Bob's Surgery

Photo by Ty Holland

We had to take Bob up to AZ Equine on Monday for his neurectomy. Bob has had trouble with his front feet since we got him. He was finally given an MRI a while back and it was determined that a neurectomy was his only hope. We finally got the approval and funding from the Army to proceed. We brought him home on Wednesday and he will be on pen rest for six weeks. Because nerves have a tendancy to grow back when they've been severed, we can supposedly delay the process by keeping the horse from engaging in much active for the first few weeks. This is the exact opposite of the treatment I underwent when I severed the radial nerve in my right arm years ago during a bad riding accident. I had to constantly exercise the arm to generate nerve regrowth. It took six months of constant activity. With Bob, we don't want that to happen too quickly, so the stall rest is supposed to help slow the process of nerve regrowth. We will see. I hope we can keep him going for a couple of years before we have to either retire him or do another neurectomy. He's a good horse and I look forward to seeing him moving without the pain in his heels.