Bash and the No Good Terrible Bad Day

 

It's a terrible feeling when you find one of your pets hurt. It's a really terrible feeling when he's your barrel horse prospect that is just over two years old. 

If you follow me on social media, and I hope you do, (@therhondamarie on all platforms) then you have seen the Bash story of his hocks being cut. To recap: he cut both hocks, lacerated one of the tendons partially in the right, and ripped open the bursa in both. The tendon takes at least six months to heal, and we won't know if it caused secondary arthritis until that point. 

But here I wanted to talk about the range of emotions I felt when we were driving him to the emergency vet. 

First, I was worried that it was in the joint and was going to cause permanent lameness. My first worry was his quality of life, but the vet assured us that he would be okay as far as that. Then I began to worry about his career which hasn't even started. I have a lot of hopes and dreams pinned on these two horses that I currently have. The thing is I know they're both capable and have the heart as well as the physicality. 

I kept holding tears back as I alternated between worrying about Bash to worrying about my own future in barrel racing. Then I'd feel guilty for thinking of a sport at that time. It was really a roller coaster of emotions. 

I'm feeling better after his re-check and the vet is optimistic. She doesn't even want to see him again unless there is an issue, so at the six month mark we will evaluate and see if he has secondary arthritis in the hock from this and see where we are at. The waiting is impossible for me because although no matter what happens with Bash and his abilities he has a home with me for life. I just would need to pivot my own plans. 

Waiting is hard. 

I feel a huge range of emotions everyday about these horses and my future goals with them. Somedays I feel full of hope and excitement for the future and where we will end up. Other days I feel full of despair and worry for the future. 

If you want to see photos of the actual injury go to my instagram story titled Bash.