Spiders

I hope I did not jinx Houston by posting about his previous injury last week.  Friday when I arrived at the barn after work I found my sweet horse with a hock 3 times its normal size and could barely walk.

We did the usual treatment: cold hose, stable bandage, bute and phone call to the vet.  The vet couldn't come out until the next morning so Houston spent a nice relaxing night in his stall with the fan blowing on him. 

5 x-rays & 4 hours later Houston was diagnosed with a spider bite.  Thank goodness for no joint activity or poison.  Just antibiotics and some rest.  Hopefully in 5 days he will be back to normal.  In the mean time I will be de-cob webbing his entire living space in the stable.

Injured

Shortly after beginning our Training Level season I decided it might be a good idea as Houston grew older and started to show more stiffness to have his hocks injected.  Boy was that a BAD idea.  Houston felt so wonderful that he went out into the pasture the next day and pulled his stifle.  He was completely lame.

After calling the vet and having x-rays, tests and tons of stall rest I was told he probably wouldn't recover.  That was a challenge to me as an owner.  I did EVERYTHING to a T that I was ordered to do by the vet.  Houston was hand walked, stalled and treated like a king.

We had monthly vet checks and after 4 months the vet looked at me in amazement and said "he's better, and I didn't think it would happen".  I grinned from ear-to-ear.  Houston and I went from Training Level eventing to walking in the arena mounted for 10 minutes a day, 20 minutes a day, trotting in straight lines only for half the arena for MONTHS to build back all the muscle we had lost very slowly.

During Houston's unfortunate injury he managed to become a cover horse for a local magazine.  This picture was taken while waiting for our monthly vet visit.