Gringo's Story

Gringo has a sketchy past. I know little about what happened to him prior to my ownership. I got Gringo from an ex-boarder. She had gotten him from his breeder. He was only three when I got him and already had so many problems.

By the time I got him in October of 2006, he had already been at numerous (think about 5+) barns in just two short years. He had supposedly been "broke" to ride, but we found out soon enough that he either had no training or very bad training (I personally think it was a combination of both).

It took weeks before I could lead him without either being plowed over or stepped on. He had no concept of personal space and was as flighty as a bird. I do know that when his previous owner (PO) attempted to lunge him, he got away from her and got tangled up in a barbed wire fence. He has scars to prove he lost that battle.

Anyways, the training of Gringo progressed very slowly. He would be making good progress but within minutes would back track - miles back. For every one-step forward, it would be four steps back. It took a long time to build his trust in humans... makes me wonder what really happened in all those barns before I got him.

In early January, the BO thought it was time to finally throw that other leg all the way over. Well, needless to say, that did not go so smooth. I ended up with permanent nerve damage on my left side - primarily in my left arm and leg.

By late winter, we knew something was not right with Gringo. He would have okay days, and then he would have outright dangerous days. No rhyme or reason. No expression before he would freak... just one moment he's with it, the next he's trying to kill everyone.

In May, we stopped training. We just weren't making any progress. By then, I'd already had the vet out a couple times but we could never find anything wrong. Well, in early May we thought we had the culprit... an abscess in the left fore. Treated it for a couple weeks with no real improvement.

Therefore, we had the vet back out. This time we took x-rays. Found out he had fractured the coffin bone (extensor process was where the break actually occurred). So, my options were limited. Stall rest, corrective shoeing or surgery. I opted for a mixture...

In August, after having two months off and just chilling out in the pasture, I send Gringo to my significant other's (SO) parents' house. He had the luxury of being on pasture board for 9 months. Him and I finally bonded when he moved there. I was his "human" and he was always so happy to see me. Those 9 months out there did wonders for him. He became a horse again. He also became more trusting.

In March of this year I took Gringo to the specialist (same one Gus saw actually... love Dr. T) to see if there was any improvement in his x-rays from the previous May. Found out from Dr. T that the break was old... not just a year old, but like years old. Great. So, that means that while the PO had Gringo, this "accident" occurred... and she knew about it.

We never did notice it on the PPE back in October when I had gotten Gringo, but then, I didn't do x-rays. Lessons learn. Anyway, Dr. T recommended corrective shoeing. His other options were joint injections, stem cells, IRAP or surgery to remove the fragment. None of those were feasible... so I opted for the cheaper route.

So, now Gringo is sporting lovely shoes with clips, rocker toes and pads with frog support. He's sounder now then he's been in years. I also had his coffin bone injected back in early August of this year. That injection seemed to cause more issues, temporarily. He was very painful for about two weeks. But, he's seems to be getting along better now.

Thankfully, things seem to be resolving. There's no guarantee he'll ever be sane enough to be ridden. He has such a history and so much of it we don't even know. I do know that he's very reactive to pain... for what that's worth.

ETA: This is more for my own benefit, but here's another blogger's post about coffin bone injuries - great source of information! See: http://behindthebit.blogspot.com/2008/09/coffin-bone-fractures-what-to-look-for.html.

Who exactly is G2?

Well, I suppose I should introduce who G2 is. G2 (pronounced as G squared) is the name given to my two equine boys by a good friend of mine. Gus and Gringo. I have had Gus since the spring of 2000, Gringo I recently acquired back in October 2006.

Gus is a registered Appaloosa gelding who was born back in January of 1990. He is one of the greatest loves of my life. He's brought me a lot of happiness, however, in recent times it's been more sorrow and heartache. Gus was recently diagnosed at Anoka Equine in May of 2008 with a torn cranial cruciate ligament in his right stifle. Fancy saying that he torn a ligament in his knee. Prognosis is not good. No guarantee he'll ever be sound again. Depressing. More to come on Gus's issues in later posts.


(This is Gus... he's my favorite, but don't tell Gringo!)



(Gus definitely enjoys rolling after a good bath. I only included this one because I'm also monitoring his weight. He's hyperthyroid and has issues maintaining his weight because of a hyper-active thyroid gland. He gained about 50-60 lbs since this photo was taken back this spring.)

Gringo, on the other hand, is a triple registered Andalusian/Appaloosa gelding who was born in February 2003. When I got him in October 2006, he was given to me by his previous owner (read between the lines - FREE). Little did I know why. Well, about $2000 and a couple years later (after months of lameness issues) I know why. Gringo suffers from a broken coffin bone. To be more specific, he fractured the extensor process of his left front coffin bone. Basically, he broke his "foot". He has a crappy diagnosis also. No guarantee he'll ever be sound 100% again either. Although with corrective shoeing and careful weight management, he's doing much better now.


(This is Gringo, doing what he does best... EAT!)



(In this picture, you can definitely see the Appy characteristics.)

Therefore, this blog is really going to be more of a diary of their difficulties in life. I need a place to vent at times and yet keep track of how things are progressing. I hope to accomplish that with this blog.