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Prince of my heart by Caleigh Janine SynmanPrince of My Heart
By Caleigh Janine Snyman, age 13
Every horse lover that you meet will have some story about an amazing horse that does things that make him or her special. Like a horse that comes every time they hear their owner whistle, kneels for their owners to mount or rears on command. I have experienced a fair amount of these special horses in my life but there is one that outdoes them all.
His name is Prince, a common name for an uncommon horse. He is coal black with not a white hair on his body though in summer his coat is bleached to brown. I usually prefer not to pick favourites but I love him better than any other horse. When I was still a proud Jo’burger I rode at a western riding school called S.A Trails and had always dreamed of riding Prince.
Two years after I started there I was experienced enough to ride him and when the day came I practically threw myself on the saddle. We had a great ride and I was smitten, but he did nothing that would merit all the attention I was giving him. For the next couple of lessons I rode him and our relationship grew.
We became good friends to the extent that he would rest his head on my leg as I sat in the saddle. He would also come to the gate when he saw my dad’s car slog up the long sand driveway that wound beside the paddocks. A couple of weeks went by and Prince got seriously sick with colic and an old leg injury began to play up.
My teacher, Peter, put him in the bottom paddock, next to the path that we took to go on outrides, to recuperate and I was not allowed to ride him. One sunny Saturday I went on an outride with Peter and some of his customers. I rode a tall chestnut mare named Lady and was right behind the lead horse in the line. As we passed his paddock Prince meekly followed us until the fence stopped him.
He gave a lonely neigh before he fell to grazing. I felt really sorry for him and told him that I would ride him soon. Sufficed to say I had a great outride on Lady and was looking forward to the next outride in a couple of week’s time. As we topped one of the small hills or kopjes - frequent in the wilder parts of Johannesburg - on the way home, Prince caught sight of us and sent out a long neigh.
As we got closer his neighing became more erratic and he tossed his head and paced along the fence. At first I thought it was because of the other horses that he was behaving the way he was. But I noticed that whenever I stopped Lady he stopped too and whenever Lady broke into a trot he jounced along beside her. I decided to try something and stepped off the path allowing the other riders to pass me.
Prince waited pressed against the fence. I brought Lady as close to Prince as I could and he immediately stretched out his neck to try and lip my shirt. I stroked him and he sighed deeply. I suddenly realised that it was me he wanted. I couldn’t stay though because I was being left behind and set off after the tail end of the riders.
Prince began neighing the moment I left the fence and his neck was constantly stretched out begging for me to touch him. I smiled at him through a blur of love induced tears and promised that I would come see him. He followed us until he was intercepted by the gate though I could still hear him calling long after we were out of sight.
The moment I had dismounted and seen to Lady I tore to the bottom paddock and ducked under the wire where I stood with Prince’s head resting on my shoulder. I swear if a horse could hug that’s what he was doing. We remained that way for half an hour until it was time for me to leave. The next time I arrived for a lesson I expected to see Prince tied to the hitching rail but he wasn’t there.
I walked to the bunkhouse only to see Peter look down sadly. I remember bursting into tears and hugging Peter for ages. Later I learned that he had been given to people who could afford to retire him as his leg had only gotten worse. He is now living happily with a beautiful pinto girlfriend and plenty of green grass. I haven’t seen him since that day but it was a day I would not easily forget.
He will always remain the Prince of my heart. I wrote this article in his memory and to prove to those who think of the horse as a big, dumb unfeeling beast that they are actually intelligent animals that are filled with love and demand respect. After all, they could throw us off whenever they want to but they choose to let humans sit on their backs…
My Rottweiler Storm by Betsie SmitMy Rottweiler Storm
By Betsie Smit
Storm was born October 2007 and on 15 December 2008, at 14 months of age, got hit by a car resulting in a fracture of her femur neck (right hind limb), among other things. Once initial trauma was treated the local veterinarian, Dr Johan Tredoux, performed a femur head amputation on 23 December 2008.
It obviously took some time for Storm to recuperate after the operation and she lost a lot of muscle in her leg. On 18 January 2009 I contacted Dr Tanya Grantham, a veterinarian in Benoni who deals with post-op rehabilitation of dogs and cats. Then the work began: Storm’s thigh muscles were severely wasted and she was only taking a little bit of weight on that leg.
   
The photos above show Storm from the beginning to how she is now.
The program mostly entailed hydrotherapy, like swimming, once a week. On 24 January 2009 the circumference of the right thigh was 37 cm and the left thigh 41 cm. The first few sessions were conducted with Storm in a float coat (life jacket) to ease anxiety and also reduce the workload. After a few sessions and a few toys, the jacket was removed and Storm was put into a harness.
The muscles were already much stronger and movement of the right hind leg much improved, so the workload was increased. This was achieved by making Storm less buoyant and also asking her to swim for longer periods of time and greater distances.
After five weeks of hydrotherapy, the results were very positive. Dr Johan Tredoux had an opportunity to radiograph the joint – which has healed and remodelled very well. The muscle mass has increased in both legs: the right leg to 40 cm and the left leg to 42 cm (see photo).
Throughout all of this, Storm has been a delight and I think she definitely recovered much faster than she would have without therapy. Although her leg has recovered, I am definitely going to carry on with the swimming exercises to ensure all the hard work wasn’t for nothing.
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