"Bess"
Bess is a Miniature Horse born
July 5, 2001. She was named Black Bess after the famous mare ridden
by Dick Turpin, the highwayman, which was a favorite story when I was a
child.
This may seem a strange
name to give a newborn filly who may never walk normally, let alone run!
You see, Bess was born with severely contracted tendons in her right hind
leg. It seemed that during her growth in the womb, her leg was jammed in
an awkward position, not allowing it to stretch out properly. This caused
her tendons to be too tight.
Bess and her dam had a
visit to the Vet when she was just hours old. Sadly, there was nothing
they could do for her. We wanted to try splints to gradually force her
leg so that she could eventually use her hoof. Both Vets who saw her thought
it was worth a try. Oxytet was mentioned but as it was not weight bearing,
it would not work. So, we headed home & did some experimenting
with splints.
One day, we had some
visitors show up to see our Miniature Horses. They had guests from
out of town and they thought it would be a nice outing. As luck would
have it, their guest is an equine massage therapist. She took the time
to show me the proper tendon massage to do on Bess. This really helped
her.
Two weeks later, a visiting Vet at the clinic was discussing with our Vet the use of Oxytet and the fact that we had some success in getting Bess’s leg stretched out quite a bit with the splints. We took her in for her IV treatments every five days. We saw fast results. With the splint, Bess could walk on the toe of her hoof. We were thrilled! But her little leg was so weak despite her frequent massages, that it seemed like a wet noodle with the splint removed.
From the moment Bess was born, we were battling with a sore on the front of her fetlock. I bought small childrens cotton socks to use as bandages inside her splint. This worked well, without a pressure point. It was hard getting it to heal with the splint on. So, I started to take the splint off for short periods to get her using her leg & for the sore to heal. Her leg got stronger and the sore healed up. But then she started getting more active & raced around the stall on three legs holding her leg up. The tendons started tightening up without the splint. But her lower tendons were too loose. I discovered that it just wasn’t comfortable for her to wear it & kept her leg well padded. I made various types of boots & shoes to try & get her to use her foot. Our farrier tried to help, but her hoof was too tiny. But he took special care to trim her hooves just right.
The cold weather hindered the steam effect of the neoprene support boot she wore & her long winter hair rubbed when it got damp, opening up her old sore. So, though this was a good idea for warm weather, it didn’t help in the cold. I clipped the hair off her leg & her sore healed quickly without the boot. I just padded her leg with a shipping boot. It helped for a while, but then she just started walking on the front of her fetlock. I think she just found it easier.
We took her in for xrays. There are four of her bad leg and one of her good leg. Unfortunately, the right hind leg is not good. The tight tendons caused her fetlock joint to dislocate and this resulted in wearing of the bones. Her xrays are posted on my website. The link is at the bottom of this page.
Meanwhile, from the day Bess was born, we tried to find help for her. I posted on the internet and people from all over the world offered suggestions & eventually, an equine surgeon from Oregon contacted me. There was hope that this Vet could consult with a local Vet and another temporary Vet. They hoped they could do surgery on her. Unfortunately, it was decided that the prognosis would not be good and the costs very high. They decided they could not do it at our clinic. So, I was pretty discouraged, but determined to keep Bess as comfortable as possible until the time that her leg gave her such pain that we would have to say goodbye.
I shed many a tear looking at her cheerful little face and knowing that nothing could be done for her. But always the nagging thought…wondering if some wonderful Vet with the experience would just show up. I just kept having this feeling that there would be help for little Bess.
Well, I took a train trip to visit my Mum. I was away a week and Ken and Brock looked after the critters. After my nice time with Mum, I came home ready to accept that Bess would remain as she is. Then… an e-mail arrived. Someone told me I should contact an equine leg specialist in Alberta. Well, I sent off an e-mail including the note which I had circulated looking for help for Bess.
I could hardly believe it! I received a prompt reply explaining the whole procedure of a surgery which would help Bess! This Veterinarian was well experienced in this type of operation. He had viewed the xrays which I had posted on my website. Because of the severity of the case, Bess would have to go to Alberta for her surgery and would need hospitalization for three weeks before we could pick her up. Well, I sure wish we could at least have this done closer to home!
But the biggest question of course, is “What is this going to cost?” Well, it will cost a lot. So, I was torn between excitement at the prospect of saving this dear little filly and in tears knowing we can’t afford the surgery.
So, now I am trying to think clearly and see if there is a way to raise the funds to save this filly. My first thought would be to give her to a loving home with people who would be able to pay for her surgery. But who? So, then I tried to think of ideas for fundraisers for her. I posted the Lil Beginnings Forum to get suggestions. There are so many wonderful people all trying to come up with ideas. I am starting with posting items for sale on the Lil Beginnings Auction.
Update, March 5, 2002
Thanks to so many people helping
Bess, we are starting on our goal to get Bess her surgery. Please check
her fundraiser
page to see our progress!
Please check our Thank
You page to see how so many people all over North America have come
together to help a little filly in need.
