In September of 2020, during the Covid pandemic, I bought a Horse. Though I only spent just over a year with this older ex-ranch horse, the red roan gelding taught me so much during my time with him.
This is the story.
At this point, after being introduced to Cowboy, I had owned him for 11 months. He was projected as a crazy, uncontrollable horse when the farrier was working on him and randomly bucked people off violently. I had spent 5 months with essential groundwork and eventually got on his back. He had been exhibiting calming behavior, was good with the farrier, and was excellent under saddle until the second day we trotted. Cowboy exploded into a violent buck while in a relaxed, loose reign. I started him back at square one after that with groundwork, and then he came along again until he exploded with just the halter and saddle on. It was an easy day after his first jump experience with no one on him. During that 40 minutes of the explosion, Cowboy injured himself with a puncture wound to the inside of his left hock and some scrapes around it.
There is a touch of divinity even in brutes, and a special halo about a horse, that should forever exempt him from indignities.
Herman Melville
CONVERSATIONS WITH VETERINARIANS
On August 3, 2021, Donna arrived late afternoon, the day that Cowboy exploded, to give him his regularly scheduled massage. I had him at the wash rack by the arena this time since I was scrubbing his wound. I am sure that after 40 minutes of him bucking around the arena and the walk/trot/canter and bending exercises I still had him do, he did a number on his muscles. She worked him over, and we talked about his behavior. Donna mentioned an animal communicator to help me with my relationship with Cowboy, as she was concerned that we weren’t connecting. I was open to the idea but wasn’t sure if our connection had anything to do with how he behaved; it was more related to something going on with the saddle. It had to be either in his head because of some trauma or something physical, even though the Veterinarian had repeatedly found nothing wrong. Donna looked at his leg, worried that it looked worse than I thought. It looked terrible to me, but I had seen worse. I had been through wound care many times when I worked as a large animal Veterinarian out of High School (30 years ago). Audrey was wrapping up her day with the other horses and came to talk with Donna and me. She told me a story about a horse with a joint infection that almost had to be put down. I began to feel a bit of panic for Cowboy and worried that he could be that bad. Audrey went into her supplies, bro, sought out a syringe, and injected a dilution of Chlorhexidine 2% for Horses directly into the hole. She told me that I should wrap it before putting him away.
Most of my vet supplies were from 10 years ago when my off-track Thoroughbred injured himself in the pasture. The wound salve was greasy, the bandages were dirty, and the bandage wrap was gooey and caked with dirt. I do not like wrapping wounds too often as they need room to drain and the air to help them heal. His hock was especially difficult to bandage. I added some of the clean cotton I could find and wrapped his hock with a polo wrap (since that’s all I had on hand), just as Audrey said. I wrapped and rewrapped it a few times (similar to what is shown in this video), but it didn’t feel like it would stay (especially since it was wrapped with a polo wrap and not Vetrap). I went home that evening and ordered a self-adhesive bandage Wrap, Cast Padding, cotton leg wrap, Vet cream, and wound repair on Amazon to be delivered in two days.
I woke up to a text from Audrey on August 5, 2021 (the next day) that his wrap had fallen off. I was worried about that happening and knew then I would just need to go to the barn 2-3 times a day and scrub his wound well while it healed rather than trying to wrap it. I ordered more Betadine scrub and Saline solution to dilute the Chlorhexidine. Since I work from home, I blocked out morning, afternoon, and evening times to go to the barn and scrub Cowboy’s wound to keep it clean. Audrey insisted (again) that I wrap the hock, saying, “If it were my horse, I would have wrapped it.”. She grabbed me some cotton and Vetrap that she had in her supplies. I wrapped his leg with it, but it slipped again later that evening.
