Saving Rain

The following is written in the present tense as her recovery progressed.

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June 15, 2012

Ending week 3 of Rain's recovery.

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 Our Girl is Healing!

The vet checked her today and left Vetericyn Spray to treat the wound with following her daily hydrotherapy. I did some research and it's getting great reviews. It certainly seems to be working with her. The large chunk of loose flesh is starting the knit back to the leg. The color looks good and there is a minimum of proud flesh. There is no sign of infection at this point. She's starting to stand with that hoof flat most of the time now, and when she walks she will put a bit of weight on the leg, although with her toe of her hoof.  Her spirits remain high and she's starting to get a little atti-tudy with me, She is BORED!!! She's never been kept in a stall for this long. Hopefully by the end of week four I can start walking her around outside a bit.

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The standing flat footed is every encouraging and important. Although the xrays show minimal bone damage, we still can't know how the joint is going to flex. If she heals with the joint stiff but the hoof flat she can still support her weight. Should it heal still with the toe of the hoof pointed down that won't be the case and she will founder.

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Rain is now out of danger!

The end of week four- Her vet check surprised Dr. Lindsey Herzog on Monday. The wound was healing at an astonishing rate. The entire wound had closed on the side and tissue had filled in at the back of her fetlock covering the hole and the exposed cartilage. Dr. Herzog suggested upping her pain medication from 1.5 cc to 2 cc, discontinuing the hydrotherapy and only re-bandaging her leg every other day to allow the wound to scab over. She also suggested letting her out to graze a couple of hours a day and afterwards walking her, increasing the distance each day.

 Wednesday, Week Four

As you can see from the video, not only is she putting that hoof flat on the ground, she is actually shifting weight to it.This is what we've been waiting for, the passing of the last danger. Once she started putting weight on that hoof it relieves the stress on her other legs and lessons the danger of founder.

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Set Back!

Friday of week four- Rain is off her feed. She won't touch her feed and she spends all day standing at her stall window looking out. She won't interact with her companion Silk in the next stall. I called Dr. Herzog and got the possible explanation of stomach upset due to the increased pain reliever. Her suggestion was to reduce the dosage down to 1cc and watch her closely over the weekend, calling if she took a turn for the worse.

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Monday, Week Five

By Monday Rain was eating as much hay as I could put before her but she still wouldn't eat her feed. She would graze and by Wednesday she was back on her feed. We're now doing a delicate balancing act- too much pain medication she won't eat, not enough she won't put weight on that hoof. It's literally a matter of a slight difference in the turn of the dosage dial on her medication dispenser.

She is starting to show stress on the good back leg. Dr. recommended dropping her weigh significantly to reduce stress, linament massages and wrapping the good leg with half of a nerf ball on the bottom of the hoof.

July 14- Week Six

 She's HEALING!!!

Look at the difference!!!

After her bad weekend she's made an astounding turn for the better. Dr. Herzog attached a nerf ball to the bottom of the good hoof to take the pressure off and support the frog. Rain is now standing with her weight distributed equally on both legs. When I take her out to graze she walks with only a barely discernible limp. Her appetite is back and we're increasing her feed, she has gotten a little too thin for me and I think it will give her a bit more energy. She still requires her pain medication and her foot re-bandaged every other day. When her pain medication starts to wear off she will go back to shifting her weight from foot to foot. Hopefully next week the rain will stop and it will dry up. When it does I'll let her spend the day outside in the paddock. That will give her more exercise on that hoof and promote healing.

The wound had closed completely and started to scab over on the side. In the back it's not only closed but the hair is starting to grow back.

Here's what we've been waiting for!

Week Six- Rain is walking with only a very slight limp. This video was taken at the end of the day, after her pain medication had worn off so it shows her progress unmasked by medication. It also shows that she's becoming less dependent on it.

August 13

Rain's injured foot seems to be almost healed. Dr. Herzog checked on her today. She has been favoring her other leg for the past two days. Apparently this was due to stiffening from being stall bound. After walking for a while her gait improved. The vet's suggestion was to have her hooves trimmed and make sure that she gets walked daily. She is no longer being bandaged and she is now off the pain medication.

September 5

I can't thank all of you who keep up with this page enough for all of your donations, advice, prayers and encouragement. I couldn't have done it without you.

November 1, 2012

Ok, everyone start praying for her again. She healed and that was a minor miracle. All that was left was one little scabbed over area about a half inch tall and an inch and a half long. She was bearing her weight equally on all four legs and walking with no sign of a limp. THEN, she started chewing at the wound. Now it's a large area that covers the outside of her hoof and goes around to the back. It's not deep but she's eaten all the hide off of it. I've tried everything to stop her and nothing has worked. The best we can figure is that some of the severed nerves are tingling and it bothers her. There is no fix for that. She has started favoring the wounded leg again. The farrier came out yesterday and reported that while the injured hoof looked healthy, the other back leg showed some signs of laminitus.

