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.