LadyGrace of Marlborough History
1.Born May 16, 2008
2.Examined at two days old by Dr. Sandy Fatone who stated, “She is the strongest foal I have on the ground this year.”
3.At four days old LadyGrace was running with her dam, Magic, in the paddock; she slipped and fell but got right back up; she ran very hard and fast and within a few minutes began to limp. We took her immediately back to the stall and called Dr. Fatone. (LG’s new owner and others were present at this outing.)
4.Dr. Fatone came and examined LadyGrace and suggested, “It is probably a pulled muscle; foals do this.” Dr. Fatone recommended stall rest.
5.When LadyGrace did not appear to be getting better after a week I suggested we call a vet. The new owner wanted only Dr. Fatone. I suggested that we consider calling another local vet as it was not possible for Dr. Fatone to come for a couple of days. LG’s new owner was unwilling to consult another vet. I felt it would be appropriate to call someone else as Dr. Fatone’s area of expertise is reproduction not possible muscle/bone injury. Dr. Fatone came and again examined LadyGrace and determined there was an irregularity in the stifle area but could not be certain. She recommended that a specialist from Cornell be scheduled to do an ultrasound.
6.When the specialist had not come after two weeks I suggested to LG’s owner that we seek a second opinion from a vet in the area. I suggested we call Rhinebeck Equine. LG’s owner refused and stated, “I want the best.” Indicating she only wanted the Cornell specialist. (This verbal exchange was witnessed by others.)
7.It was approximately four weeks before this exam took place. During that time LadyGrace had been stall bound. The specialists came and did an ultrasound. They determined that a bone chip was detached in the stifle area and surgery would be needed to correct the problem. No mention of any other problem: disease, injury, etc at that time. LG was such a good patient they decided to try out several pieces of equipment which they explained they had not been able to practice with as they had not found a horse this cooperative. They did ultrasounds; X-rays; and other tests all which were sent immediately to Cornell via email. When they were leaving they explained that a surgery date would need to be set. We asked if LG could be walked. We were told that a little walking on a lead would be beneficial to her. Darla Monte and I began taking her for short walks. Her owner stopped by one afternoon when both Darla and I were at the barn. We mentioned the walks and were told by her owner that LG was not to be walked but to remain in her stall. We stopped the walks only because of the owner’s demand.
8.It took several more weeks before a surgery date was set by Cornell and LG’s owner. All the while LG remained stall bound with her dam, Magic.
9.A date was set for the surgery in August. Cornell is a four hour drive from Marlboro, being concerned for LG and Magic on such a long trailer ride I inquired as to who would be taking them. I was concerned when I was told that one of the owner’s friends was doing it. While this would have been fine for a trip to a show or outing I felt it was not appropriate for an injured foal. I explained to LG’s owner that I would prefer that we use an Emergency Equine Transport Specialist for this travel. I made the appointment with Corrine Weber (Emergency Equine Transport Specialist/Redhook, NY).
10.All was set only to have LG’s owner inform me on Friday before they were to be taken to Cornell on Monday that she had cancelled the surgery appointment and rescheduled with Pine Bush Equine the following week.
11.At this point my patience was exhausted. My mare and foal had been forced to remain stall bound for three and a half months because the filly’s new owner “only wanted the best (Cornell)” and would not consider a local vet. Now after all this time she was cancelling to schedule with Pine Bush.
12.I had wanted to breed Magic back; due to all of this I missed several opportunities to do so. I explained to the owner that LG would be weaned within a couple of weeks as she would be four months old. At that time she would be released to her new owner, who could schedule the surgery around the weaning and would eliminate the need for Magic to accompany LG to the hospital.
13.I did all the basic training: halter on and off/how to walk on a lead/how to stand for vet or farrier/stand for grooming, moving away from pressure and lifting all four feet.
14.The farrier came on Saturday before LG was to be released to her new owner on Sunday. He noticed a swelling in the hock opposite her injury. We assumed this was the result of her putting extra pressure on that leg given the injury to the other.