On the morning and early evening of August 6, 2021, I walked Cowboy down to the wash rack at the arena and hosed his leg off. I scrubbed it with the Tiger’s Tongue scrubber and diluted Chlorhexidine, then flushed the puncture hole using a small syringe. Around 8pm that evening, I changed into my evening clothes (OK… it was my pajamas, don’t judge) and climbed into bed when my phone rang. It was Alyce calling me. Alyce doesn’t call me; she always texts, so I worried something could be wrong. I answered “Hey” in a sort of quiet (slightly frantic) voice, and she immediately said, “Jenn, It’s Alyce. Gaelen is clicking, and Dr. Thorn is on his way. Shelly said that Cowboy is down too and has been all day.” Shelly is the woman who lives where I board Cowboy and Moe. She is also Shawna’s friend who was bucked off the other horse when Shawna tried Cowboy out before buying him. Because of this, Shelly had a place in her heart for Cowboy. I said, “OK, I’m on my way.” and hung up.
I threw my clothes back on, slipped on my boots, and raced to the barn. I drove up, and Rumor (Alyce’s Daughter) was walking her horse, Gaelen. Alyce told me about how Gaelan acted funny that day and didn’t want to go into his stall that evening. When they came back later, he was lying down and stuck against the wall of his stall. They helped him get out and called Dr. Thorn, the semi-retired Veterinarian who lived on the Island part of the time. I talked to Alyce, Beth, and Justin (who lives on the property and manages the supply store there) and then decided to try to get Cowboy down the hill.
I walked up to Cowboy’s barn to see his situation. On my way up there, I walked past Rumor with Gaelen and saw her terrified, worried look. I recognized that look all too well from my days at the Vet. So many times, people brought their clicking horse in, and it was often too late by that point. That terrified, worried look later turned into sadness as the reality of losing their horses would set in. I, too, felt that fear when my Thoroughbred got colic. My only experience with colic up to that point was with the horses that came to the clinic when I worked there. By then, it was too late for them, and it was just a matter of keeping them comfortable or attempting a significant surgery that still had no guaranteed outcome. I later learned, with my Thoroughbred, that colic is common, and horses get through it very often. The key was to catch it early and treat it. I knew that Gaelen would pull through this. I looked at Rumor and said, “He will be OK.” she looked like she was holding back tears as I added, “You caught it in time. Just keep walking him, and he will be fine. Trust me.” I continued up the hill to Cowboy.
Cowboy lay down in the covered part of his paddock just outside his stall. It was a sight I had seen too many times at the clinic. There were signs of his legs thrashing around next to where he was lying, and he did not want to get up. I took a photo of him in case I would need it for reference later and then grabbed his halter.
I walked up to him (while he was still lying down) and put the halter on him. He resisted me as I asked him to “come come” and gave him a tug. I did it again with a little more tug, and he still didn’t want to move. I said, “Come on, buddy, you have to get up.” and gave him a few short tugs to encourage him. He brought his front feet before him, grunted, and settled back down. I tugged again. “Come on, buddy, you can do it. You HAVE to do this.”
He rocked onto his front feet and pushed up with his hind end to a stand. His left hind leg was swollen like a balloon animal, all dimply and bumpy like someone tried to make something a few times and gave up. I gave him a good rub on his face and then encouraged him to see if he could walk. He put some pressure on the swollen leg and used it to step forward.
When I saw that he was walking, I encouraged him through the little barn door and down the hill to where Alyce, Rumor, her horse Gaelen, and some other folks at the barn were. Dr. Thorn arrived while we were talking, and while Alyce was telling him what was happening, he looked over Gaelen. When they were done talking, I asked him if he would mind looking at Cowboy when he was finished with Gaelen. He said that he didn’t have time for wound care that night. I coerced him to check Cowboy’s belly since he was down and showing signs of possible colic as well.
Audrey showed up as the sun went down, and Beth had left. We waited patiently as Dr. Thorn treated Gaelen for his colic. I chatted with Audrey and Justin as Cowboy rested his head on my good shoulder (and I happily held him up). When Dr. Thorn finished with Gaelen and walked over, the sun had gone down completely. Audrey headed into the barn, saying, “Let’s bring him into the barn.”. She flipped the lights on and checked on Rumor and Alyce with Gaelen. Dr. Thorn looked at Cowboy’s leg and immediately said, “Oh, that doesn’t look good.” then added, “I’m sorry I said I didn’t have time; I didn’t realize how bad this was.” I told him that I understood and not to worry about it. He was looking at him now, and that’s all that I cared about.
