13/6/07 Another Milestone

The fracture has a plate with 4 screws – only this week did I discover quite what cutting edge this represents in such a young foal - basically this is a first! The reason the vet took it on was her lightness, being so very young, and that she was still feeding. She likes having her homeopathic remedy - which is sprayed on her muzzle and is now off antibiotics, with the wound site well healed. Amazingly she has never been on pain killers, which is good as they are able to monitor how she is coping more closely.

Even the surgeon says she is a nice foal (and he admits he doesn’t say that often!) Perhaps most surprisingly (for those that know her!) the staff at Newmarket say they have found out Mouse’s soft side and I therefore know they are in good hands. They remain really pleased with her progress, although the odds are still 50-50.

So this week is the next big milestone – today she was put into a 'soft cast' so there is more load on the leg, which is necessary to encourage the new bone to grow. Also the hard cast would tend to rub and cause pressure. However it means that the whole bone is vulnerable as it will not have hardened much, so it could fall apart – almost literally as she puts weight through the operation site. (apologies for the poor scientific content here folks!)

Presuming all goes well she will then move to a specialist foal care unit with Mouse with my old university friend and vet Sarah Stoneham, until the leg is healed well enough for the plate to be removed – it saves her travelling up & down from Sussex again. Your thoughts, prayers, good wishes - whatever, so long as it is positive - for Mouse and Connie are most important of all now, so thank you in anticipation of her getting stronger and stronger from them…..