of the leg. Fulfilling this regimen turned out to be the most
challenging yet. Freester did not want his leg touched. He would tolerate the hosing, but we could not get him to even entertain the idea that we were going to dress and bandage his fetlock. He would not even let us lean over to look at it. I was desperate. We tried the most potent sedatives available. They made no difference whatsoever. We tried having Pete hold the opposite leg up while I worked on the wound. But Freester struggled so much we were afraid of injuring him even more. By the end of the first day, I was at
my wits end. At one point I was sitting outside his stall, completely frustrated, when I suddenly realized he was snoring. I took the dressings and bandage into the stall, carefully pulled his leg out onto a clean towel, and was able to dress and bandage it without any problem—all while he was asleep! From then on, that was our strategy, and thankfully it got us through the healing period.
Unexpected Stardom Finally, during the first week of June, with just a light
bandage covering his fetlock, we let Freester out in the grassy paddock to play. My heart was beating like a drum as he took those first steps. It was an enormous relief, and somewhat comical, to see him cantering around like a young foal trying to find his legs. Later that week the vet x-rayed his leg again and gave Freester the ALL CLEAR! What a great day that was! Over the next several weeks, our lives began to hum
in the normal way again. Pete and I were thrilled to watch Freester grow up and become strong. Soon he began to show a light, airy movement and athleticism that were a joy to watch. Of course, we were a little prejudiced, but we thought he was the most beautiful colt
Warmbloods Today 39
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