Tomorrow.

It's tomorrow!

I thought you might like to read the notes I'm taking in with him.


ADMISSION NOTES FOR ACE TRAYES

1. Allergy to headcollar fittings.
Ace is allergic to the metal fittings on headcollars. I have supplied a headcollar with the metal covered. If it is  not possible to use this headcollar for some reason and he has to wear an alternative for more than half an hour, then the metal needs to be covered in order to avoid him developing a thickened skin patch which will later fall off.  Ace has previously been fitted with a canula for several days and has no problem with stainless steel medical fittings.

2. Indication of pain.
Ace is not a crib biter. If he makes any gestures which suggest he is taking an object in his teeth, or hooking his top teeth onto an edge, this is always a sign of pain. It may indicate that additional pain relief is needed, if it is possible to administer more.

3. Feed.
Ace is an enthusiastic eater and he will take medications like bute in food with no problems. He normally eats haylage.

4. Exercise
If  Ace is allowed to be led out in hand then I would like to arrange to do this myself once a day. If I can be informed of when would be  the right timing would be then I will happily take on this aspect of his aftercare.

5. Staple removal.
I have previous experience of staple removal and, as before, I would like Ace to be discharged with a staple remover, which I will return once the staples are all out. In this way they can also be removed progressively rather than all in one go if it is done by yourselves.

6. Discharge date
The estimate allows for four days stay. I am a very experienced and very confident owner and if it is possible to release him before then  I would prefer to have him home at the earliest opportunity. This is not an issue of cost, but of his mental health   which will be better if he is at home with his buddy in a familiar environment.

7. Due to inconsistent mobile phone and BT landline phone coverage at home, I will be present at Somerford while Ace is in surgery. In the event of any untoward occurrence, or unforseen issue needing my input, I will be either in my car outside the surgery or in the cafe.

8. In the event of a medical emergency while he is with you, if I cannot be contacted then my instructions are as follows. If he can be kept alive without a great deal of intervention until I can be contacted, then that is what should happen. In the event of catastrophic colic, he should be put to sleep. In the event of injury which cannot easliy be stabilised  long enough to get hold of me, then he should be put to sleep. I understand that this may sound unnecessarly dramatic but I believe in hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.



Caroline Trayes





NOTES FOR SURGEON GRAHAM MUNRO.
ACE, Interspinous ligament desmotomy Tuesday 3rd September.

I hope to meet you before the operation. You'll be pleased to know, as I was,  that I have had great reports from some of your previous clients on a forum which I use.

You don't know me, obviously, but I am probably in the bottom 5% on the emotional scale of your customers with regard to my horses. Ace is uninsured and this will be a once-only exercise. If it does not work then I will give him until spring to improve and then have him put down if he is still unhappy at  being ridden.

In view of that, if there is any doubt about how many spinal processes to operate on, then my own preference would be to err on the side of doing one 'too many'  rather than take any risk of operating on one too few.  I realise that I probably don't need to be saying this to an experienced surgeon like you, but it makes me feel slightly less out of control of the situation to do so, which I hope you will excuse.

I have very inconsistent mobile and BT landline coverage at home. I'm also aware that things can change once you get started, and that emergencies can happen with horses. In view of that, I will be at Somerford while you are operating on Ace.  I'm pretty sure you won't allow me to watch the surgery, much as it would fascinate me to see you do one of the ligaments, so I will be either in my car outside or in the cafe in the event of a quick decision needing to be made about anything.

I am hopeful that I will be able to report to you well before Christmas that Ace can be added to the increasing list of horses which have been resolved by this procedure. Rest assured that I will be doing everything in my own power to achieve that outcome.



Caroline Trayes