I told him the story of Cowboy putting his leg through the wall after 40 minutes of bucking around the arena. Audrey walked by then and said, “He probably has some wood in that wound.”. Dr. Thorn got his utensils ready to gently inspect the wound. He looked at me and said, “I see the puncture wound here and this surface wound next to it.” then added, “I’m going to have to give him a local and see if I can dig anything out.”
He injected around the wound and asked me, “Didn’t you live in Nepal for a while?” I answered, “Yes, I worked with the horses there and owned a shop for a bit.” He said, “I think last time I saw you, I was treating your Thoroughbred.” I responded, “Yes, I think it was when he clicked.” we reminisced about Henry (my OTTB). I told him how I sold him to a young lady on the Island who showed him Dressage and Jumping. As he dug around Cowboy’s wound, I told him I still had Moe, 27 years old, up on the hill with Cowboy. He stopped and looked up at me with his headlamp on. “Well, I can’t find any pieces of wood in there,” he added. “I am concerned, however, of him getting an infection in the joint.” He injected Amikason and saline into the joint to allow Cowboy to start fighting the infection. He told me I should call one of the other off-Island Vets or possibly get him to Pilchuck, the emergency Veterinarian in Snohomish (50 miles away).
Audrey walked up to us to see how he was doing, and I said, “Well, I’m only going to say this once, and you’ll never hear it from me again… you were right.” She laughed and asked, “He has a joint infection?” Dr. Thorn said, “Well, that’s my concern, but if she can keep it clean and get someone here to flush it properly, he might be okay.” I told him about trying to wrap it, but it just wasn’t staying. He agreed with letting it breathe and drain. He said that being on the hock, it’s so tough to keep it wrapped, especially when he had room to walk around in the paddock. He gave me 3 doses of Nexcel to follow up and said that Cowboy most likely needed a daily joint flush and wanted me to keep scrubbing it as I have been but see what the other Veterinarian would like to do.
We wrapped up with Dr. Thorn, and I put Cowboy away. It was around 10pm, and Beth and Audrey were gone. All who were left was Justin in the corner of the arena with the chairs, chatting with Alyce as Rumor walked Gaelen under the old floodlights that lit up the covered space. I told them what Dr. Thorn said and briefly talked with them about Gaelen. I took Cowboy back up to his little barn on the hill and returned to give them all company for a while. I got more of the story from Justin about where Shawna had bought Cowboy from. I told Justin, “I wonder if Cowboy was started as a saddle bronc but didn’t cut it in the Rodeo, so they made him a ranch horse and then sold it to Shawna as a trail horse.” I know it’s been done before, and I just recently found this forum where some people are talking about doing this successfully. In all my wracking my brain trying to figure out what caused him to explode with the saddle, it’s one of the theories that could make sense.
GETTING TO PILCHUCK
The following day (August 7, 2021), I contacted Dr. Perkins to get her to the Island and look at Cowboy, but she said she wasn’t coming for a few weeks. I spoke with Tacoma Equine in the morning while I was scrubbing and flushing out Cowboy’s wound, and after answering some questions and texting some photos, the Vet there told me I needed to get to Pilchuck and get him a daily joint flush ASAP.
It was Sunday, August 8, 2021, when I called Pilchuck to schedule him to go in. The office told me I should talk to the Veterinarian there, and they would have her call me back. Late that morning, when I was cleaning up Cowboy’s wound and talking with Alyce about Gaelan’s recovery, I got a call back from the Veterinarian at Pilchuck. I talked her through what Cowboy did, what Dr. Thorn had worked on, and what Tacoma Equine said to do. The Pilchuck Vet said I needed to get him there the next day. The longer we would wait, the more risk there was of the infection developing and getting worse, and therefore, less likely he’d survive it.
I put Cowboy away and stopped at the shop on the property on my way home. Justin was inside and asked me how Cowboy was doing. I told him what was going on and that I needed to find someone with a truck and trailer to help me get Cowboy to Snohomish from the Island, so he gave me some names and numbers to call.
