Sophie Anne's Injuries, Recovery, and Progress Before

Before the winter storm and melting she had started to lunge off lead relatively well and had been doing well on moving her hind end away from me from several different cues.

Sunday, February 6: I went out to put on her newly washed and dried halter. She was running in the mud acting all excited and crazy, as young horses are known to do. She was running along the fence line and went to buck, she slipped, rolled, and hit her should. When she stood up she was dragging her right front. I left her halter where I stood and caught her. I was delirious and hysterical, I was terrified that she wasn't going to make it through the night. I loved on her for awhile, picked up her leg flexed every which way except for forward, everything worked well, she had a large amount of swlling on her shoulder, I went inside after that. I made some calls one to my mother another to my brother, they both helped to calm me down. Then I began researching; I couldn't find much.

Monday, February 7: Made a lot of calls and weighed out our options. Had our local vet with 40 years experience come out and take a look at her. He prescribed dexamethazone and bute, one for swelling and pain the other just for swelling. He said that he couldn't feel anything under the swelling and couldn't tell for sure if she had a fractured humerus, but he said that it was very likely and then he said she had radial paralysis.

I did my research and found that she had maybe a 40% chance of healing with conservative methods, in other words without surgery as surgery has yet to be as successful. All of the symptoms fit her description, in-ability to move her shoulder or elbow hence radial paralysis which is actually uncommon even with the fractured humerus, and her leg was carried -if one could call it that- in a classic dropped elbow/shoulder position.

Every time I went out to see her I loved on her and pulled her leg into position so she could rest -moving around on three legs is hard work-. After she got her first dose of medication she got really tired, she laid down for more than an hour. I went out to check on her every 10 minutes for an hour and a half, I couldn't stand to let her lay there any longer despite reassurances from the vet. I rocked her up, the only problem, she put her good leg on my boot and got up. It hurt, but that's why you where boots around horses.

I fed both f my horses on two pallets stacked on top of one another to raise her hay.

Tuesday, February 8: I went out in the morning medicated her and then notices that they were out of date.

Her gate changed from gathering her back legs and then hopping to smaller hops with less gathering and more of an angle to reposition her bad leg underneath her. The swelling didn't lower significantly, so I iced it with a cold wash rag for as long as she'd let me.

I exchanged her medication for new up to date tubes. I did not re-dose her, although I had thought about it the vet said not to. She hoped faster than she had yesterday and she kept her up beat attitude.

I medicated her with her up to date medication that night and let her sleep laying down despite my worries.

Wednesday, February 9: She kept her gate this morning, the swelling went down a little bit. I fed them, flexed her leg and gently massage her shoulder. I loved on her on and off throughout the morning until I had to go to school.

When I got home she was leaning on it rocking side to side so that she could see me around the tree she was so diligently debarking. I checked out her shoulder, less swelling, and she was cocking/relaxing her back left.

I asked her to hand me her hoof and she moved her leg forward so, screw Radial Paralysis! She can move! I'm so excited and she's been using it more when she walks. I doubt it's even fractured.

So I guess I've caught everyone up on her injury and recovery. I hope you all enjoyed and learned from my post. I love my little hobble horse and I will be there for her till her heart stops beating.