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Source:
Dr. Bonnie Rush, 785-532-5700
Photos available. Contact media@k-state.edu,
785-532-6415
News release prepared by: Patrice Scott, 785-532-4046, pscott@vet.k-state.edu
Thursday,
June 29, 2006
HORSE
'BUCKS' THE ODDS TO SURVIVE AND COMPETE AFTER INJURY
MANHATTAN--Buck
the horse is aptly named: he bucked the odds and survived and thrived
in spite of suffering a severe injury in a training accident.
Chris
Dietz, owner of the 9-year-old quarter horse, was at home in Russell,
Kan., when her phone rang early one morning.
"I
received a phone call from Buck's trainer in Topeka saying that
Buck had gone over backwards during a training session," Dietz
said. "Their veterinarian examined Buck and said we needed
to get him to K-State right away."
It
took nearly an hour to trailer Buck from Topeka to Kansas State
University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Manhattan.
It took about the same amount of time to help him off the trailer
once he arrived.
Dr.
Bonnie Rush, equine section head and associate dean of career development,
helped unload the 1,300-pound, 16.3-hand quarter horse.
"We
sedated him and carefully got him out of the trailer," Rush
said. "He was depressed and hypersensitive to sound and touch.
He was not aware of his surroundings. He had a laceration above
his right eye, his eye movement was uncontrolled and he was uncoordinated."
Chris
and Perry Dietz and daughter Chelsea made the two-hour drive to
Manhattan and rushed to Buck just as he was being ushered off the
trailer.
"When
we got there we were all talking," Chris Dietz said. "Buck
heard my voice and he turned his head to find me, and he came crashing
down. It was awful. When I saw him, I really didn't think he was
going to make it."
Once
Buck settled into a padded stall in the intensive care unit, Rush
offered him food.
"I
fed him a little bit of hay to calm him down. As soon as he started
to chew, he passed out. Later he had seizures when he tried to chew.
That was presumptive evidence of a skull fracture."
Buck
had nine seizures in 24 hours that ranged from grand mal to focal
-- partial -- seizures. Each lasted between 30 seconds and one minute,
and Buck collapsed after four episodes. Rush ordered X-rays which
confirmed Buck had a skull fracture. The reason Buck lost consciousness
when eating, she said, was to relieve pressure.
"Every
time Buck would chew or swallow, it would put pressure on the fracture
site," Rush said.
Buck's
situation was critical. "If we don't see improvement in the
first 72 hours, we're in a lot of trouble," Rush told the Dietz
family.
Buck
was constantly monitored and evaluated -- Rush said they assessed
Buck's rapid eye movement, his ability to eat and swallow, his level
of coordination, his facial nerve function and his sensitivity to
light and sound.
Buck
responded to the medications and showed improvement within those
critical 72 hours. However, this was only the first hurdle.
"Nervous
tissue heals very slowly," Rush said. To survive, Buck had
to continue to demonstrate improvement through the first week, which
he did. The next medical landmarks are at eight weeks and six months.
"I
tell clients that the horse you have in six months is the horse
you are going to live with," Rush said.
Two
weeks after the accident, while Buck's nervous tissue was still
healing, he was discharged from the hospital and sent home with
his nervous owners. "I was terrified when we loaded his wobbly
body into the trailer for the two-hour ride home," Chris Dietz
said. "All went well. The hardest part for Buck at home was
the eight weeks of stall confinement." Buck was confined to
a stall as a precautionary measure to avoid further injury.
Dr.
Chuck Stinchcomb, Buck's veterinarian in Russell, made weekly trips
to the Dietz farm.
"We
examined him frequently," Stinchcomb said. "We were looking
for any signs of improvement or regression. Buck just always showed
improvement."
Six
months later, when Buck returned to K-State for a follow-up appointment,
he had a neurologic evaluation, and was cleared to be ridden.
No
one was happier than Chelsea Dietz. Chelsea was confident Buck could
handle a rider. "I've known Buck for so long, and I knew he
would do his best to try not to hurt me or himself," Chelsea
Dietz said. "To be able to ride Buck again was a miracle."
At
a horse show in Oklahoma a few months after his accident, Chelsea
and Buck placed in every event shown. Buck holds five American Buckskin
Registry Association World Titles but his owners said the most amazing
awards are those he received in 2005 after the accident.
"The
odds were against Buck that he would go on to that level of performance,"
Rush said. "A minority of horses go on to full performance
with this severe of an injury."
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