Bobby Brown Thrives!
In March this year, a much-loved quarterhorse Bobby Brown, was presented
at Scone Equine Hospital in a serious condition. The horse was received
and examined by Dr. Niamh Collins. On presentation, Bobby Brown had
marked and very painful abdominal distension. A rectal exam revealed a
distended viscus in the pelvic canal. Due to the abdominal distension
and severe pain, immediate colic surgery was recommended.
This is one of the most difficult situations a horse owner will face and
what follows is Phebe Urquhart’s account of the process and treatment
of her horse.
On Sunday 14th of March, I found my horse Bobby Brown laying down and
exhibiting signs of Colic. I called my local Vet who administered
medication however, this appeared to offer no relief so the vet then
gave a rectal examination where he found the large colon was enlarged. I was then given options: take Bobby Brown to Scone Equine Hospital, or put him down!
Luckily, my next door neighbour was also with us and recommended Scone
Equine Hospital (she had a horse come through a successful colic
operation). My partner and I decided if we were going to have to operate we might as
well give him the best! We immediately phoned Scone Equine Hospital and
they said bring him down. It was about 8pm Sunday evening by the time
we arrived.
We were greeted by Dr Niamh Collins who gave Bobby Brown some pain
killers, and sedated him so we could then put him in the stocks. He
received a scan and a rectal exam and although Dr Collins was very quick
she maintained a very calm and reassuring manner. She explained we
would have to operate immediately. Another horse was in surgery and by
the time Bobby Brown was sedated, they were ready to operate.
We led Bobby Brown into surgery where the specialist surgeon, Dr Troy
Butt explained what would happen if the prognosis was bad once we opened
him up. If things did not look good, we would have a choice to put him
down. After an hour’s wait, the news was good. Then another hour went by
while they finished stitching him up and Troy explained the whole
process to us.
The large colon had flipped over cutting off the small intestine so
everything was being backed up putting pressure on his lungs due to the
excess Fluid. This restricted his breathing and when they sedated him
they had to open him up quickly as he was struggling to breathe. Troy went through the operation with me and explained his concern with
the stretching of the small intestine and his reassurance when closing
Bobby Brown up that it was contracting and looked like it was shrinking
back and exhibiting normal action!
He told us to go home and he would call me if there were any concerns.
He arranged for Bobby Brown to be transported to Scone Equine Hospital’s
Clovelly Intensive Care Unit with the other Colic patient. The next
morning Troy called to say that Bobby Brown was doing well and I could
see him. Over the next week I called every morning and saw Bobby Brown at night.
Every morning, the Nurse gave me a report and then the Vet would give me
another update later in the day. It was fantastic to be kept informed
the whole time Bobby Brown was in their care. The Nurses and Vet's at
Clovelly treated Bobby Brown like their own with lots of love and
attention.
On the Friday I spoke to the finance manager at Scone Equine Hospital.
He was very helpful and offered a payment plan if I needed it. Having
this as an option was a great help. I got complete support from the
nurses about treating Bobby Brown once we got him home. Bobby Brown came home on Saturday 20th March and we were all nervous and
excited! He is now looking better than ever and back to his old self!
The staff at the hospital were very supportive and very involved with
their work. It’s so obvious the passion they have for what they do.
Nothing was a problem for them.
I’ve spoken to many people who say they would not go through with a
colic operation due to the expense but the way we see it is this: We
spend a lot of time and effort, love, training and money on our horse.
If we didn’t go through with the operation we would ultimately have to
spend the money to replace him and to us Bobby Brown is irreplaceable.
So with the advice from my vet and the recommendation of my neighbour
and the great success rate at Scone Equine Hospital, it just made sense.
Now I have my happy healthy horse back and Ben and I wouldn't change a
thing. We understand that a horse doesn’t ask to be owned by us and feel
we have a responsibility to give them the best opportunity for a great
life.
