November update - The vet arrives

The first thing I did after Zano’s accident was ring the vet. We were still about 20 minutes from home, but as I rang I knew that I had to get him home. His knee was bleeding, but there were no major blood vessels around there, so I knew it would be safe for him to walk on it. The blood flow stopped as we walked. Zano seemed surprised at the fall, and a bit shocked, but as we walked back he didn’t seem very bothered – maybe that was the adrenalin kicking in. Anyway, the vet said to cold hose him when we got to the yard until she could get there.

The vet – Alice – arrived within the hour. While my boyfriend held Zano and the hose, I untacked Zano and put a light weight rug over him to keep him warm. His near fore brushing boot was lacerated almost right through. If he hadn’t been wearing that his leg would have been even more damaged.

The vet examined Zano carefully. The wound, thankfully, was clean – flushed by the cold hosing. Alice then flushed it herself with a syringe and then she gave Zano antibiotics straight into his jugular (intravenous) and into his hind quarters (intramuscular). He was bandaged up, given anti-inflammatories and granule antibiotics for his feed, and led to his stable. Zano, unsure what all the fuss was about, protested about being kept in. He wanted to be out in the field next to Chico and told us in no uncertain terms!

The vet told us to keep him in. The next 24 – 36 hours would be critical. If Zano’s knee joint had been damaged in the fall, fighting the infection in the joint would be difficult. It would be a very long road to recovery. I went home, exhausted and worried, keeping everything crossed that his joint capsule was still intact. Alice said she’d be back the next day.

After almost no sleep, the next day I rushed to the yard first thing. Zano had obviously had an unsettled night too – his shavings bed was a mess, with his dropping swirled everywhere. All I could do was give him plenty of hay, a groom and lots of fuss as I waited anxiously for Alice to arrive. A minute felt like an hour. I watched the time tick by, with Zano pacing restlessly in his stable. When her car pulled up I led Zano out and I held my breath while she examined the wound closely.

“I think we’ve just about got away with it.” Those words are etched into my memory! I was over the moon. When she thought I might be back on in a week, I was even more happy. But, on her visit the next day, she’d revised that estimate to 2-3 weeks. Still, it didn’t seem much in the scheme of things.

Zano looking fed up and grumpy in his stable