Warning: gross photos below.

I am probably going to lose track of which week I am on, but for this count, I know he has been home for a week.

When I took the bandages off on Friday afternoon, I got a little worried. The bandages smelled really bad, like they have every time, and the wound had changed in character. It was still as wide and as long, but it was starting to puff out. It also looked more like hamburger than the inside a chicken leg.

Gross images of raw meat:

While I am a very good cook and have a fair amount of experience with different cuts of meat, I do not want to see a wound on my horse that resembles something from the butcher's window. 

When Dr. Tolley examined the wound last Saturday, I was so shocked by the hugeness of the gash that I was more focused on the treatment protocol - how to apply the five bandage layers correctly, than on asking too many questions. The one thing that I always ask when dealing with an injury or illness, which I completely forgot to do, is what should I expect over the next two weeks?

Even though I knew Dr. Tolley wasn't going be in the office on Saturday, I called anyway knowing that I could at least speak to Dr. Gonzalez, BVH's newest doctor. Sure enough, the receptionist put him on the phone almost immediately. Fortunately, I had caught him just before he headed out for a field call.

I always take my horses in for treatment, but given the severity of this wound, I hadn't wanted to put Izzy back in the trailer, unwrapped, for yet another road trip. Instead, I opted to pay the ranch call and have Dr. Tolley bring the hospital to me. Because of that, Dr. Gonzalez hadn't yet seen the wound.

I described Izzy's injury and tried to explain what it now looked like. He assured me that it sounded as though it was healing well, but asked if I could send some photos for him to exam. Photos? Oh, yeah ... I have lots of photos.

I sent the following two photos (warning - grossness follows) and was relieved at his quick response.
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The therapy protocol recommend by Dr. Tolley was this:

• Soak a clean piece of the used cotton roll with Betadine and gently swab the wound to remove dirt or other debris that might have slipped in under the bandage.
• Cover a Telfa pad with a thick glob of Biozide gel. 
• Place the Telfa pad over the wound, pressing it gently so that it sticks.
• Wrap the wound once or twice with brown gauze to ensure the Telfa pad doesn't move.
• Wrap the leg snugly with a long sheet of cotton roll.
• Use an entire roll of brown gauze to apply a pressure bandage to the wound. I am to pull the gauze as tightly as I can while I wrap the wound. He said I'll know I am pulling hard enough when the gauze starts to sound as though it is ripping. I haven't been able to pull that hard yet.
• Making sure to leave some of the cotton roll sticking out of the top and bottom of the wrap, I am to finish off the wrap with a roll of Vet Wrap (I actually use a cheaper brand).

When I am finished it looks like this.

We have our first follow-up appointment on Saturday where Dr. Tolley will probably need to debride the wound. Proud flesh will likely become an issue. At the appointment, he will decide whether to change out the Biozide gel for something to inhibit the development of proud flesh. While he hasn't said so, I am assuming, and budgeting for, every other week visits for the month of February. With a wound this large and open, I would rather have someone with a degree monitor the condition of the wound rather than simply trust my own judgement.

I paid for Dr. Tolley's first visit over the phone, so I hadn't seen his write up. His medical notes finally arrived over the weekend, here is what it said:

I feel lucky to have access to such a knowledgeable and friendly staff of doctors. Not every vet hospital will put the vet on the phone and let you chat with him (or her). While Dr. Tolley is my regular vet, it's nice to have finally worked with Dr. Gonzalez. I would definitely feel comfortable having him treat my boys in the future.

If this past week is an indicator of how Izzy's training is going to progress, I am all smiles. This baby is sweet as pie. He doesn't know a whole lot, but he's trying very hard to figure out what is expected of him. He doesn't quite get that I am the ultimate boss, but it's not going to take him long to figure it out.

For the past week, we've followed a consistent routine of time in the cross ties (either for bandaging or grooming), a short walk around the barn area, and then time in the stall/paddock alone without Speedy close by. And while I adore a routine and know that my horses thrive on it, I have changed up the order of how those three things get done. Sometimes Speedy goes out first, sometimes Izzy. 

