
Junior the pony horse needs surgery
Donation protected
Well, I am officially one of those people!
Junior (JC Under And Over) has been a steadfast and reliable pony at the track for the past several years. He is not a stranger to odd physical occurences but is such a stoic horse that sometimes things will go missed because he’s a trooper. He loves hooking up to the racehorses and has been utilized not only by me, but various other outfits and hands at the track.
The last few years, Junior presented with intermittent Head Shaking syndrome which is a spontaneous occurence, can occur due to various reasons. After a whole work up trying to find a source to no avail, he was luckily managed with a UV mask, equioxx (intermittently as needed) and magnesium oxide. He did tend to start up symptoms mildly when his teeth needed floating, so he is on a 3-4 month checkup with a dentist.
His last dental two months ago, it was noticed that he had a dead middle upper incisor that was loose and slightly dropped. The tooth next to it seemed to be affected also. The gumline was infected. Upon vet consult, I was told to leave the tooth until it was ever an issue. Junior started a course of antibiotics which calmed the gumline and cleared up that particular concern. The vet did say that if, and when, it needed to be removed, it is a bit of an undertaking to remove the upper incisor due to the position, the length and the intricacy of the facial nerves. The surgery is not only pricey but takes a few hours. So his suggestion was to leave it be until it couldn’t be left.
Well….. it’s that time!
Unfortunately the dead tooth broke off at the gumline. Some protruding tooth is exposed and the gumline is showing infection again. The risk of leaving it is an infection taking root and spreading to the jawline. So it has to come out.
The removal itself is an undertaking, however if all goes well, recovery time is approximated to be two weeks. It is undetermined yet if only one incisor root needs to be removed or if the adjacent tooth also needs to come out with it.
This is something that Junior needs done and it may have been the source of his HS for the past few years (or maybe the tooth fracture occured during a bout of HS - since HS can cause violent unpredicted jerking of the head). Who knows what came first? All I know is this is something that this horse needs done and needs done asap.
If you know Junior, he has probably helped your ass out on the track at least once.
I will try to get better picture of the current situation but due to his sensitivity, it has been difficult to clean the spot out since he is being protective over his smile. (maybe he’s just embarassed..) Other than that, he is healthy, good weight and as sexy as ever.
I see dumber fundraisers so whatever!
Organizer
Fidelia Stables
Organizer
Pennsville, NJ