Ziggy

Well... thanks for the prayers everyone! It has been a success!!

Monday we found out that Ziggy qualified for surgery. The vet had to do surgery on both feet, but believed that if everything went smoothly, he would be able to be a normal horse. The left foot, which is the one he went down there for, was obviously the worst. She needed to cut his tendon. She also hoped that the bone hadn't fused and that she would be able to manipulate his coffin joint so that it would heal in the correct position. The right foot needed its ligaments trimmed so that it would not get to the point of the left foot by contracture.

Tuesday went by slowly as we were waiting to hear from the vet to find out how everything went. Around 3 pm she called to report great news! The right foot was now normal. And the left foot now looked like the right foot did before the surgery. And the bone wasn't fused. All of this was great news!!! He was very nervous though. Probably because this was the first time since birth that he had ever been alone. The plan was for us to go pick him up on thursday because he was being so nervous. He was so bad that he wouldn't even let them touch him without trying to kick.

Today, Thursday, we went to go get our man. We pulled in and went inside to pay and get instructions. We got bandages and bute (its kinda like tylenol for horses). We also received discharge instructions that included walking him once a day for 5 min while he was walking. As he gets better it will increase in time. He will also be seeing the ferrier at least once a week to trim him foam boot. It is on there now to decrease his pain as we slowly release the foot down to where it normally should be.

We are just so happy for him to be home!!!! And he is happy to be home. He is such a good boy. Oh.. we found out today that he weighs 563 pounds! He is getting so big. His head is practically taller than dad now (as you will see in a picture).

Thank you everyone!

Walking out of the barn. Look how tall he is compared to dad!

His bandages. It's pretty much just layers and layers of different gauze and mesh. He has a boot on his left foot (the white thing at the bottom of his foot) to gradually lower it. The vet said that if you would take that off, his heel will touch the ground, but that would just be too painful for him!

The vet Melissa Milligan and Ziggy. Great picture!!

At home waiting for dad to get him out

"Hurry up, Dad!"

"Yummy!! Hay! I am so glad I am home! And where are my friends?!?!"

Bolt and Camie were less than excited to see him...they just wanted to be fed, haha! But he was sure glad to be back in his barn and to be able to see his friends! Now lets just hope that the goats don't eat his bandaging!!!!! :-)

Prayers for Ziggy

Well, Sunday we left our house at about 1:30 to take Ziggy to the Equine Specialty Hospital to get his leg checked out and for potential surgery. We got there about 2:30 and got him all signed in and then took him to the his stall. He was not really a fan of walking onto the concrete floor of the barn. The vet tech there gave him a quick physical and then that was that and we left.

After we got home, mom called the vet and left a message telling her we decided to take him there. A few hours later we got a heartbreaking voicemail from her saying that taking him to this hospital would not be a fix all and there was a big possibility that the surgery wouldn't work and we would be forced to put Ziggy to sleep. This broke all of our hearts and left us all feeling very sick. We asked for lots of prayers over the last 24 hours and we appreciate any and all that you did for Ziggy and us. Last night was absolutely dreadful and was a very sucky waiting game. I was completely dreading the phone call from the vet. I know its probably bad to say, but i was preparing myself for the worst even though i wanted the best...just so the blow wouldn't be as bad once the vet called.

Today at about 1 pm, I got a call from my mom. She asked how i was and i said i don't know..how am i? She said good. The vet then told her that Ziggy was going to get surgery not only on his left foot but also on his right foot. Both had been problematic in the past, but we thought that the right foot was getting better. Which it was, but she said that she was going to go in and clip the ligaments just to be certain that it gets better and doesn't start to club like the left. The left foot, which is the one he went down for was the worst, but i guess not as bad as the vet had thought it was going to be. She said however, that it is bad enough that she will have to cut his tendons. She also said that everything also depends on his bones. Hopefully they are not fused and they are able to physically manipulate his hock to move it in a better position. But she said that at this point, with some very extensive rehab of stretching and shoeing that hopefully we will be able to control it enough that he will be able to somewhat normal but that we may never be able to ride him. I don't care what he is as long as he is alive!

She also asked mom if he was a nervous horse. Of all the horses and definitely of the babies, he would not be considered the nervous one. The poor guy. This is the first time that he has been alone and he is not dealing with it well. With that being said, his surgery is tomorrow. We will not expect a phone call until after 1 pm. And with him being nervous, we could possibly be bringing him home on thursday. I will keep everyone posted.

But for tonight, please keep praying for Ziggy. Pray that the Dr. will be able to do everything that is necessary for him to heal correctly. Pray that his bones have not fused yet. And pray for a speedy recovery.

Thanks everyone for all the prayers so far. It really means a lot.

And please, if you are interested or willing in donating to the Ziggy Fund, let me know and I will get you the information needed.

Brushing him before we are on our way

You can see here his bad foot. He is kinda on his toe.

This may be a better picture than the last one of his bad foot.

Walking to the trailer.

He wasn't too sure about this. 

Come on Zig!!

In at last. Only took a couple pulls. He was very nervous to be in there alone though

Pulling into the hospital

The facility

Admissions/hospital

Storage

The barn where Ziggy is staying.

Lets Save Ziggy!!

Hi all!   Just wanted to update the blog on Ziggy's condition.   Last we left it, the vet and farrier didn't think the stretching was working well on getting Ziggy's tendons to stretch out so we decided to just take the boot off and let it go until the next trim.   Well, Doug, the farrier was here yesterday and told us the foot has taken a severe turn for the worse and we need to do something NOW to save Ziggy.   I called the Equine Speciality Hospital in Burton, Ohio to see what we need to do to get things started for him because, at this point, if we do nothing, the foot will turn under and then he will have to be put to sleep because he wont be able to function on the leg at all.   We decided to take him up on this coming Sunday to stay over night and be evaluated on Monday.  After speaking to the vet, she said if the leg is as bad as I have described it, then surgery will be done the following day.   He will have to stay in the hospital for probably a week for stretching, bandaging and splinting, and medication.  This is going to cost approximately $3500 and we are asking our friends and followers to help if anyone can.   Any small amount will be appreciated.   Please leave a comment in our blog section and we will let you know where to send it.    Thanks to everyone out there who follows our blog and have enjoyed watching the babies grow up as much as we have enjoyed posting these for  you.   Lets save Ziggy!!