When I got home, I immediately sat on my couch and began calling the numbers Justin had given me. I also texted a few friends that I knew had trailers. At 1pm, I couldn’t reach anyone and started panicking. I posted on our local Island Facebook group that I needed help. Around that time, one of the ladies I had contacted (from Justin’s list) returned my call. She said she had a truck and trailer but wasn’t sure her vehicle could make it that far as there were some problems. She said she was getting it serviced the next day, so she could do it on Tuesday if everything was fixed on her truck. I asked her to keep her Tuesday open and plan on helping me, but I said I would keep trying to find someone else.
I had gotten calls back from the other people on Justin’s list. Not one of them could make the trip the next day. Alyce responded that she couldn’t cause her truck’s ABS light to be on and wanted to change the brake pads before a trip like that. There just wasn’t time for her to do that by then.
Around 2:45 pm, I texted Rich, who owns the construction company that had done odd jobs for me around the house. He mentioned to me (in passing once) that he worked on a ranch, and we talked horses for a bit. He had some trucks, employed people, and knew almost everyone on the Island. If I could at least get a hold of a trailer, he could use one of his trucks to help me or rent me a truck and call one of his guys to drive us. Rich responded with, “Fuck it, sure.” He said he had a party to go to at 5pm where there would be many horse people, and he could ask for a trailer.
Still waiting to hear back from my two friends, I started panicking even more and called Pilchuck to see if they knew anyone in the area heading their way so I could hitch a ride. They gave me the number of a hauling company. I hung up, and I quickly called them. I told the woman at the hauling company that I needed to get Cowboy hauled the next day. She said it was getting late in the day to find someone but that she would do her best and call me back.
For 45 minutes, I sat on my couch, where I planted myself as soon as I got home that morning. I hadn’t eaten. I hadn’t drunk anything. I hadn’t moved other than dialing the phone and tapping on the screen to text people. I just stared out the window into the garden in front of my house. My mind was racing, trying to come up with ideas and options. The phone rang at 4:45 pm. It was the hauling company again. “I have someone for you tomorrow. She can get there first thing in the morning and get you and your horse to Pilchuck in Snohomish that afternoon,” she said.
“Oh, thank you so much!” I exclaimed.
She added, “It will be $788 total with the gas charges, ferry fare, and hauling fees.”
I didn’t care and told her it was good for me. I got off the phone with her and texted Rich to let him know I found someone. He replied, “OK, I would have hauled him for ya.” The cost of the hauling set in with me, and I was worried that it might be better if Rich or I could get a hold of a trailer. I replied, “I’m still looking for a trailer for you. If not, I’ll use the expensive lady”. He responded that he was heading to the party and would ask around. I texted Alyce and asked if we could borrow her trailer since her truck was out of commission. Soon after that, she responded that I most certainly could. Just as I was texting Rich to tell him I got us a trailer, he texted me that he had found one. I let Alyce know that we were good, called the hauling company can, celled, and let the other lady know that I wouldn’t need her Tuesday after all. It was settled, and I was feeling a little bit relieved. It was 6:45 pm before I finally got off the couch that day.
Rich and his brother Dave arrived at the barn early the following day. I finished scrubbing Cowboy’s leg and gave him the last shot of antibiotics Dr. Thorn had left me. I hobbled him over to the trailer, and while I walked him up, he stepped in with his front feet and tried to hop up but couldn’t do it. He pulled back on me when I tried a second time. He just wasn’t going to be able to hop up into the trailer. Dave, Rich, and I decided to move the trailer to the slight incline and position it so that Cowboy could walk down and into the trailer. Once the trailer was moved, Cowboy walked in with no problem. I gave him some rubs and a treat, tied him up, and locked the divider. I hopped into the truck's passenger seat with my backpack of snacks and water for the day, and we drove off.