What I am asking of Izzy is always the same. I just want him to become familiar with the rhythm of our barn. He needs to be able to do the most basic of things: come to me when I go into his stall, stand patiently while I groom or doctor him, lift his feet when asked, follow quietly on the lead line, and be okay when one of his neighbors leaves the barn. 

To teach him that Speedy will come back, I've either ridden him in the arena or taken him for a walk out of sight. Each day, Izzy has gained confidence and was less stressed about Speedy leaving. On Thursday, I rode Speedy around the neighborhood. Izzy didn't even call to us until we had left the driveway. I watched my watch carefully; we were gone for eighteen minutes. Izzy called for us about every minute and a half, but the whinnies were more "whiny" in nature as opposed to full-bodied cries of panic.

When we got back, he was dry (no nervous sweat), and gave a sassy buck when Speedy was back in the barn. It was the first confident thing Izzy has done since his arrival. And it was definitely sassy. He shook his head and gave a little squeal at the same time. I was actually delighted at his show of spunk. It was quite a cute little demonstration, and he actually looked proud of himself.

Since he was feeling so cheeky, I decided that he was ready for a longer walk. I took him to the far end of the property, which is only about 100 yards away. This was the first time that he couldn't see the barn which made him nervous. 

We walked very slowly, partly because of his leg, but I also wanted him to really think about what was happening. He wanted to crowd me a bit or dart around me, but I insisted he stay behind me, or at least at my shoulder. By the second lap around, his confidence was beginning to grow. He began to lower his head to the ground looking for grass to eat, and his stride got a bit bigger.

On our last lap around, I stopped at my trailer and sat on the wheel well. Izzy's head went sky high and he was blowing rather noisily at being asked to stand so close to the trailer, but he accepted the situation and finally started looking at me and placed his face in my lap for a scratch. 

Izzy is definitely a thinker and a pleaser. He wants to do the right thing. When he doesn't know what that is, he tries his version of an answer (which so far hasn't been too off the mark). When I show him the right choice, he's quite happy to go along with my suggestion. I've yet to find a resistance. Well, not lowering that hind leg when I am wrapping it or picking out that hoof out might count as resisting, but I am cutting him some slack in that department. And even so, I am getting the leg wrapped quickly with very little fuss.

It occurred to me the other day that I already dig this horse. Being a bit "busted up" hasn't dampened my enthusiasm one bit. If anything, I think it has helped because it has forced us to have a much more intimate relationship than we might have had otherwise this early on.

I am really looking forward to this weekend. I'll finally get to visit with Izzy in the daylight, ride Speedy more thoroughly, and work with Austin as well. I went from two horses, to one horse, to three! I think my pot is filled to overflowing!

This was not my intended post for the day. I wanted to share how Izzy is settling in (really well) and how his first "lessons" are going. Instead I need to thank all of you for your overwhelming interest and support in Izzy's situation.

Boy, I know who to call if I need an attack dog! Some of you are tough ladies who can kick some butt! I also appreciated the many comments suggesting various recuperating therapies and remedies; I will certainly be talking those over with my vet. And some of you just sent much appreciated cyber hugs, thank you!

I think everyone wants to know how this happened. If I knew exactly, I would certainly have shared it, but since so many want to know I can only share what the trainer told me:

When I removed the bandage on Saturday, what I saw didn't look superficial, but by a veterinarian's point of view, maybe it was. 

This may very well be true. but the wound looks more like a leg that has been pulled across a board or bar of a fence. How he ripped the flesh straight down while swiping it sideways is a mystery to me, but there it is.

The trainer felt that Izzy's "extreme herd attachment" was the cause for all of this, and that could be true. When I bought him he was living in a huge (more than an acre) pasture by himself. He had neighboring horses in the pastures next to and across from his so he could always see horses, but this is the first time (in a awhile at least) he's had friends so close. Maybe in his anxiousness of being in a new place he used his neighbors as a security blanket and became distraught when they were removed. That's what the trainer thought anyway.

It's not what I've seen at home though ...

