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[RC] RC: An endurance day - DESERTRYDR1

Today was a bit out of the ordinary.  I took off from work at noon to run my 
horse to a vet about 50 miles away that could ultrasound her suspected 
suspensory tear.  Turns out that Yes, it is torn, and NO, I will not be doing 
any rides this year.  He said it is a moderate tear, definitely needs time 
off, but wasn't REALLY bad.  She is hardly lame at all.  Now the swelling and 
the heat are mostly gone, in fact, he didn't see much during the exam until 
he flexed her leg at the knee and she definitely trotted off lame.  So he 
ultrasounded, and let me tell you, reading US is a skill that must really 
take a lot of practice!  He explained everything to me as he went along, and 
after he told me what he saw, I could see it, but otherwise, it looked like 
grey lines and blobs, just different shades of grey.  

Bad news is he figures 60 days in a stall, another US, then if everything 
looks good at that point, 60 days in a small paddock, then 60 days on 
turnout.  Then after that, I can start her back under saddle at a walk.  
About what I expected, and I definitely plan to take it SSSLLLOOOWWWW.  My 
friend's mare had a similar injury, and her vet wasn't very specific about a 
rehab program, the mare just never seems like she's completely right.  I 
learned that it's really important to pay attention to heat and swelling, 
even if the horse doesn't look too lame.  And demand an US if there's any 
chance a tendon or ligament was injured.  There's no way a vet can accurately 
assess the damage without it.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sent me words of 
encouragement and advice.  I got some great replies, and am very hopeful 
about my mare's endurance future.  

And then on a great note!  Before my mare got injured, I was looking for a 
junior to condition with and take to rides.  I asked the gal I board with if 
she would mention it to her 4H group.  She said "Why don't you advertise 
yourself at our next meeting"  and convinced me to give a talk about 
endurance riding at the next 4H meeting, which was tonight.  The kids really 
seemed to enjoy talking about it, I took some stuff off Endurance Net, some 
of my ride T-shirts, and a couple of Endurance News and Trail Blazers for 
them to look at.  Even some of the Moms showed an interest.  Don't know if I 
managed to recruit anybody, but it was fun, and I think the kids learned 
something.  I've also been (maybe) invited to talk to a Pony Club group.  The 
biggest problem with endurance (in my area at least) is that if you don't 
know someone who's doing rides, there's no way to even find out where rides 
are at or how to get started.  jeri

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