The Ending

It has taken me a few months to be able to post this but Sora has found a new home. I truly thought that she would be with me forever and it is so incredibly heart breaking going out to see the horses and not having her there waiting for me but even now I feel like I made the right decision.

I had given her a lot. She was rehabbed first from the abuse that she had suffered and then from the injury at the beginning of the year. She was almost completely sound and the vet felt that she was going to make a full or almost full recovery. The decision to give her back to the woman I bought her from, not the one who had abused her, was a very difficult one and it was made for several reasons.

However, with all that I gave her she gave me so much more. She taught me how to ask instead of always tell, she taught me how to handle a hot blooded horse, and how to lower my energy and really listen to those around me. I am an entirely different person than I was before I met Sora both around horses and in my day to day life and I will always remember and be incredibly thankful to her for that.

And it will always hurt.

This will be the last post in this blog. It will stay up so that I can share with others what an incredible being Sora was to work with. I am continuing on my journey with horses and after the learning detour that Sora led me on I am going back to work on achieving the goals I had set for myself when I first started riding dressage. I am making an entirely new blog separated from this one to journal my progress and I hope you all check in at some point and meet the new girls in my life :)

http://kataidressage.blogspot.com/?m=1

Thank you Sora for everything you have selflessly given to me an I am so glad you are happy in your new life.

The Girls Meet

This was the second time they met through the door to Sora's stall because the first time I didn't want to be holding a camera in case something went wrong. As you can see though they are already bored with each other.

I have to admit I welled up a bit at the two of them meeting and how happy Sora seemed to get to touch another horse after a month of basically being by herself. The full story of why they are both at my roomate's stable will be posted on my other blog.
http://sorasoul-warpony.blogspot.com/?m=1

Tootsies

Sora was very demanding this morning when I went to feed and actually ignored her grain when I first gave it to her. With any other horse I would worry but I knew that Sora just wanted to play. In the small area of the stall I don't want to get her moving much so I decided to do more work on her feet.

They are just starting to look a bit dodgy from being in the stall and unable to move around much so I'm bringing out the apple cider vinegar :) I always smile because it makes her wrinkle her nose.

Pictures will follow :)

Stall Bound

Sora is continuing to do really well in her stall. She now has a hay net with small holes to keep her busy. She also has a salt block hanging so she has to chase it around :)

She is still positive and happy and is becoming more calm with all of the things going on in the barn.

These pictures of her hips show the current level of atrophy in the left one which is actually much better than it could be according to the vet.

More Hope

Sora is doing really well! For anyone wondering if she is in pain she sure doesn't appear to be. I will be taking a video of her in her new stall home to show how good she looks and how happy she's been. It sure is hard to believe she has a broken bone!

I also have other good news! After looking for the past year apparently the powers that be decided now was the time because I finally found my pony!!!! You will be able to read about our adventures on my new blog War Pony

http://sorasoul-warpony.blogspot.com/?m=1

I will continue to update this blog of course and will keep it up to date with Sora's recovery.

Saddness and Hope

On Wednesday we trailered Sora to the Stillwater Equine vet for x-rays. I was terrified so it was a good thing I didn't drive. Sora was excellent for the vet but nervous and once Ellie, the one who WAS driving, explained to them that she had been abused things went even better.

The news was bad, she appears to have broken a bone in her hip when she fell. There is no way to tell without bringing her to the U of M hospital and based on the quote from this vet that is something I can't afford at this point. Dr John also said that even if they did an x-ray at the UofM there's a 90% chance the treatment would be the exact same one he's giving me now. The most painful part is that he said her healthy lifespan is probably 12-15 years which only gives me 6-9 more years with my girl.

She will be on strict stall rest for the next two months with no hand walking. At the end of the two months he will reevaluate and she may be able to go out in an extremely small paddock or at least hand walked a bit.

This diagnosis hurts so much it is hard to explain. Lets just say it's a good thing I didn't go back to work after her vet appointment.

The best news out of all of this is that she will be moved to the place where I am living! Lisa has an empty stall while Ellie doesn't have more than a shelter at this point. Ellie was extremely kind and we were trying to figure out a place to keep her there but this will be easier and it will mean that I can go out at all times of the day to check on her and clean her stall. We are moving her today and I am most worried about how she will handle the stall. I'm sure she will be nervous when we first put her in but I'm sure she will adjust and figure it out.

She will be in good company too. Lisa has two other recovering Thoroughbreds in stalls both of which have been on stall rest for the past 3-5 months. Even better, one is making a full recovery when originally the vet thought that she may need to be put down.

I have always been stubborn and never more so than when I'm told something can't be done or can't be fixed. So now I'm stubbornly positive that she will recover fully. I don't need to be able to ride her I really, really just want her to live at least until her 20s sound, happy, healthy and wanting to play and I'm sure it will happen because she is my miracle girl.

Bad News

The vet was out again and said it was time to bring Sora in for x-rays. I have a Wednesday appointment at the Stillwater Equine clinic. I'm quite stressed about the appointment and hope I can make it through the weekend.