A Good Week And News of New Seeker

We have had a good week - Blue Square have jumped in alongside Ladbrokes to cover the race sponsorship for our charity day at Newbury Racecourse on March 21st. The raceday in March is proving to be one of our most successful fundraising occasions, and this year's plans are shaping up well. Kim Bailey is going to run Heads and Tails again at the beginning of the lunch, he is clever and funny and it kicks off the day brilliantly..so with Alice Plunkett acting as MC and Mick Fitz going through the card it looks as if it is going be great fun.
Greg our vet,has just given us more or less the thumbs up for the future of New Seeker. New Seeker came to us in October because Elite Racing Club wished to ensure his future. He had a brilliant race career on the flat winning almost £400,000. He arrived to us in great shape, albeit he had an enlargement of the right hock following a bit of over exuberance in his previous yard. As time went on the swelling did not subside and we decided to x-ray. This revealed a couple of fragments around the joint. Greg recommended surgery, now this is something that we normally would not be able to afford, and so we asked Elite Racing Club if they would pay for the operation. It is typical of Elite Racing Club to so readily agree, they have a terrific sense of responsibility for all their horses. We had to make sure that previous injury to his knee would not break down following anaesthesia, but all was ok. New Seeker went to Dr Sven Kold at Willesley, Sven is one of the leading orthopaedic surgeons in the country. Sven told us that in addition to the fragments of bone which had to be removed there was also a large amount of coagulated blood covering the lining of the joint. It took a total of 40 litres of saline to flush through the joint in order to remove the inflammatory debris.
Anyway, New Seeker came through the operation as right as rain. We have had to dress the wound every four days in addition to using a hock Pressage bandage. He has borne his box rest with fortitude, and is now walking out in hand. He has been sound from the outset and we are now waiting for a culture to come back having drained some of the fluid from the hock. So, depending on that being clear, the fellow is well on the road to recovery. So that is a relief all round. I must say, he is certainly a big chap for a flat horse! Greg thinks that given sufficient time he may recover sufficiently to be ridden.