Egeris

Thank you so much for your support and prayers during this difficult time with my horse (his name is pronounced E-garis when you include him in your prayers!). Now that a few weeks have passed, I can make it through writing the details in a blog post, but would rather not discuss them otherwise - its just too sad.

We have had quite a journey since Egeris and I first met in Florida that fateful day in March 8 years ago. I was in winter training with Olympian Michelle Gibson, and we searched for the right horse from December 1999 through March 2000 - the entire training season - with no luck. The very last week in March I found him at a small barn north of Wellington. Michelle came out for her approval the following weekend. Since then, Egeris has been such a blessing.

We had big dreams of showing the upper levels of Dressage (my chosen discipline) with some of the best riders in the country. Egeris is a Danish Warmblood - he has an FEI education (Federation Equestre Internationale) and is considered a "Schoolmaster." Born in 1986, he had already completed the equivalent to a Ph.D. in dressage upon his arrival from Europe. A Schoolmaster is a horse that knows alot more than his rider about dressage, as Egeris certainly still does. He has taught me so much ~ and I hope that I will learn even more from him in addition to the valuable lesson of today ~ each day, and each ride, is a gift from God.

After returning to Minnesota, I started serious training. By the time I was ready to show, I became pregnant with Charlie! The years have come and gone, and through it all Egeris has been such a gentle teacher. Other riders were fortunate enough to ride him while I was either pregnant, at home with an infant, then pregnant again, then moving half way across the country, and then at home with both an infant and a toddler! I wouldn't change a thing about the way our lives have progressed together. Except that over the last year I did not ride nearly as often as I could have. And now we may never share a ride together again.


Last month Egeris had a wonderful show while our dear friend Valerie rode him at 3rd Level. He had no signs of distress or lameness in any way. Our trainer Dolly Hannon had plans to help Valerie earn her bronze medal on him and go to Championships this fall. And - of course - it was at that show that I decided I would like to return to the dressage ring this summer and hopefully show him again.

Four days later, we rushed him to the Littleton Large Animal Hospital to see an Equine Neurologist.

Egeris underwent testing and spent the night there. Dr. Bane reviewed x-ray films with us, and discovered that he has degenerative arthritis in his neck between C6-C7. He injected the site on both sides with a steroid, hoping to reduce the inflamation that was pressing on his spinal cord. Because of this pressure, Egeris is not able to feel his hind end, and although he can stand, he is very unstable. The vet said that this complication was caused by some kind of trauma.

We have been on a terrible roller coaster ride for the past 3-4 weeks. He will at times seem to be getting a little more stable, and then at others he will need to lean up against the stall wall in order to stand up. This majestic animal is so suddenly broken that its hard to believe - I think I am still in shock.

Egeris was prescribed VitE and Bute, plus 5 days of stall rest. After that, we were to add handwalking 4x daily and eliminate the Bute. However after a few days in the handwalking stage, he did not show any improvement. He actually looked fine walking to the left, but had a sharp decline in his ability to circle to the right - it was as if he was literally going to fall down. This was also the first time that he showed any kind of distress and pain.

Dr. Bane was discouraged with this new information, and suspects that a bone chip has broken and is floating around by his spinal cord - causing pain and inability to stand. The vet came out immediately and injected him with another steroid - Deximethazone - an anti-inflamatory that works through his bloodstream. We went back on the Bute (basically a pain reliever that reduces inflamation) - and he went back to stall rest for another 5 days.

Finally we saw some progress. Last Wednesday the Dr. came out for a check, and on Thursday Egeris seemed a little more stable. On Friday he was better yet. On Saturday I thought we were through the worst of it. And on Sunday he was suddenly unstable again. Monday - worse. Tuesday - even worse. Today is his weekly Wednesday check-up.

I spent the morning on the phone with both of his doctors. Now I will spend the rest of the afternoon with this terrible lump in my throat. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, but I'm not able to talk about this on the phone right now. The prognosis is not good. The farrier will be removing his shoes this week as he will not be ridden for months - if ever at all. We are basically giving him time - waiting to see what happens - he needs to be able to take care of himself if he were turned out in a pasture - without falling down. The vet told me that the amount of time we wait is up to me. And as of today, they can't give me any kind of an estimate on that. They don't know that he will ever get better.

He is starting Prednizone pills today, so please pray for some improvement with that and also that all of the steriods will not cause more harm than good. Apparently horses can founder if they are on steriods too long. Without going into what that is, it is definitely NOT good.

On the upside, I am enjoying my daily barn visits again. I haven't been to the barn so often since the kids were born. Egeris has never had more carrots, sugar cubes, grooming or bathing in his long life, and he is still as gorgeous as ever!