Revelation`s battle to live

Hi,

my name is Stine and I am the caretaker of a stallion foal named Revelation, born the 28th of April 2023.

We have chosen to be open and share our journey to hopefully be able to help others that might encounter a similar case.

We have posted his whole story on our Instagram Page Stine Rebecca Smith under the #smithsrevelation

Soon after Revelations arrival, he captured our hearts as well as the hearts of thousands of people in the horse community.

We have gotten several questions of where people can help support Revelations battle, so here we are making him a go fund me page. Since Revelation arrived in a state where he needed a lot of help he was not qualified to get insurance. We have used almost all of our savings in the process of trying to give this amazing little guy the best chances, because every horse deserves a chance and because he shows us daily that he is a fighter and has wants to live!

He is a very happy guy, who loves cuddles loves every moment of life, even through all the struggles he has endured.

We have 5 veterinarians and specialists involved, 3 blacksmiths with daily visits and follow-ups.

We have ordered specially made casts from Argentina.

And we also traveled 15 hours to a neighboring country to place him with a clinic that has a lot of experience with foal corrections.

We are doing everything in our power trying to give this little guy a chance with no more expectations that he can be a therapy horse in our farm living out his days pain-free. If he could live a normal life and come to competitions with me that would be a huge bonus and a story for the books.

We still do not know if they can save him, but we have done our absolute best ,spent all our time giving him physio, medical care and all the love we have to give.

We have always had a dream of being able to afford to make a rehabilitation center for horses like him but also a place for adult horses. Because we believe every horse deserves a chance! And of course, if he can't live a pain-free life we will have to put him down, but before all hope is over we will give it our absolute best with all we have to give!

Revelations Story so far (I will try to make it short):

Revelation came into this world crippled by the lack of space in his mother's womb because of his huge size and long legs, but he was always so happy, motivated to cooperate and showed us he had such a strong determination and will to live.

Before his arrival, we saw that his mother was dropping rapidly in weight but the belly was huge, unfortionally she still went 3 weeks over her due date and when this gorgeous stallion decided to arrive he was already huge in size. Since he was so big, the lack of space inside the womb had put its mark on Revelations body. His front legs have been curled together and because of this, his tendons were not long enough causing his front legs locked in 90 degrees position, the fetlocks in the front legs were also bent causing his hoofs to stand like a ballerina. His hind legs seem to have been stretched forward along his belly since this was where they were pointing causing them to be too soft/loose. all four legs were bent sideways and his back also looked bent.

We had a veterinarian on the phone right away and she came only 6 hrs after arrival giving him a shot of antibiotics with tetracycline to relax the muscles and tendons for us to be able to get the best results of physiotherapy. He was also put on pain relief to ensure he was comfortable in this process.

In his first week, we had to bottle feed him and lift him to his mother's milk every 2 hrs around the clock. It was important to us that he knew where the milk came from and for him to create a bond with his mother.

The first week we had veterinarians out almost every day checking up on him and we also did physio every 30 minutes every day to give him the absolute best chances of living a normal life.

A side effect of not being able to stand on his own was that his belly button did not close up and therefore he was leaking urine through his bellybutton. This resulted in us stopping the tetracycline and having to put him on penicillin right away to avoid an infection directly into his belly.

We quickly ordered specially designed casts from Argentina to help stretch his tendons but FedEx used so long to deliver these that when they finally arrived they were very tight on his big joints.

After a week Revelation was getting stronger but he was standing like a wheel, we continued supporting him at feeding time and also doing stretches all day every day. We started posting his daily walks to spread awareness that these foals can survive with help from early stages.

We are aware that Revelation is an extreme case, but if he can make it everyone can have the chance to make it!

In week two of life, we started getting several farriers involved to make a plan around supporting his legs. This process really sped things up and from day to day we could see enormous progress. Revelation was getting straighter and stronger by the minute. His belly button finally closed up and the urine came from the right place, what a happy moment and a huge relief this was.

During the next week, he had his farrier visit almost daily checking up on him and making small corrections every day.

But at 3 weeks we had a major setback. Revelation felt so much better that he was jumping around and had a tear in his strongest front leg tendon. Suddenly this leg was getting weaker and he continued to stumble forward. We were immediately on the phone with several veterinarians and had two vets coming the same day to evaluate if this was the end. Luckily they said this can be fixed but he would need to rest and be bandaged with Robert Jones bandages daily (we put on about 5 layers of cotton and bandage every day).

Along the way, it has been rough but Revelations determination to live and his loving personality have been the motivation.

When he was finally strong enough to travel we traveled 15 hrs to a neighboring country to a veterinarian who is a specialist.

Upon arrival, he had a blacksmith ready to evaluate Revelation. They thought he had made good progress but they saw his little hoofs now needed to have a time off from the shoes. They also did an operation in both his front knees to try to help his front legs straighen more.

The vet said all of his issues can be fixed but Revelations problem is that to fix the hind legs the front legs should be strong and to fix the front legs the hind legs should be strong. Therefore his case is complicated because he needs help on both ends. The front legs need rest and soft bedding, and the hind legs need exercise and hard bedding.

This is Revelations journey best explained up to this point. He is staying at a clinic now with professionals that evaluate the situation every day. They want him now to get some time in the field to see how his body strengthens and they will operate if needed.

Even if you don't donate we really do appreciate all the support and prayers to save our special guy!

The funds will help cover Revelations medical bills, medication, farrier, operation and rehabilitation. If the fundraiser exceed the goal , the funds will go towards our dream of starting our own rehabilitation center.

Love,

Stine & Revelation