Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Training after colic surgery

From: Hollis

My two year old Missouri Fox Trotter gelding underwent colic surgery on 2/11/96. A foot of his small intestine was removed and the intestine was resectioned. Joker has been confined to his stall and a small turnout paddock since returning home on 2/23/96. He has had no interaction with my other 5 horses during this time. His recovery has been remarkable and he is scheduled to return to pasture with the others in a week. Before the surgery, Joker was scheduled to go to a professional trainer in June along with his half-sister, Gypsy. The team of vets that treated Joker while he was hospitalized have told me that he should be perfectly fine to begin the training as scheduled.

Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid, but I don't feel comfortable sending him off to a trainer just three and a half months after major surgery. I've been seriously considering waiting another 4 months until October but this trainer is always booked solid and may not have an opening for Joker then. Should I send him on in June and hope for the best or wait until October and hope the trainer has an opening?

Hollis

Hi Hollis -- I've been through the colic surgery routine, and if Joker were MY horse, I would keep him at home and try for October, for two reasons. One is that YOU are worried about him, and if anything happened to him, you would blame yourself for not following your instinct to look after him longer at home. The other is that there's no burning reason to send him to the trainer right now! He's only two -- he could go next year, and he would be bigger, stronger, and more able to take the training. There's really no compelling reason to start a riding horse under saddle at two, and there are many good reasons NOT to!

But age and immaturity aside, my second reason for keeping Joker at home is this: for a horse to get the most benefit from his training, he needs to be strong and fit when he goes to the trainer. Joker has been on stall and paddock rest, and his muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones are NOT as strong as they would be if he had been turned out in the pasture with the other horses for the last several months. He needs to get back into shape so that he'll be strong enough to handle the training. And at his very young age, he also needs to be properly socialized with other horses -- something that will happen naturally in the pasture. A horse that understands herd dynamics is a horse that's easy to train and work with, so the longer he can stay out with the others, the better for the trainer and for you.

Joker is YOUR horse and you should do what YOU think is right for him. I've told you what I would do, but that's not carved in stone!

- Jessica

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