Good news/bad news

Yesterday Rick examined Russell to see what damage he did during his Monday night escapade. The good news is that his healing suspensory ligament still looks good, so he didn't re-injure it. The bad news is that he fractured the left tuber coxae of his pelvis when he hit the tree, and not in the usual place one sees these types of injuries. Rick said the prognosis is usually good with sufficient stall rest, but Russell will undoubtedly be sore for awhile.

That summary did not prepare me for what I found this morning. Russell was standing in the corner of his stall, and didn't move when I served hay. He obviously wanted to eat, but when he thought about moving, the pain in his left hindquarter was clearly incapacitating. He had been standing there awhile, as evidenced by both stool and urine. I ran back to the house to report this to Rick, and he kicked himself for not giving Russell more banamine last night. I put hay on the stall floor in front of Russell along with a bucket of water, so he would have something in his stomach before I gave him a dose. Russell eagerly ate when he didn't have to move to do it, so that was one good thing. Rick came down and did a rectal exam just in case he had missed a central pelvic fracture the day before, but said everything seemed to be intact. Unfortunately, the exam was uncomfortable for Russell so he tried to move away, and nearly fell down in the process. He is not stable or comfortable standing or eliminating, cannot lie down, and is at risk of crashing and falling every time he tries to move. If he does fall down, I'm not sure we'll be able to get him back up. It is extremely upsetting to watch when he starts scrambling; I can only imagine how frightening it must be for him. We are trying to get the pain back under control, and pray he doesn't founder with the added strain to his other three feet.