CB Cuts Loose!
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Almost 6 weeks since CB’s injury, but who’s counting?  No one, except for me, Linda, and the horse!

The vet called this morning, just as we were finishing up the bandage change, to check up on the patient.  The wound is looking wonderful, but I still won’t make you suffer through any gory photos.  “Wonderful” is relative when you’re dealing with a degloving injury, and it’s all about what you’re used to seeing.

CB is feeling better and better.  When Linda takes him for his daily walks, he is starting to really act up.  He wants to trot and buck and play.  Of course, none of this action lasts for very long.  Like any patient who has been forced to rest for long periods of time, he has lost all of his strength and stamina.  His energy lasts only for short spurts of time.  Still, he is, after all, a horse, and can be quite a handful.

When we start to change his bandage, he is very agitated and itchy.  He knows what we are going to do, so he starts “dancing” in the cross ties, wanting us to get busy scratching his leg for him.  He can’t wait for us to take off the bandage because he knows that then he is going to get some relief.  As soon as the bandage comes off he stands perfectly still, sticks his nose up in the air and just enjoys the attention we give him.

Linda gave Larry the full report and then asked if CB could be given any more freedom.  Currently he is stall-bound and must wear a wooden neck cradle when left alone so that he cannot get to his hind leg to chew or scratch at the bandage.  At night, when he is inclined to lay down, he must be tied in his stall.  There is still too much danger of injury to the injury, if you know what I mean, to allow him to be down for any length of time.

However, the really good news today was that CB is now allowed supervised play time in a safe location.  FREEDOM!  CB can now have some FREEDOM to kick and play and even run a little bit!  Linda and I looked at each other with pure delight, so happy for CB that we were bursting with excitement.  We could hardly wait to get him out to some nice clean pasture to let him loose and watch what would happen.

What a relief to have reached this point.  To think that in the beginning we didn’t even know if he would survive, and now this – a horse that can actually run!  Hallelujah!

Feast your eyes on this:

He was one tired puppy after this little outing and was very happy to head back to his stall.  At least now he can look forward to daily romps and he will even be allowed to roll under our watchful eyes.

We’re on the home stretch now!

UPDATE:  This is the 4th in a series of stories about CB's injury.  Read the rest of this story:

Part 1:  Horse Wreck

Part 2:  Bandage Change

Part 3:  One Happy Horse

Part 5:  End of the Trail