Saving Jimmy N

We had a scare with one of our young horses this week. A little over a year ago, we got a pair of young thoroughbred horses from a local owner. One of them, a 5 year old named Encrypted, had a big ankle. We knew he wouldn’t be anything but a riding horse. The other one, Jimmy N, had no obvious physical problems other than being a bit underweight and the owner told us he had been turned out and was sound.
We put Jimmy in training and three times thought we had found him a permanent home but every time he went away, he would later turn up unsound and be returned. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong and finally took him up to the New Bolton veterinary clinic in Pennsylvania (where Barbaro was treated).
After doing a complete set of radiographs, they told us that Jimmy had multiple chips in both rear fetlocks; most likely from racing, and suspensory ligament issues and that he would never be sound enough for serious work. It would have been nice (and a lot less expensive for us) if the owner had given us this information when he gave us the horse, but that is the nature of being in the horse rescue business. Everyone wants to pass on their problems to you.
So Jimmy became came a pasture ornament for us. He is only 6 year old and he is a bit of a nudge to the older retirees. As a result, he is always getting himself beaten up because he can’t leave well enough alone and he seems to be accident prone. We are always patching up the latest bite or scratch. I can’t figure out how he gets some of the bumps and bruises that he gets. Still he is one of my favorite horses at the rescue. I’ve done a lot of ground work with him and he is a loveable sort, always looking for attention.
On Tuesday I got a text message from the director that Jimmy was down and she thought it was serious. He wouldn’t eat and although she was able to get him up, he could hardly walk. We called the vet out on Wednesday and Jimmy was in such obvious pain that it was really difficult to watch. Out treatment options are somewhat limited by the fact that Jimmy does not take well to being confined in a stall. He weaves, stall walks and throws himself against the walls. I guess after having been confined during his racing career, he developed a few phobias. Because we didn’t see what happened to cause the problem. It was difficult for the vet to diagnose it but it was clear that it was a serious problem with his back end. We decided to give him some pain medicine and tranquilizer and see if he would improve in a couple of days.
The director sent me a message on Thursday that he wasn’t looking much better so I went in on Friday fully expecting to have to put this horse down. That isn’t much fun, particularly with a young horse. Fortunately, by Friday, he was walking much better and was eating again. We think now what might have happened was that he took a fall and really aggravated the suspensory issues. There has been a lot of rain and our pastures are rain soaked and slippery. Hopefully he will continue to improve,
This entire episode really got me thinking about the thoroughbred racing industry. I have always loved to watch the horses run. I think the first time I want to the track I was 10 or 11 years old and some of my best memories involve horse races. Who could forget seeing Secretariat winning the Belmont? But the longer that I work at the horse rescue, the more I think that much of what happens to thoroughbreds when they are in training is really inhumane. Most of the thoroughbreds that we get have issues, both physical and psychological. And many of them come to us with hidden issues. It is as if the owners feel that if they are honest about the horse’s condition, we won’t take the horse so they hide the issues and we end up putting either the horse or the people working with the horse at risk.
The thoroughbreds we get have such great hearts. Jimmy, with all the issues of chips in his hind fetlocks, always tried his best when we were riding him. It is hard not to take these horses into your heart when their hearts are so big. A horse like Jimmy, without a sanctuary like ours, would not have much of a future. Even at our rescue, his options are limited. We have plenty of pasture, so having a few pasture ornaments is not much of an issue, but if his physical issues get worse and the medical bills start to pile up, our options are really reduced in being able to provide adequate care. The whole situation just breaks my heart. Hopefully he will continue to improve. Keep your fingers crossed for him.