Today is Friday the 13th – for many, a day associated with bad luck and superstitions. All I’ll say is 2020 has been bad enough as it is without throwing Friday the 13th into the mix too
But it got me thinking about bad luck, and how sometimes, bad luck isnโt actually bad luck – itโs good luck badly packaged.
Hereโs my ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ story.
In 2017, Paddy fractured his pedal bone and had to have six months off work, ending our eventing season before it even began. ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ.
He still wasnโt sound after the six months off, but the pedal bone fracture had healed.ย Further tests found that he was lame behind, and following an x-ray, it was found that he had a chip in his left hock. The chip had broken into fragments, which were floating around, and caused bone spurs – and the beginning of spavin. Or in laymanโs terms, early signs of arthritis. At aged 7.
๐๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ.
Right?
WRONG.
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ!
Good luck, because without his original injury, it likely would have taken me longer to find the issue with his hock to treat it early.
Good luck, because I was able to get him the treatment he needed (keyhole surgery to remove the chip), and rehabilitate him successfully, with a great prognosis from the vet.
Good luck, because I gained a deep understanding of how best to manage his issues from a younger age, to give him a better chance of staying sound, happy and in work for longer.
And yes, it would have been nice for none of it to have happened – but life doesnโt work that way. Given he had the problems anyway, Iโm glad I found them when he was young, dealt with them early, and learned a lot about how to manage him to maximise his soundness. With the chip removed, I have more control over slowing down the progression of his arthritis with proper management.
And who knows – in another timeline, maybe we wouldnโt have had that incredible season we had in 2018, or made it to the Dublin Horse Show
So thatโs my ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ story – whatโs yours?