When I brought him home, he did attach himself to Speedy quite quickly, and started pacing and whirling and crying the second I took Speedy out of his stall. BUT. He remained aware of his surroundings and never bumped or touched a thing. Maybe he "taught" himself the need to be careful when he hurt himself. But then, when I separated the two horses I did it very carefully and for a short duration. On Saturday, I was able to ride, and while Izzy paced and called for a few minutes, he didn't lose his head.

I rode last night, and there were maybe two minutes of calling and a little bit of pacing. At one point during my ride, Izzy went inside and gave up on the whole thing. This is just after four days of living with me. The trainer had him six weeks.

Somewhere during the early part of adulthood, I learned a few things about happiness. Holding grudges just makes you unhappy. Being a victim makes you unhappy. Harboring anger and resentment make you unhappy, so does living in the past. While this is a terribly unjust situation (lots of lost time and money spent), I simply can't waste my time and energy being mad or trying to make her pay for it (literally or figuratively). I wouldn't win a court case, so there is no sense in revving up for that much stress. 

Instead, I immediately focused on the good that can come out of this. Izzy and I now have several months to build a relationship before we begin the under saddle work. He now has time to build some confidence, which he really does lack. I'll work on getting him better for farrier work, being tied alone, lowering his head for the bridle (he's perfect for the halter now), and so on.

There is one more part to this story which I hesitate to share because it does seem mean spirited on my part and it might betray a confidence, but here goes ...

When I first called the trainer, she mentioned that she had been interested in buying Izzy herself but had passed because she doesn't need a horse for herself. I later found out that she had inquired about the horse. The owner refused the trainer's offers, but it seems like the trainer persisted at least several times. The owner eventually quite responding.

What does all of this mean? I don't know. I just find the entire situation puzzling, disappointing, and on the edge of suspect. So that's it. From here on forward, I am working on building a confident, happy horse!

Thanks for following our journey!

Part 1 is here.

Warning: one graphic photo is included down below, but there is plenty of warning that it is coming.

I got the phone call about Izzy on Tuesday while I was at work, but as a teacher, I simply can't answer the phone every time (or any time) it rings. As soon as I had a free moment, I listened to the voicemail from the trainer with mounting dread. Izzy had cut his leg and needed stitches. What did I want to do about it?

I immediately grit my teeth in anger. I had sent the trainer a very detailed letter that included directions for what to do in the event of an emergency. I had stipulated that the vet was to be called, and that I would pay all treatment and material costs including the emergency ranch call. That she needed to call and ask bothered me a great deal.

At the next break in my schedule, I phoned her directly with the plan to insist she get a vet out as soon as possible. Before I could do so, she quickly informed me that a vet had already been there and treated Izzy's wound. According to the trainer, the injury didn't need stitches and would just need to be wrapped for a week or so. The wound should be healed in ten days.

I was greatly relieved. The trainer offered to keep him an additional week to do the every other day bandaging. I wouldn't need to pay for board or training. I told her that I would think about it, but ultimately, I was worried about his safety and decided to pick him up on Saturday as originally planned. I sent her an email thanking her for the care she'd given Izzy, but I would be picking him up as planned.

The next morning, I received an extremely lengthy email describing how he had received the injury. The email included words like significant issues, frantic, extreme issues due to his thoroughbred breeding that are considered excessive, hypersensitivity, disaster, seriously herd bound, and the need for nerves of steel. I just could not (and still can't) see the horse that she was describing as the horse that I've worked with a handful of times.

My best friend and I drove north on Saturday morning with a plan for loading such an "unmanageable" horse. The truck was gassed up, we had stopped for breakfast in case it turned out to be a long day, and we had several different types of whips, a lunge line, and a butt rope.

We walked out to his pasture and found a sleepy horse dozing in the sun. To be truthful, both my friend and I thought he looked too sleepy. He really looked drugged. I slipped his halter on and led him down toward the trailer. He walked quietly beside me with my friend following. When I got to the trailer, I dropped the middle window down carefully, but he still spooked a bit. As I lowered the second window, he watched, but he stood in place.

I had given my friend instructions on how I wanted her to use the lunge whip if needed. She stood back as I approached the trailer. I climbed in and within less than a minute, Izzy hopped in with me. There had been no need to encourage him from behind. The trainer handed me the vet bill, I handed her a check, and she told me the bandages were due to be changed that day. I thanked her, and we hit the road. We had been there less than 20 minutes.

