Kissing Spine Rehab: Week 2

Well I can't believe how quickly a fortnight has gone!

I've only had to do one bandage change since the last update. The wound site itself was looking great however the Polster had stuck a bit too well and had created a sore patch on her wither. Compared to the first bandage change I also felt that Fern was considerable more sore this time around whilst I was removing and re-applying the bandage.

I made sure to keep the Polster quite short on the re-application to avoid as much contact with her wither as possible and also put some Silver Salve on the wither to help soothe her skin as well as avoid the Polster sticking as much this time around.

On Friday we had our 10 day check up with the vet and appointment to potentially remove the stitches. Her wound site was looking good again but the vet felt she'd benefit leaving the stitched in until Monday. However, the good news was that he felt she would now be okay to commence some in-hand walking or pen time, whichever I felt was going to be the calmest for her.

I am quite lucky that we have a good sized enclosed yard so I opted for turnout on the yard first of all. I used the treat ball to give her something to play with, and it works so well at encouraging long and low movement. Over the weekend I stuck to only letting her out on the yard whilst I was there to supervise but she had about an 1hr in the morning and evening whilst I did chores.

I also had the boys in for her to be able to socialise over the doors with them which all went smoothly ahead of being able to turn them all out together again in a few weeks time.

On Sunday, I made a small pen in the field so she went out for the very first time back on the grass. She did have a little run and a skip but then happily got back to eating so I was very happy with that. Again, I only let her out when I was there to supervise but she was really happy to be out and it was lovely to see. She also had a good roll which is another good sign of how comfortable she is.

Today the vet was out again, this time to definitely remove the staples. I was very impressed with how quick it was and we didn't need to sedate her either - the power of a horselyx for distraction purposes! The wound site is now covered again for 3 more days and then we can leave it exposed! Which feels rather scary but obviously it has all healed really well now. Interestingly there is some more swelling than there was previously but the vet said that's very normal after such an invasive procedure.

Fern's now allowed out in the pen unsupervised and over the next few days I can gradually start expanding it's size with the aim to going back out in the field properly at the weekend (assuming she's remaining calm and not going to frolic too much!).

I'm still bringing her in at night for now and will continue to do for a little while as well. At this stage the management is quite up to me as it really depends on how well she behaves so we'll have to play it by ear and be a little dictated to by the weather.