Update, March 7, 2002
Good News! Bess finally has her
appointment set for March 18 at the
Young Crawford Vet Clinic in
Alberta and then will have her surgery on March 19. She will be hospitalized
there, possibly for three weeks.
Update, March 14, 2002
Well, we are leaving for Alberta
on March 16. First, we will head to Claresholm with Tiki & Mistarea.
They are two Arabian girls going on lease to Pat & Terry Ismay. They
are good enough to help with our trip expenses.
Then we head back to Innisfail
to the Young Crawford Vet Clinic where Bess has her appointment on March
18. They will custom make a metal plate to go in her leg. Her surgery is
scheduled for March 19.
Though the policy is for
the clinic to be paid at the time of picking up the horse, when I explained
how everyone is trying so hard to help this little one, they decided to
be a little bit lenient & take a few payments if needed.
So, that is very nice. :o)
We have a downpayment
now, so we can get Bess's surgery done. But of course, I'll have to keep
working hard to raise the rest including the high travelling costs by the
time we go and pick her up.
Update March 21, 2002
We got Bess to the clinic
for her appointment with Dr Fitch on March 18.Everyone there was very kind
and we could tell we were leaving our little girl in good hands. It still
was hard leaving her so far away.
Dr Fitch took two x-rays
in addition to those we had taken with us from Lakeland Vet Clinic in 100
Mile House, B.C. He had them all lined up and matched different types
of metal plates to the pictures of Bess's leg. Even the smallest horse
style will not work as the staggered system for screws would not fit her
little bones. But there is a little more lightweight style which is what
is usually used on dogs which would suit her better.
The special hardware for
Bess's leg did not arrive there until March 20, so Bess's surgery was rescheduled
for today. We are anxiously waiting for news.
Update March 21, 2002
Good News! Bess has had
surgery and is awake and in a stall sporting a big cast. I wish I could
go and see her. She can't see out of the big Thoroughbred sized stall and
will be scared.
Her surgery went
well. Dr Fitch had quite a job as her problems were very severe. He had
to cut soft tissue at the back of her leg which doesn't normally have to
be done. With her leg not getting the proper use, already there was a lot
of fibrosis. But with the special plate and screws holding her fetlock
joint so it will fuse, Bess has her leg nice and straight for the first
time!
Dr Fitch was very nice
about explaining everything. It is quite an interesting procedure. Now,
we just keep fingers crossed and pray that Bess does not get infection.
I will call every few
days to see how she is doing. I hope she gets some visitors. Wendy, the
lady at the desk says she plans to bring her Grandchildren to visit.
Well, we can't thank each
and every one of you enough! Bess could never have had her surgery if it
wasn't for all of our kind hearted friends!
Update March 23, 2002
I am sad to say that Bess
passed away this morning. Dr Fitch phoned me first thing to tell me that
Bess had suddenly become ill. He had seen her just a few hours before and
she was just doing fine. He couldn't understand what had caused her to
fail so quickly. He called me again a few minutes later to say she was
gone. I know he feels as bady as we do. He worked very hard on her leg
so she could lead a happy normal life.
I don't regret having
tried. Bess was a cheerful little Miniature Horse and will remain in our
hearts forever.
Good
Bye Little Bess. Rest well.
July 5, 2001 - March 23, 2002
I am overwhelmed at everyone's thoughtful words and wonderful poems.
You have all shown such kindness from the moment I posted about
Bess
getting a chance for surgery. It started with finding ideas on
raising
the funds for her surgery. And then everyone just jumped in and
it just
seemed that everything would work out.
Her surgery was a success and Dr Gareth Fitch worked long
hours to fix
her leg just right. He was at the clinic in the night as a horse
had
coliced. While there, he spent time with Bess. She was eating her
alfalfa cubes & she looked really good. He took note how her
droppings
looked good as well.
Then, just a few hours later, he checked on her & found
her extremely
ill. He couldn't understand what happened. He called me again a
few
minutes later as she passed away. Dr Fitch was really disappointed.
I
know it must have been hard. This was an extremely difficult surgery
and
I'm sure he did a fine job on Bess's leg. He e-mailed the xrays
to me, and I have posted them on her website to show the way
he had
straightened her leg.
Dr Fitch did a post mortem to see what went wrong. Bess was
lost to
what used to be called Colitis X, a clostridium colitis which apparently
causes a toxicity to the system. It spread so rapidly that there
were no
signs of it.
He explained about stress causing lower resistance & the
fact she was
on antibiotics, etc. It was just one of those things. We can always
ask
ourselves what if.... But I feel sure that Dr Fitch did his very
best.
I know that Bess had worked her way into the hearts of everyone
at the
clinic. In the time we were there, not once could anyone walk by
without
patting or hugging her. Bess lived & died surrounded with love.
She was
a lucky filly. Just as we were so fortunate to have known her, though
for too short a time.
Thank you for sharing first our joy, and then our sadness.
You are all truly people we can be proud to call friends.
Sincerely,
Joanne & Ken Seabloom
Thank
you,
Joanne Seabloom
C-21 Fawn Creek Rd
RR#1, Lone Butte,
B.C., Canada V0K1X0