Izzy danced and whinnied for the first two or three minutes of the 130 mile drive, but after that, we didn't hear a peep out of him. When we pulled into my barn, my friend held the trailer door closed while I unclipped him. At my direction, she slowly opened the door, but just like before, Izzy waited for me to tell him to back out.

He looked around for a while, but seemed to be dealing with the change of scenery quite well. I introduced him to Speedy G, his nearest neighbor, and they were instantly besties. We stood in the barn aisle for a few minutes where I had left some hay. He nibbled at the hay and checked out his surroundings. When it seemed as though he was okay with the situation, I put him in his new stall and paddock and waited.

After a few minutes, I brought Speedy out to groom and ride. Izzy got quite anxious as we walked out to the arena, but within a minute or so, he quit calling for us and just watched us work. Each time I neared the fence, I called out a quick hello to him. By the time I had finished the ride, Izzy looked settled enough to tackle the re-bandaging.

One of the barn owners had hung around, so I asked her to stand at his head as I unwrapped him. It took a few minutes to get all of the many layers unwrapped, and as I got closer to the wound, I had a sickening feeling that this was not a simple injury. I was right. As I pulled off the final blood-soaked telfa pad, my heart just sank. I was looking at a deep, wide, swath of the inside of Izzy's leg.

The photo that I took is quite gross, so close your eyes and scroll past it if you are squeamish ...
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Here it is ...

I have a lot of experience dealing with cuts, scrapes, bug bites, intestinal distress, thumps, electrolyte imbalances, fevers, lameness, abscesses, and so on, but I know when the job is too big for me. I asked my barn owner to run and get JL, my trainer, but before she was out of the driveway I was on the phone to my vet.

I have a great relationship with my vet. As soon as the receptionist knew who was calling, she had Dr. Tolley on the road. He was at my barn in less than 30 minutes. I love my vet; he knows his stuff and can read through the lines of bull shit like nobody's business. 

He immediately had his hands all over Izzy's wound (seriously gross) and then asked to see him walk out. He quickly pronounced him sound at the walk with no damage done to any tendons, ligaments, or muscles. He asked to see the bandages and asked why the wound hadn't been stitched. When I explained that the treating vet didn't think it was necessary, Dr. Tolley may have used the word idiot, but I could be mistaken. At this point, there was no way to stitch any of the skin back together as it was no longer elastic enough to do so.

Dr. Tolley lightly cleansed the wound with betadine, and then re-wrapped the leg. The good news is that the wound will heal, but it will take about 10 weeks to do so. I am to re-wrap the leg every other day until he says to stop. The telfa pad is to be soaked in Biozide Gel Wound Dressing that gets a wrap of gauze to hold it in place. Next will come a roll of cotton sheeting followed by an entire roll of gauze wrapped as tightly as I can get it. The whole shebang will then be wrapped in Coflex or Vetrap (whichever brand I happen to have).  Repeat, repeat, repeat.

I will be taking Izzy in for a check up in two weeks where Dr. Tolley will re-asses the wound and determine if we should switch the Biozide Gel out for White Lotion (to prevent proud flesh) or use a gel pad that one of the new doctors has had good luck with. 

When Dr. Tolley had finished with Izzy's leg, he asked to see the original treating vet's bill/write-up. It clearly stated that the wound was to be redressed in three days. The trainer did not redressed the wound as directed, but had let it wait for me to do at day 5. Fortunately, no harm was done, but I am even more grateful that I decided to go get him and treat him rather than leave him there for her staff to do.

So that's where we are.  I re-wrapped the wound last night with no trouble. My best friend once again showed up to help and will come again on Wednesday. Izzy was really good for the whole thing though so my friend's help is probably more moral support for me than anything else.

Dr. Tolley didn't want him on bute as he doesn't think the wound is painful. He also passed on the antibiotics as this type of wound should stay clean enough with the bandages. 

There is a bit more to the story of course - a few other parts that lead me to suspect the trainer's motivation regarding Izzy were for her own purposes, but since I would just be speculating, I'll leave it at that. 

