This message is from: "Sue Clark-Sorger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I shared with you all about 6 weeks ago that I was parting with my 2 fjords due to my medical problems. I sent them both to Patti Jo Walter in Wisconsin and she found a buyer for Kez the gelding. During the pre-purchase vet check, Kez was found to have a heart murmur. Many horses have heart murmurs so I asked Patti Jo to keep on with her training of him until we had more testing done. Kez has never show any indication of heart problems at all. Today Kez had an echocardiogram and the finding were both incredible and heartbreaking. Kez's heart in totally backwards and is much more forward in his chest than normal, the vets doing the scan thought he was missing half of his heart because they couldn't find it until they tried on the other side of his body. Kez also has a good sized hole in his heart and a leaking valve. He is totally unrideable as his heart could just give up just like that. Again he has show no indication of any problems what so ever. Patti Jo has been riding him for the past 5 weeks trotting and cantering out on the trail and he has shown no sign of distress. The vets say this is a birth defect and said that often heart murmurs they are not heard until the horse is mature, Kez is 6 years old. Some of you will remember that I raised Kez when his mother died while in labor with him. I just couldn't afford to have an autopsy to find out why, at the time my focus was on the living not the dead. Now I wonder if she had the same problem and the pregnancy and the labor was just to much for her heart. So Kez is coming home to New Mexico, the decisions I made to breed his mother are why he is here and I am responsible. I am going to have to be inventive about how to keep an active young horse busy that doesn't know how sick he is. Yes, I could put him down, but to all outward appearances he is a healthy horse, that may change and that decision may have to be made in the future. My medical problems have not changed but we will manage and we feel this is the right thing to do. If any of you have ever heard of conditions like this I would be interested in hearing from you and of your experiences. My mare Heather is leased for the next year, so I know she is set, she may be sold in the future but not now. Thanks for allowing me to share, Fjord people are just the best. Sue Sue Clark-Sorger Crown Oak Fjords Sandia Park NM The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
