08/01/2022
Like many, we’re so glad to finally close the door on 2021, and just lucky that this guy is coming into 2022 with us.
Heres the final chapter, for those that have followed along on Arsons story.
Arson had a hell of a year fighting a crazy paddock injury from September 2020 - that despite hundreds of X-rays and scans from some of the best vets in the country, we could never get to the bottom of why a trauma on his chest would never quite heal fully.
Many months and 1000s of kms back and forth, our vets talking with vets from all over, plus quite a few smaller surgeries looking for any small bone fragments, he went under for his final and biggest surgery on the 31st August 2021.
Our vet ended up elbow deep in his chest for over 3 hours, and at times milimeters from major arteries, lungs, and his heart - and found broken bones that had chipped off his sternum.
One thing this horse is, is tough. He still managed to as a 4yo, win the ABHA Callide Valley Runner Up Futurity Horse from only competing at very few events and he won everyone of them … prior to us working out what he’d actually done.
However, once the surgery was over was when Arson’s biggest battle began in recovery.
Over 12 months of antibiotics, smaller surgeries, plus the final one being on his back for so long, his kidneys just couldn’t take it any longer, and started failing.
10 days he spent under 24hr surveillance - at times vets/nurses sitting in his stable with him for hours monitoring him.
Blood samples and urine samples daily - multiple times a day, hooked up to IV fluids, and hesitantly more antibiotics.
To say things were touch and go, is underestimating it, but we’re so thankful he’s a fighter.
11th September he got to come home, not out of the woods completely, but we all agreed it was time.
I don’t think we slept that weekend.
Here’s a snippet of the last couple months - fully healed, building his weight and muscle back up, gaining his strength back and eating his weight in food daily 🤭
When I say he’s a true and honest credit to himself - I mean that with every ounce of the word.
In 2022 we will look to open his breedings up to a small number of outside mares - stay tuned for that next breeding season! *AI only.*
