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Wee Gee
(Wee Dee Gee)
18-year old Quarter
Horse, took 1st at the World in Western Pleasure, now
a semi-retired pleasure horse.
Diagnosis:
Even coffin bone rotation in both front.
Date 10-23-93
Date 10-23-93
Date 5-26-98
Date 8-28-98
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Wee Gee's Story
WeeGee (pronounced like the "Ouija"
of Ouija Board) is an eighteen-year old Quarter Horse
who is now used for part-time pleasure riding. She had
been overridden on the show circuit, turned out to pasture
for several years, and finally came to her current family
in October 1993. WeeGee is a horse with perfect manners
and perfect temperament, a real class act.
She foundered in May 1998, at the
end of the El Nino winter. When both coffin bones rotated
in the front, a few days after the initial founder,
we nearly lost her. We spent night after night in her
stall, timing her stance and trying to make her comfortable.
Finally, despite large doses of Bute, she was in such
extreme pain that she could not stand on the diagonal
more than 2 seconds. She was emotionally distraught,
and we knew she was within hours of being put down.
We initiated an unconventional shoeing
technique, prescribed medication, twice daily therapies,
and adaptogen
therapy to help her cope with the stress. This
was a desperate last resort, and, happily it worked!
We started riding her safely in September, 4 months
later.
October 1993: WeeGee was vetted
and pronounced perfect in the legs and hooves. The vet
said that she was a thirteen-year old who had the legs
and hooves of a five-year old!
January 1997: WeeGee began
to get lame. This condition worsened over the next five
months.
Spring 1997: Shoeing was changed
several times, trying to give her relief but without
success.
May 1997: She could hardly
walk in the front, and as a result her hind end was
nearly frozen from taking the brunt of her weight. We
began stressline therapy, which gave her temporary muscular
relief. The vet said she walked like she was stone bruised.
Honey-combed pads were applied to her shoes, which gave
her some relief, and she was moved to another facility.
June - August 1997: She was
turned out all day, every day, and the walking seemed
to relieve her lameness. By August she appeared to be
normal, and the honeycombed pads were dropped.
May 18, 1998: After a long,
cold El Nino winter, WeeGee foundered. She was found
leaning against the stall wall in order to stand at
5pm. She was in a complete panic emotionally, as well.
Shoes were removed, cotton was applied to the front
hooves and she was put on a medication program. She
appeared to be holding her own or improving.
May 26, 1998: It was clear
that her condition was unraveling, and she couldn’t
tolerate the pain despite all the bute she was receiving.
Lilly pads increased her pain, and X-rays showed an
even coffin bone rotation on both front hooves. As a
last resort, we combined a prescription drug program
and adaptogen
therapy to help her cope with stress, a therapeutic
shoe and a very meticulous care program.
May 27, 1998: She underwent
care for coffin bone rotation and abscessing twice daily,
along with the specific medication program. She was
walked the morning and evening after the shoes were
applied, and the distance was increased daily. She was
under veterinary supervision throughout this process.
June 13, 1998: WeeGee appeared
stable enough to be trailered to a new facility where
she would be on the flat with a large corral to herself.
She was put on grass hay and red wheat bran with nutritional
supplements in addition to her medications. The care
for the coffin bone rotation damage continued throughout
the summer. She was walked on trails twice daily wherever
there were soft surfaces.
Mid-September 1998: WeeGee
and her person began riding again! She still has very
deep rings halfway down her front hooves, which mark
where the rotation took place. Once those rings make
their way to the bottom of her hooves through normal
shoeings, her hooves will be completely healthy. Her
medication program has been scaled way back and she
continues on the nutritional supplements.
At JustRehab for Equines, we
help horses heal. Please contact us for more details
at info@justrehab.com
and remember to include your daytime and evening phone
numbers.
If you would like more information
on the specific products or services we use in our rehab
work, please see www.HorseShopOnline.com.
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