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Let's Deck the Stalls with Boughs of Plenty for 2018
31 days to 2018, YOUR donation means more horses can be helped!
On the 3rd Day, there was Blue!
31 days to 2018, YOUR donation means more horses can be helped!
On the 3rd Day, there was Blue!
Blue is a young mustang gelding out of Nevada who came to AAE at the beginning of the year after being asked for assistance by Virginia Range Wild Horse Sanctuary and Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund. He had been carrying around a large mass of proud flesh (granulation tissue) over his rear fetlock/pastern area for some time. He was not halterable when he arrived at AAE, and we knew we had a big job ahead in helping Blue.
Before we could evaluate the mass, he had to be gentled, haltered, and his legs/hooves handleable. With a straightforward mustang, not a big deal, but Blue had some substantial fear/trust issues. Initial efforts with befriending and haltering him were lukewarm. Thanks to Dr. Stolba and Team LBEMC (throughout Blue's journey), we were successful enough to sedate him, radiograph the bony area beneath the mass and collect tissue samples for biopsy. We wanted to make sure there was not an underlying reason for the mass other than old injury before getting too deep into corrective measures if they would be for naught. It was not an easy feat. Even with sedation, he kicked quickly and with purpose.
Radiographs and biopsy showed no obvious issues, so the work continued. Weeks in, Blue seemed to have had a reaction to something and developed a mysterious condition that turned out to be a form of vasculitis. He developed sores/ulcers throughout his mouth. They were horribly painful. Though his history and symptoms didn't suggest, we had to quarantine him for testing for vesicular stomatitis. Thankfully, it was negative. We scaled back our efforts to reduce his stress and allow him to heal. But, the mass was growing.
After several weeks, he improved, and we resumed course. He would take few steps forward, then a few steps back. Finally, after many weeks with nominal results, we had a marathon day. We worked until we broke through. The next day, our learning curve was much shorter, and the next and the next, until finally, we could halter, touch all over, and pick up his left hind and handle it all over. We tested with bandaging materials and wrapped it up, and he was a gem!
We scheduled surgery, and in August, he lost nearly seven pounds in a matter of minutes. The mass looked like a big brain, and it weighed in at nearly seven pounds. Imagine what that must have felt like with every move. Needless to say, it was done!
To see more:
"Graphic Photos"
However, the mouth lesions returned, and more and worse this time. They were on his body, around his anus, and on his sheath. Poor guy, these things were awful, and they appeared to be an autoimmune issue. At one point, we questioned his prognosis and quality of life. Before jumping to conclusions, we biopsied the tissue and a couple rounds later, ended with the vasculitis diagnosis. The best thing was we changed up his meds, and the sores began to heal.
In the meantime, the next test came when it was time to change his first bandage. With a bit of sedation, it went fairly smooth, but cleaning the lesion was a little challenging. But, wow, it looked amazing! Such a tremendous improvement. It was like a victory in and of itself, even though not healed.
After several bandage changes, Blue was getting resentful of the needle for sedation, so we tried without. It went well with cleaning a few times, but oddly, after a few times, he didn't like it when placing the medicated bandage over the lesion. He stomped it off, over and over. It was a little intimidating, but really, he was only trying to get the "big white bug" off his leg. He didn't kick out or kick at. His stomp was purposeful in knocking the bandage off his leg. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the bandage on so we had to go back to sedation for a bit. Eventually, we could remove the bandage, clean the lesion, and replace the bandage without issue, without sedation, thankfully.
Today, the lesion has almost healed, but there's a small area where the granulation tissue is persisting. Next week, Dr. Stolba will be back, and we'll be trimming it off. All in all, Blue has made tremendous progress. The lesion should be healed soon, and Blue can finally be a horse. He deserves it. He's faced so many challenges. He's a fighter, and he continues to battle on! Love this boy!
Blue still has concerns when approached for haltering. He really prefers to be in the stall when haltered, so now he practically heads to the stall on his own, then waits. Once haltered, he stands quietly for the routine, and it seems he's truly beginning to enjoy the interaction. In time, when there's no more strings, he'll cross over entirely. "Til then, we'll keep on keepin' on until he's healed.
We don't get over trust issues just because someone tells us we should. Trust is earned. For Blue, it's the same. We take baby steps, and we must earn it. In time, we will
One more thing, Blue LOVES carrots....carrots and apples. They became the secret ingredient in his medicine. Early on, he wouldn't eat anything, only alfalfa, no pellets, no grain, nothing. When we discovered how much he liked carrots, it was a new day. When there was a carrot, nothing else mattered. To say he is food motivated is an understatement. He loves feeding time. He really enjoys greeting volunteers as they walk down the drive or come to his stall. His favorite is meeting volunteers at the gate at feeding time.
Before coming to AAE, Blue's future looked grim to none. None of the other rescues or sanctuaries that were contacted were willing to help him. He sat, and he waited. The "E" word was discussed several times. AAE set out to give this gorgeous boy the best future possible. He's not healed yet, but his future is looking better and better thanks to everyone that has supported his journey to healing.