Dr. Herzog is coming out this morning and we are going to pack the wound with
a powered antibiotic and put a cast on that leg to stop the chewing. We will also x-ray the other leg to check the level of laminitus. The cast will stay on for 10 days and then be removed. If it is healing we'll re-cast it and try it another 10 days. Our hope is that it will heal under the cast and that she will become accustomed to whatever is bothering her under the skin and learn to live with it.

If this doesn't work, founder is definitely a prospect.  It would be a shame to have come this far and still lose her. Fortunately Rowdy's Rascals is in our busiest season so the costs won't be so hard to cover. Each casting is $200+ and if the first one works we will probably need to do it 3 times

November 2

Well, the xrays looked better than we expected. The bones in the "good" hoof were rotated a bit but not too much. I was really concerned about that one because the hoof has grown really strangely and part of it looks like it's just hanging there. It is, but there is a healthy hoof under it so when the monster hoof growth falls off there is a good one under it. It scared the hell out of the farrier the other day when I had him trim her prior to casting.

The damaged hoof alignment was nearly perfect but there is arthritic growth
in two places, which may account for the pain causing her to chew it. According to
Dr. Hertzog, keeping it casted will cause the bones to fuse, giving her a reduced range
of motion but all the stability she needs to support herself and still walk with no problems and little to no pain. The result would be no more riding for Rain, but she would be able
to bear a foal, and she would make a wonderful mommy. Plus it would be a sin not to
pass along her incredible bloodline.

She was such a good girl during the process. We cross tied her and Lindsey sedated her.
I stood at her head reassuring her, telling her she was a good girl and how pretty she was and stroking her in all of her favorite places. She kept her head resting on my arm the entire time. I also sprang for a rubber boot which will help keep the cast dry and add another layer of protection from her chewing. We have her on bute again.

Hopefully she will either leave the cast alone or be unable to break it. She's gaining her weight back, although slowly. We have her on Strategy Healthy Edge which is both high fat, high calorie and high protein. It costs almost double what she was on but she hates it. Some days I'll get to the stable and it's all gone, others she still has half of it left. Even eating less she's gaining faster on the Healthy Edge. Maybe she will develop a taste for it. She chews Bitter Apple Spray, that horrible tasting No-Chew Spray and cayenne pepper,
so she should be able to cultivate a taste for her feed as well.

May 1, 2013
11 months from her accident we can call her recovered. We put a grazing muzzle on her to keep her from chewing the wound. At first she used the muzzle to scratch at it but eventually gave up on it. Two weeks ago I arrived to feed her and she had managed to get it off but she had not chewed at her hoof. Whatever was bothering her seems to have either gone away or she has adjusted to it.

July 10, 2013
Rain  no longer wears her grazing muzzle. She walks and runs with no discernible limp. The injured hoof has an odd shape but the farrier says that it's to be expected. After her trim next week he is going to shoe that hoof and start working on getting it to grow closer to normal. Dr. Herzog is coming out July 27th to do a final set of xrays on both rear hooves and make the final determination as to whether she can be ridden again, is capable of carrying a foal, of if she is going to be simply a beautiful pasture ornament.


July 27, 2013
Ok, the xrays have been taken and the final determination has been made. Her wound
has completely healed, however there is some jagged bone growth. The determination has been made that she should have no problem carrying a foal, however the jagged bone growth would cause her pain if she were ridden, and possible damage tendons and cartiledge  damage

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The Future

Since Rain has been  judged to be capable of carrying a foal, arrangements have been
made to breed her to Jame Layton's premier stallion, Dakota's Wise Guy,
 around the first of the year. Wise Guy has a bloodline comparable to Rain's stellar pedigree and James Layton is the breeder who produced Rain

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Without those who have offered the above, Rain would not have survived. Now she is being prepared to carry and give birth to a foal. If it had not been for the initial encouragement from Tamara Neal at a time when I had given up all hope Rain would not be with us now. Her first filly will be named "Tamara's Hope"

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When I  picked her up from the first vet he was sending her home to be destroyed. 
He refused to give me any hope for her. When I looked at his final bill, at the bottom was
a reminder that she needed her coggins and vaccinations in August. I realize that this was just a part of their billing program but it stung just the same.

He's been kept in the dark since she left his facility. As far as he knows she is, as he suggested, already in the ground. Thanks to allthe help and encouragement, and Dr. Herzog's willingness to "think outside the box," I plan to walk her into his office in
August and get that coggins and those vaccinations!!!

Rain waiting for her breakfast June 15th

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S a GIRL!!!

On April 8, 2015 rain gave birth to a beautiful little filly

Meet Tamara's Ivory Hope

Hope is named after Tamara Neal, the lady who gave me the hope to press on once all the doctors
had basically given Rain a death sentence. Rain had an easy deliver with no complications and the baby is perfect.

Hope is a Golden Cream Champagne. She has blue eyes, white mane and tail, a star, one stocking and three socks.

We could not have asked for a more perfect baby