15.When I released LadyGrace to her new owner the following day, LG was a well behaved four month old foal. I would have preferred to have weaned her at six months. However, given her injury and her new owner’s demands I weaned her at four months.
16.Three times between the time of the injury and the end of July I offered to buy back LG for the price the new owner had paid. She refused the offer each time. (This can be validated by others)
17.LG’s new owner proceeded to schedule appointments with Pine Bush Equine.
18.The initial visit with Pine Bush Equine was the first time OCD was diagnosed or mentioned by the vet. Neither Dr. Fatone nor Cornell specialists with state of the art equipment had found or diagnosed OCD.
19.Draft breeds are “predisposed” to OCD. It is impossible to identify genetically where this comes from. Much research and work is being done in this area. Any draft horse (large boned horses) or in this case gypsy bred horses whose roots are in the draft breeds, can develop this condition. Horses can be predisposed and never develop the condition.
20.Injury can cause the predisposed condition to occur.
21.In LG’s situation we believe that is what happened.
22.The stifle injury went untreated for four months; she was forced to remain stall bound at the demand of her new owner. She was in a huge growing phase and with the injury going untreated, and no opportunity for even minimal exercise, the OCD developed.
23.Having never heard of this condition I consulted my vet surgeon, Dr. Christine Adreani of Rhinebeck Equine. She explained that this condition is predisposed in draft breeds as well as other breeds. A predisposition means that any animal in the breed has the potential for developing this. Often this occurs following an injury such as LG had. Since I had heard via chat rooms a reference to this condition being genetic I inquired if this was the case. Dr. Adreani explained that given the breed’s predisposition to the condition it was possible for some animals to have a greater tendency towards the condition developing than others. However, she said there was no test or exam that could pinpoint any sire or dam as a carrier of the condition.
LadyGrace has three very healthy siblings:
a.Cushti Bok’s Lord Marlborough – our four year old stallion by Cushti Bok out of Magic
b.Shaylee’s Bevin – a filly out of Shaylee by Babes (co-owned by Belle Rose/Kathy Sommers/Allyson Pritchard
c.Blarney Stone’s Farrah – a filly out of Fiona by Babes (owned by Lise McNamara)
Due to the difficulty with LG we did not breed Magic or Babes for foals in 2009. Rather we did our homework regarding OCD and we have sought guidance from our vets and have been told that both Babes and Magic should be bred again with different partners. We also watched carefully the growth and development of Babes’ two other foals (Shaylee’s Bevin and Blarney Stone’s Farrah) as well as Magic’s other foal, Cushti Bok’s Lord Marlborough. All of which are developing into strong, healthy, beautiful Vanners. Magic will be bred to our new stallion for a 2011 foal. Babes was bred to our Ambrosia and we are expecting that foal in March 2010.
We regret the difficulties that LG has suffered, however we believe the cause to be not so much the predisposition to OCD but rather the lack of immediate attention to the injury and refusal of her owner to allow minimal daily walking exercise while awaiting medical exams and surgery.
As dedicated and reliable breeders we feel strongly that we did the correct things with regard to this unfortunate situation:
1.We offered to buy back the injured foal and assume all medical care for the injury.(This offer was made THREE times from the time of injury until the end of July with witnesses present. LG’s new owner refused and said she was insulted by the offer.)
2.We sought medical advice from experts we trusted and encouraged immediate action be taken to address the injury.
3.We did our homework on OCD and sought breeding guidance from our vets. We delayed breeding Magic and Babes until we were certain this was an appropriate and honorable decision.
We have also retained and sought the guidance of equine attorney, Marcia Jacobowitz. Mrs. Jacobowitz did her own research with regards to the OCD questions and provided us with information to substantiate our beliefs with regards to LG’s condition.
It is our understanding that LG is doing better than expected given her condition. It is our hope that she will continue improving; that surgery will correct some if not all of her problems and that she will continue to grow up to be the wonderful Vanner mare she can be.
Joyce M. Christian and Carliss Henderson
Belle Rose Farm Gypsy Vanner Horses