Blue's story is not an uncommon story in terms of the hurdles we cross with any intake with special needs. We have unexpected bumps in the road that required more than anticipated. For Blue, it was the bouts of vasculitis. For some, it's colic; for others, abscesses, lacerations from tree branches or scuffles with others. We can't plan for these things, but need the resources to handle them when confronted. We are grateful to have your support now and throughout the year to assure we can manage most any unexpected issue along the way.
If you would like to help more horses get the help they need, please donate here.
Before we could evaluate the mass, he had to be gentled, haltered, and his legs/hooves handleable. With a straightforward mustang, not a big deal, but Blue had some substantial fear/trust issues. Initial efforts with befriending and haltering him were lukewarm. Thanks to Dr. Stolba and Team LBEMC (throughout Blue's journey), we were successful enough to sedate him, radiograph the bony area beneath the mass and collect tissue samples for biopsy. We wanted to make sure there was not an underlying reason for the mass other than old injury before getting too deep into corrective measures if they would be for naught. It was not an easy feat. Even with sedation, he kicked quickly and with purpose.
Radiographs and biopsy showed no obvious issues, so the work continued. Weeks in, Blue seemed to have had a reaction to something and developed a mysterious condition that turned out to be a form of vasculitis. He developed sores/ulcers throughout his mouth. They were horribly painful. Though his history and symptoms didn't suggest, we had to quarantine him for testing for vesicular stomatitis. Thankfully, it was negative. We scaled back our efforts to reduce his stress and allow him to heal. But, the mass was growing.
After several weeks, he improved, and we resumed course. He would take few steps forward, then a few steps back. Finally, after many weeks with nominal results, we had a marathon day. We worked until we broke through. The next day, our learning curve was much shorter, and the next and the next, until finally, we could halter, touch all over, and pick up his left hind and handle it all over. We tested with bandaging materials and wrapped it up, and he was a gem!
We scheduled surgery, and in August, he lost nearly seven pounds in a matter of minutes. The mass looked like a big brain, and it weighed in at nearly seven pounds. Imagine what that must have felt like with every move. Needless to say, it was done!
To see more:
"Graphic Photos"
However, the mouth lesions returned, and more and worse this time. They were on his body, around his anus, and on his sheath. Poor guy, these things were awful, and they appeared to be an autoimmune issue. At one point, we questioned his prognosis and quality of life. Before jumping to conclusions, we biopsied the tissue and a couple rounds later, ended with the vasculitis diagnosis. The best thing was we changed up his meds, and the sores began to heal.
In the meantime, the next test came when it was time to change his first bandage. With a bit of sedation, it went fairly smooth, but cleaning the lesion was a little challenging. But, wow, it looked amazing! Such a tremendous improvement. It was like a victory in and of itself, even though not healed.
After several bandage changes, Blue was getting resentful of the needle for sedation, so we tried without. It went well with cleaning a few times, but oddly, after a few times, he didn't like it when placing the medicated bandage over the lesion. He stomped it off, over and over. It was a little intimidating, but really, he was only trying to get the "big white bug" off his leg. He didn't kick out or kick at. His stomp was purposeful in knocking the bandage off his leg. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the bandage on so we had to go back to sedation for a bit. Eventually, we could remove the bandage, clean the lesion, and replace the bandage without issue, without sedation, thankfully.
Today, the lesion has almost healed, but there's a small area where the granulation tissue is persisting. Next week, Dr. Stolba will be back, and we'll be trimming it off. All in all, Blue has made tremendous progress. The lesion should be healed soon, and Blue can finally be a horse. He deserves it. He's faced so many challenges. He's a fighter, and he continues to battle on! Love this boy!
Blue still has concerns when approached for haltering. He really prefers to be in the stall when haltered, so now he practically heads to the stall on his own, then waits. Once haltered, he stands quietly for the routine, and it seems he's truly beginning to enjoy the interaction. In time, when there's no more strings, he'll cross over entirely. "Til then, we'll keep on keepin' on until he's healed.
We don't get over trust issues just because someone tells us we should. Trust is earned. For Blue, it's the same. We take baby steps, and we must earn it. In time, we will
One more thing, Blue LOVES carrots....carrots and apples. They became the secret ingredient in his medicine. Early on, he wouldn't eat anything, only alfalfa, no pellets, no grain, nothing. When we discovered how much he liked carrots, it was a new day. When there was a carrot, nothing else mattered. To say he is food motivated is an understatement. He loves feeding time. He really enjoys greeting volunteers as they walk down the drive or come to his stall. His favorite is meeting volunteers at the gate at feeding time.
Before coming to AAE, Blue's future looked grim to none. None of the other rescues or sanctuaries that were contacted were willing to help him. He sat, and he waited. The "E" word was discussed several times. AAE set out to give this gorgeous boy the best future possible. He's not healed yet, but his future is looking better and better thanks to everyone that has supported his journey to healing.
Blue's story is not an uncommon story in terms of the hurdles we cross with any intake with special needs. We have unexpected bumps in the road that required more than anticipated. For Blue, it was the bouts of vasculitis. For some, it's colic; for others, abscesses, lacerations from tree branches or scuffles with others. We can't plan for these things, but need the resources to handle them when confronted. We are grateful to have your support now and throughout the year to assure we can manage most any unexpected issue along the way.
If you would like to help more horses get the help they need, please donate here.
