Bye bye Baby Bear. You were a very good boy. :(

[Lord_Helpus]

My retiree, Bear, did a real number on his jaw. A displaced fracture.

Surgeon wanted to give him several days to see if he could be managed conservatively, but, after 24 hours the pain meds were not keeping him out of pain and vet was able to move the fracture which she could not do the day before. So he is now in surgery.

Would love to hear from other people who have been through this. Bear is 25 and, evidently, has an “aortic insufficiency”, so surgery is a little risky. But, when the surgeon told me the direction things were headed, there was no other option.

Of course, I am a wreck…

[findeight]

God, I am sorry to hear that. Thoughts are with you and Bear.

Did know one that stuck it’s nose through some opening and managed to break its jaw and require surgery. Younger horse, otherwise healthy, came through fine with surprisingly little aftercare.

[Nlevie]

Big Jingles for him ! And you ~

[tinah]

Jingles from over here! The old ones do a good enough job breaking our hearts when they aren’t breaking their faces. I’ve not had one go through a surgery like that, so I’m not much help on that front.

[Dressagelvr]

Jingles.

[Ghazzu]

Best wishes for Bear!

[jetsmom]

Sending jingles for Bear.

[JackieBlue]

Jingling like mad!!

[beowulf]

jingling like crazy for Bear (and you)!! many hugs and jingles

[FirstChance]

Jingles!

[stolen_virtue]

We had a middle aged horse break his jaw many years ago. Once the pain was under control he healed up very fast and was back to being riden in about a month.

I hope all goes well.

[x-halt-salute]

Best wishes to you and Bear!

In case happy stories will be comforting as you get through surgery/recovery: A friend’s horse broke his jaw this summer (she is on CoTH so she may chime in with more detail). Everyone at the barn was pretty freaked out and worried when he went in for surgery, but the outcome was great. He came home with a bunch of wires holding everything together and if you didn’t know what had happened you’d never have guessed. She was riding him in a sidepull after not too long, and he’s wire-free and as good as new after a few months. Quite remarkable how well those jaws heal. Hoping for the best for you too!

[Janet]

Jingles for you and Bear.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=x-halt-salute;7974129]
Quite remarkable how well those jaws heal. Hoping for the best for you too![/QUOTE]

my vet says if your horse is going to hurt himself the best place is the face- he said the massive amount of bloodflow there makes it very good for healing.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

Jingles for Bear and calm, peaceful thoughts for you.

[Lord_Helpus]

Thank you everyone. It is good to hear stories of success with this surgery.

Bear is out of surgery and back in his stall. The surgeon is very happy with the fixation and Bear is, no doubt, seeing pink elephants and upset that Beyonce did not show up. (Those of you who have seen the viral video of a boy who just had his wisdom teeth out will know the reference).

At age 25, Bear will never have to worry about a bit in his mouth; my hope is that he can go back to just being the lovable, happy horsie he has always been. I got him 20 years ago and he has always been one of the good guys.

As we all know, seeing your horse (or child ) in a lot of pain is very traumatic. I think Bear and I will both sleep better tonight.

[HorsesinHaiti]

Prayers for Bear.
And you! It’s nerve wracking when the old ones need surgery.

[Laurierace]

Getting him through the surgery and back to his stall is a huge hurdle, glad that went well. Many jingles that the good news keeps coming.

[CrowneDragon]

Big jingles for Bear! I hope he has a smooth and uneventful recovery.

~jingle~jangle~jingle~jangle~

[Peggy]

I hope all continues to go well and he gets to come home soon. As you know I had one do this so feel free to contact me with questions or for support. Dang horses.