COWBOY’S WEEK AT THE VET
Dave and I arrived at Pilchuck to check Cowboy in after a good 2-hour drive (including ferry wait time and the 15-minute crossing). I pulled him out of the trailer, and he hopped out with no problem. I then handed his lead to the Vet assistant and talked to her about what had happened to him before she took him to the clinic. As Cowboy walked away, he acted as if there was nothing wrong with his leg. Dave and I both laughed at this horse that showed no pain. I was hoping that was a good sign. Due to Covid, they couldn’t allow us to wait inside, so Dave and I sat outside on the bench. Dr. Richardson came out after a while to talk to me. She presented the expensive and invasive option, while I thought, “I can’t even r, ride this horse.” When she was finished, I told her, “Here’s the thing. This horse isn’t ridable,” and proceeded to give her the quick version of how I got Cowboy, the work I had been putting in, and the violent bucking he did out of nowhere. She said, “I can tell he has had a lot of groundwork.” I continued by telling her how I was “sucker bucked,” followed by him bucking while tied up and then the 40 minutes of bucking around the arena that got us where we were that day. She said “OK” and presented a different option of a less invasive surgery that followed with daily joint flushes for the remainder of the week. We worked out a plan together that would give him his best shot and hope he could pull through it independently from there. I left that day with my hopes up and preparing for the worst.
The next day, I returned to work, sitting on the same couch I had sat on while desperately trying to find a way to get Cowboy to Pilchuck. I tend to throw myself into my work in times of stress (which explains why I am so far in my career). I was so busy the entire day that I didn’t realize I hadn’t heard from the Vet yet. I looked at the clock and saw it was after their closing time of 7pm. The following day, I called them in between my meetings. I spoke with the woman at the front desk, and she assured me that Cowboy was doing well and that Dr. Richardson would call me when she finished surgery.
On the evening of August 11, 2021 (two days after I dropped Cowboy off and 8 days after Cowboy injured his leg), I received a phone call from Dr. Richardson. She said that Cowboy’s surgery went well the day before, and he was a very good boy. She noted that both wounds appeared to have healed nicely, but she had to cut them open again. The puncture wound did not connect with the joint, but the test result did show faint signs of infection in the joint fluid. She added that she dug around through the scrape next to the puncture wound and found some small bits of wood lodged deep in there. When she continued to dig deeper, she saw a vast chunk embedded in his leg. She said that she followed up with a regional limb perfusion of antibiotics and injected the joint with Amikacin. In addition, he had been given antimicrobials and anti-inflammatories. The bandage was changed that morning, and after the wound was lavaged, the joint was injected with Amakacin again.
I was glad to hear that Cowboy was doing better than the worst-case scenario I was preparing for. Though we weren’t entirely out of the woods quite yet.
Dr. Richardson continued with changing Cowboy’s bandage. She lavaged and injected the joint with Amikacin again on August 12th.
I picked Cowboy up on August 13th after they changed his bandage, lavaged, and injected his joint again. They had also added a dose of Excede. I was instructed that I would need to have another Veterinarian follow up with the second dose on the 16th.
She directed me to change the bandage when needed, scrub the wounds (as I had been doing before), and keep Cowboy on stall rest for the next week or so while walking him a bit more each day to keep his leg moving.
BRINGING HIM HOME
Finding a ride to get Cowboy home was much less stressful this time since I had the week to figure it out. Alyce was so friendly to take time off work on Friday (8/13) afternoon using her trailer and the truck that Rich let Dave use on Monday.
You probably already figured at this point that it was Friday the 13th when I brought Cowboy home. It was, for me, the luckiest day ever.
Alyce and I are on the way to pick Cowboy up. 
Parked at Pilchuck. 
The Vet assistant showed me his leg wrap.
While picking Cowboy up, I asked if there was anything I could have done to prevent the joint infection. She told me that I went above and beyond. That Cowboy was doing so well because of the higher level of care that I provided for him. We talked about the wood pieces, and she assured me that there was no way I could have known they were there. She reminded me that Dr. Thorn tried to find them, and he couldn’t even see anything. It took the surgery to be able to get it all. The wound care I had done up until then and getting him there in time was what was giving him a fighting chance.
I felt more at ease, but I still thought I could have done more.
