Dear Mr. Graves, 

I got your e-mail address from Roy Scudamore, who told me you might be able to help my horse, Aaron.

A brief summary of what happened:

In October 2003, Aaron's owner partook in a steeplechase and was involved in an accident: Horse and rider took a tumble down a steep ravine. They were going at a full gallop when the mishap occurred.

Aaron's owner and rider broke his neck and died in February 2004 as a result of the accident. The horse's injuries (primarily the damage done to the tendons of the right foreleg) were not treated until then, because the owner's family blamed the horse and refused to deal with or even see it. The deceased's widow told the veterinarian to administer painkillers, but instead of keeping the horse in the stable, she had him brought into the paddock. Aaron's efforts to keep up with the herd and his near-constant running around on his hurt leg aggravated the injury until it got so bad the owner's widow decided to have him put down. This was when I bought him free with help from the vet.

Though we immediately started with rehabilitation, the fetlock kept moving to the front. In March 2004 we brought Aaron to a clinic and on the doctors' advice decided on surgery as a means to at least stabilize his condition. The sesameidean (?) ligaments of the surface and the deep flexor tendon were cut; however, the operation was not a success. As a consequence, the doctors recommended a second operation in June 2004 to save Aaron's life. This time, the surface flexor tendon was cut and the sesameidean (?) ligament was severed again.

Unfortunately, the success of this measure lasted only until September 2004, then the fetlock started to press to the front again. In November 2004 we switched clinics and went to a private animal hospital where a German specialist examined Aaron's leg. He told us there was no chance our horse could recover, because tendons and bones had formed into one single, solid chunk. Even so he did not want to see the horse killed; in his opinion, Aaron still has a few good years in him.

Now, in May 2005, Aaron's fetlock drags on the ground. Our options to help him have gone from few to zero - that is, if we limit our search for solutions to Austria.

During the past two months, an orthopaedic specialist fashioned two splints specifically for Aaron, using a plaster cast of the horse's leg for reference. I've attached pictures of both splints to this mail. The first splint was movable so the lower part of the leg could be shifted forward a little, but the metal joints were not strong enough to support Aaron's weight and broke. The current splint is made from synthetic material, but it is not a perfect fit. The orthopaedic specialist who developed the splints has no experience with horses; he usually works with humans, not with large quadrupeds.

My question is, can you think of orthopaedic means to help my horse? If not, is there any other way in which you might be able to help? I would very much appreciate any and every information you can give me.

You see, I work at a riding school and I've seen more than one horse die. This horse wants to live. Everybody who knows him can tell. He's faced his lot with so much courage and spirit; I don't want him to die just because he happens to live in the wrong area of the world.

Please write to us as soon as you can. We're waiting...

Respectfully,

Verena Zach & Aaron

           Look at how he stands, and walks now!!                

                                        Before our Device                                        After our Device                                           In the Snow