Even though Izzy can't be ridden for a few months, there is a ton of ground work that I can do to begin building a trusting relationship, and bandaging a leg is a great place to start!

Izzy's first "lesson" tomorrow.

Unfortunately, this will likely be a series of posts about recovery (and not training).

This is a long story which will end up in two parts. I hate cliffhangers, so I will share the ending: Izzy has a serious wound on his hind leg that will require several months to heal. The vet feels confident that it will heal and there that there will be no soundness issues. Shall I start at the beginning?

[Before I begin, I would like to state that I make it my policy to write only positive things about people. If I need to share negative things, I avoid using names and do my best to protect the identity of the people involved. In this case, I have already publicly used names, so local people will no doubt recognize the place and people to whom I am referring. If you comment, please avoid using anyone's names.]

You already know that I purchased Izzy in late November. I knew he was a green bean who was going to need time and training before he could start his life as a competition dressage horse. I was fine with purchasing a "project" as I enjoy the challenge of training horses. In fact, I've never purchased a finished horse before.

When I went to look at him, his pleasant personality won me over. He was gentle, inquisitive, and very willing. He stood quietly for saddling and bridling although he avoided the bridle by raising his head, but it wasn't done in a fearful way. His owner and I worked with him for a few minutes in the round pen, and then I got on him. He stood quietly. he never bucked, spooked, or acted fearful.

I asked him to walk around and quickly realized that he had no understanding of the basic aids. He had no steering and didn't know how to move off my leg, but he wasn't fearful and didn't panic. I got off him after only a few minutes in the saddle of walking and turning.

His owner shared his life history with me which included hundreds of photos of his life since birth. He had been started by a professional dressage trainer and then ridden by his owner briefly. She became pregnant so back to the pasture he went. He was well cared for, just not worked. Izzy is now six years old.

Since it was late fall and daylight was fast fading, I thought the best thing I could do for Izzy was to send him to a dressage trainer for a 30-day refresher course. It was going to be hard for me to work with him consistently with short daylight hours, especially since Speedy G needed to be ridden as well. I made some calls and decided to send him to a facility I knew to be clean, organized, and well-run.

When I spoke to the trainer, I was very clear about my expectations. I simply wanted Izzy to have a refresher course. I did not expect a finished horse after one month of training. I just wanted a competent rider on his back to re-install a go and stop button and to teach him some steering. I also asked that they work on teaching him to lower his head.

I wanted to be involved in the training process, so I made a plan to visit several times a week for the last two weeks of his stay. I asked for periodic updates with photos or video so that I would know how the process was going. More than anything I wanted to know how easy or difficult he was being about the work.

After a week or so, I received an update that made my heart sink. According to the trainer's daughter, who was doing the riding, Izzy was being terrible about everything and was very difficult to handle. There was even a subtle suggestion that Izzy might have been drugged when I went to see him. She didn't state this directly of course, but she "wondered at the circumstances at how he was so calm when I went to see him."

I responded to the update with a very lengthy report on Izzy's life prior to his arrival. I also shared my own riding experiences and level. It was clear to me through the trainer's emails that she doubted my ability to handle this horse and even wondered at Izzy's suitability as a riding horse for me. This worried me as I know from teaching that the instructor must believe the student can achieve or she never will. This trainer had no faith in me or the horse.

And then different things started to go wrong. He came up lame which was attributed to being barefoot. He missed many days of riding as they got him shod and waited for him to be sound again. When I went to see him on my first planned visit, he was lame due to a whack on the leg that required several more days of rest.

I returned a few days later and he was sound. The trainer worked him on the lunge line in the round pen, but due to a recent surgery, was reluctant to ride him. I got on him, but due to my tension and his green bean status, he started to get a bit light in front so I suggested the trainer ride him to show me what she'd been doing with him. She worked him for a while and then I got on again. With some coaching from her, I was able to get a nice relaxed walk from Izzy in both directions.

The next few rides seemed to go well according to the updates. He was definitely getting better about lowering his head and and they had been doing other de-sensitizing things (using the clippers, hammering on his feet) while he was lame.

