Horse Play – Fun Until it Isn’t

First in a series

We were just wrapping up a routine day of limping, itching, and diarrhea (ah, my patients, not me) when Jamie arrived. She’d been frolicking in the pasture with the neighbor horses when she was kicked by a creature 20 times her size. I remember her sad gaze from the treatment table.

This 11 year old black and white Australian shepherd was no stranger. Jamie was one of 3 dogs in Cathy and Jeff Robb’s home, each an obedience competitor. They meant everything to their people in part because of the years they had all invested in building trust and commitment. Cathy and Jeff wanted only the best medical care for them. Sweet, smart, and gentle Jamie was my favorite.

With my steady and competent veterinary nurse Amos holding our trauma patient’s shoulders I carefully examined every other part of her anatomy first. Had I gone for the obvious first, and possibly missed other injuries or a traumatic heart arrhythmia, I would have been practicing less than thorough medicine. When everything else checked out, I gently rubbed this good girl’s head while I gingerly raised her lips. Her upper jaw was only partially caved-in but her mandible, the lower jaw, had suffered a compound fracture between the third and fourth premolar teeth. The front and rear halves of that broken bone were so far apart they were hardly in the same county. At 5:30 our day was just beginning.

Jamie’s idyllic life changed in a split second when her face was in the wrong place at the wrong time – the receiving end of a lightning fast equine appendage. Horsing around with a young stallion is fun until somebody gets hurt. Confident and brash, this arrogant stud wasn’t going to tolerate some pip squeak dog herding him.

There was no time to lose. This dog was hurting. I started an IV catheter for shock doses of fluids and corticosteroids while Amos took x-rays of Jamie’s jaw, chest, and abdomen. Finding no internal damage we heaved a sigh of relief and pushed ahead with anesthesia.

Next week: Would Jamie ever eat normally?

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For help with behavior problems, you can sign-up for a Zoom Group Conference on my website, drjeffnichol.com.

Dr. Jeff Nichol is a residency-trained veterinary behaviorist. He provides consultations in-person and in groups by Zoom (drjeffnichol.com). Each week he shares a blog and a video to help bring out the best in pets and their people. Sign up at no charge at drjeffnichol.com. Email pet behavior or physical questions to or by US Post to 4000 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Albuq, NM 87109.