HEALING
On the way home, Alyce and I (with Cowboy in tow) sat in the ferry line to get back on the Island for a few hours (Friday evening at 5pm is generally not a good time to try to catch the ferry). I pulled out all of the paperwork from the Vet and proceeded to go through it all. Alyce and I reviewed the description the Vet typed out on what she had done. We were looking words up in Google and trying to figure stuff out (like we were some sort of veterinarian or something). As we finally got on the boat, I started reading the aftercare instructions. Suddenly, it didn't dawn on me to let Audrey know (OK, w, ell maybe it was Alywhothat thought of it and told me).
First day home from Pilchuck 
His wound was open but healing. 
Stall rest and lots of cleaning for this boy. 
The leg was healing up nicely. 
He enjoyed pets through the bars while on stall rest. 
His leg healed really well.
On the way home, I called Audrey from the ferry to discuss how we would work out his stall rest. Cowboy’s paddock had a stall, but it opened up into his paddock, and Audrey was also worried about getting him up the hill, so she moved her little lesson horse to be Moe’s neighbor, and Cowboy would take her stall.
We pulled up; Audrey rushed to get the stall ready as I pulled Cowboy out of the trailer. She put a hay net in there for him and instructed Alyce (since Alyce’s Daughter Rumor cleaned and fed the horses) that we would need to wash the stall throughout the day. He was to also have hay in front of him at all times. She told me (since she was on a roll) to check Cowboy’s temperature 2x a day. Followed with a stern, “You are going to have to be here more.” because she knows my work schedule doesn’t always allow it.
The next few days seemed like an eternity. I blocked time out from my meetings to go to the barn 3x a day the first few days. Dr. Thorn was scheduled for Cowboy’s follow-up on the 16th. I logged Cowboy’s temp every morning and every evening. I cleaned the stall when it looked dirty and bought extra bails of shavings to give him a lot of padding to lay down in. I took photos and posted them on his Instagram account. When I cleaned his wound and replaced the bandage, I posted updates. I even took videos of the few minutes of running cold water on the wound to keep it soft to avoid any proud flesh developing.
Cowboy handled being in his stall full-time pretty well. He especially enjoyed it as the other boarders gave him some pets through the bars. I emailed Shawna (Cowboy’s previous owner) and met up with her several times. She stopped by his stall and gave him a talking-to. She texted me to say, “I told him how lucky he was to have you, among many other things… and make it clear he had done this to himself 😂”
COWBOY’S DAILY TEMPS:
- 8/14 8:44 am 98.7°
- 8/14 8:04 pm 99.4°
- 8/15 11:30 am 98.1°
- 8/15 7:05 pm 99.0°
- 8/16 7:57 am 98.8°
- 8/16 7:09 pm 99.2°
- 8/17 8:29 am 97.9°
- 8/17 7:19 pm 98.1°
- 8/18 8:13 am 97.5°
- 8/18 7:32 pm 98.2°
The summer days were long in daylight and long for both Cowboy and me as I checked his temperature and scrubbed and dressed his wounds daily. I was hanging around the more enormous barn a lot more than usual. I learned more about the other boarders and people in lessons there. I introduced myself to unfamiliar faces and answered questions for those curious about how he was doing. As most horse people know, the chit-chat around the barn is more intense than in most situations. At least, that’s been my experience. However, I am not one to engage in it and generally stay away from the conversations. Unfortunately, being the center of the talk that summer didn’t allow me to avoid the conversations. Some of the chatter was positive, which was uplifting, but some was negative. I had heard that people were impressed with how I had done so much for Cowboy, but in the same breath, I heard people saying it was my fault he was in the situation. There were murmurings that I hadn’t cleaned the wound properly or spent enough time with him after he was injured. There was even criticism for not owning a truck and trailer, forcing me to rely on others to haul my horse.
This firm, confident, and chilled girl was not feeling her usual self in the following weeks. It could have been the stress during those weeks from Cowboy being injured left me ill-equipped to handle the negativity. Alternatively, the things being said coming back to me could have been striking me. Regardless of what was going on, I was beginning to wear down.