And then the trainer said that she and her family, including her assistant/daughter would be going on vacation for a week. This meant Izzy would be doing nothing unless I wanted to come up and work with him. To make up for the lost week, she would keep him one additional week at no cost to me and ride him.

My best friend made the journey with me. We didn't choose a very good day as it was bitterly cold (for here, anyway), windy, and drizzly. These were certainly not ideal conditions for working with a green horse. We persevered though as I wanted to see him and see where he was in his training. 

We haltered him with no issue and then walked up to the round pen. The gardener was using the weed-wacker very near to the round pen which had Izzy a bit concerned. The facility's volunteers asked the gardener to move to a different location so that Izzy could be worked. We spent a few minutes in the round pen working on turns and focusing his attention on me. Given the weather and his freshness, I was actually pleased with how he worked.

We walked down to the barn where I rinsed off some mud that was covering some wounds on his lower legs (probably from whacking himself during work), groomed him, hammered on his feet, and saddled him. While he was distracted, he certainly wasn't terrible to handle, and in fact, he acted like most 3 or 4 year olds who are just getting started.

We moved on to the bigger round pen where I used the side reins as the trainer had instructed. I am not a fan of side reins myself, but I went with the trainer's recommendation. Izzy never got soft and round, but he behaved himself and even showed a few moments of excellent critical thinking. Even though the trainer had said I shouldn't, I got on him anyway. My friend was standing close by, and she's a knowledgeable rider.

Izzy started to go forward, but then he got that look that said a temper tantrum was on its way. We had already been working with him for a while, and I knew I didn't have time to work through a fight. Since he was dancing already and looking as if he might explode, I kicked my feet out of the stirrups and did a quick dismount. It scared him a bit that I hit the ground so suddenly, but he quickly came back to me.

We finished the session with me standing on the mounting block rubbing his body all over. I laid over his neck, patted the saddle, all things that you do when desensitizing a colt to being ridden for the first time. He got more and more relaxed as I worked.

Since he was so sweaty from the work, my friend and I hand walked him for a half an hour, untacked with a cooler. We went to the far end of the property away from any other horses and people and just walked and talked. Izzy was a perfect gentleman.  

I asked my friend for her honest assessment. Did Izzy seem like a horse that was difficult to handle? She liked that he thought things over and was careful about where he put his body. She also liked that he never ran me over and was actually respectful with just a halter and lead rope. She admitted that he was definitely green, but that in her opinion, he just needed more time and work. Through our conversation, we decided that he needed more of a cowboy-type trainer who would work on desensitizing rather than trying to put him in a frame and make him go "correctly."

Coming to that conclusion lifted all of my worry. According to the current trainer, Izzy had so many issues that no one was going to be able to work with him. And yet, each time I handled him, he simply acted like an immature horse who didn't yet know how to be a good citizen. In many respects, he had shown himself to be quite well behaved. I just couldn't understand how the horse she described was the horse I had seen and handled myself.

And don't get me wrong, I am not so infatuated that I can't see reality. But seriously. Every time I've handled him (less than 10), he's done what I asked of him with little or no fussing. I've been able to catch him in a large turn out, he loaded into the trailer with no issue (he has very little trailering experience), he stands in the wash rack for bathing, he can be saddled without a rodeo, and he takes the bridle. The thing this horse seems to need is time and someone who can get on him and show him that he can be ridden without the need for tension.

When we got home, I made some phone calls and found a cowboy trainer just three minutes from my own barn who had excellent references. He has done work for a close friend, and several other people spoke well of him. I drove out to meet him and explained what I wanted. He agreed to take Izzy, but he and his assistant thought it only right to leave Izzy with the current trainer so that she could finish out the week she owed me. They felt this was the respectful thing to do.

I sent the current trainer an email thanking her for all of her work, but I explained that the drive was just too much. We had discussed the possibility of leaving Izzy with her for another month, but after seeing so little progress combined with a complete lack of faith in my abilities, I knew I wanted him to come home. I didn't tell her that I wasn't happy with the lack of progress. There was no point burning any bridges.

Three days later I got a phone call that Izzy had been injured and that the vet had been called.

Continued tomorrow ...