One of our wonderful supporters asked me the other day on the phone how blind Brynn was doing, and that made me realize it's been a long time since I've posted an update on her. Well, she's just about to turn two years old in early June, and that will be quite a milestone. Brynn has defied the odds, and no one -- not our vets, not us -- really expected to her to make it this far.
Just to recap her long list of medical problems: her neck is so short from malformed vertebrae she can't reach the ground with her mouth to eat; she has a hole in her heart; she only has one kidney; and she has an ectopic ureter, in which the tube that takes urine from her one working kidney to her bladder is dumping it instead into her vagina, causing constant leaking. Oh, and yes, she's blind, too. (Although we don't really count that as a 'medical problem' around this place!)
When we agreed to take her at the age of 5 days, we only knew she was born blind. All these other problems we found out after her first week here.
Now, you might well question how an animal with all those medical issues can have a good quality of life, but all you'd have to do is watch this little thing in the course of a day. She is happy, affectionate, adores people, loves to eat (and eat and eat), and even likes to try some bucking and kicking in her corral like a rodeo star when she's feeling her oats. (Given her neck constraints, these are very mild displays of bucking and kicking!) For eating, she has elevated feeders, which suit her just fine. We can't leave her out to graze in summer for extended periods because she bends her front legs over to reach the ground, which puts too much stress on them. Yet she's perfectly content to hang out at the barn with her hay and grain.
Her only real quality of life issue is the urine leaking out of her vulva and down her legs. She's had two surgeries at Washington State University's veterinary teaching hospital to fix the ectopic ureter, and both failed. Our own equine vet, a board-certified veterinary surgeon herself -- Dr. Erin Taylor -- is going to try the surgery on Brynn this spring.
In the meantime, we continue to bathe her every day to prevent urine scalding on her back legs. We wash her rear-end, thighs and legs with a sponge, and then apply ointments to her skin. If we stay on top of it, we can prevent the urine scalds from developing. Alayne took the photo above of me bathing Brynn this afternoon. She's still a very small girl, for which we are grateful; it's as if nature recognized that with all of her physical limitations, the last thing she needed was to grow into a full-size horse and put additional strain on her heart and vertebrae and remaining kidney. So she's really not much bigger than a small yearling.
Nothing's quite "right" about Brynn, including her overall appearance -- she looks more like a small moose than a two-year old Arabian, which is why I call her Moosie!
God Bless You...it's to bad there arn't more people like you....
Posted by: Bearsmom | May 03, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Heh, you must be too used to much larger breeds of horse if you think she's not a normal size for an Arabian. ;) From what I see, she's just about right for her age - they really aren't very tall, just like Mustangs aren't.
It was nice to have an update on her, tho!
Posted by: Christine | April 26, 2008 at 03:35 AM
A girl can NEVER have enough Spa treatments! :)
Posted by: Shirley & James, Portland, OR | April 22, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Every girl loves a spa treatement, including those of the equine variety! Thank you for the update. Let's hope her next surgery does the trick, but I'm sure she will still demand a visit to "Spa Steve" every now and then.
Posted by: Shelli Smith | April 22, 2008 at 11:20 PM
Aww, she does look like a moose. Too cute.
Gotta give this girl her props, too - if I had to have my rear end washed every day, I don't think I'd be anywhere near that dignified about it.
Posted by: Rebecca M. | April 22, 2008 at 02:23 PM
What a cutie! She was so adorable as a pony and she's still a cutie. Does she enjoy her daily bath? That is so great that you take the time to do this for her daily since it is so important to her.
Posted by: Carisa | April 22, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Brynn, I think you are simply beautiful. Thank goodness you have staff to see to your daily hygiene needs. May you have many happy birthdays to come!
Posted by: Linda | April 22, 2008 at 10:30 AM
I remember Brynn's first baby pictures; so darling and she still is. I'm sure your care has helped in her longevity but more than care; there's tenderness, routine she can count on and your patience for which she senses energetically.
She's a blessed girl in a blessed home.
Posted by: Boundforglory | April 22, 2008 at 09:14 AM
Just goes to show what TLC can do...with all her medical problems...your love and care have made her life beautiful!
Thanks for all you do for these wonderful animals.
Posted by: Brenda G | April 22, 2008 at 09:11 AM
Thanks for the update...I had been wondering about her.
Posted by: Debbie | April 22, 2008 at 07:37 AM
Good for her. As long as she is a happy girl and having fun, she should enjoy life.
Question-what has Travis been up to lately?
Posted by: Jennie | April 22, 2008 at 07:01 AM
I quite agree with Jamie: Brynn/Moosie is beating the odds thanks to all the TLC she's been receiving since arriving at RDR! Thank you so much, Steve & Alayne, for providing that TLC.
A big hug to Brynn from Italy.
Posted by: Carla Polastro-Nigro | April 22, 2008 at 04:30 AM
TLC is spelt RDR. :)
Posted by: Andrew, NZ | April 22, 2008 at 03:18 AM
Thank you for the post on Brynn - I do wonder how everyone else who doesn't make it into the blog on a regular basis is doing; I hope that no new is good news, although I'm sure you must have funny/endearing/happy/upsetting stories about everyone.
Brynn is indeed a trooper. The odds stacked against her are high, but hopefully she will continue to beat them as happily and contentedly as she has thus far.
Posted by: maggie | April 22, 2008 at 01:56 AM
I guess it goes to show you...even with all this beautiful horse's ailements only she...along with someone more powerful and wise up there knows when its time and damn it...they say it just isn't time! Yes!!!!
Posted by: Cora | April 22, 2008 at 12:01 AM
Oh, my word. Now that you mention it, she does look like a moose!
Since she can't say it (in words), I will: bless you for your gentle, daily care. Love has a lot to do with longevity.
Posted by: Jamie | April 21, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Steve & Alayne, Brynn only goes to prove what TLC can do and that is certainly provided at RDR. Go, Brynn. You are a beauty.
Posted by: Sonya Brooks | April 21, 2008 at 09:23 PM
It's so nice to have this update on Brynn! She's being so nice & still for you while you bathe her hind quarters. Seems she knows you are doing that to help her so she doesn't get those nasty scalds. Yes, she is really special & with the love & care that you & Alayne have given her, she's a very happy girl!
Big hugs to Brynn,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | April 21, 2008 at 09:15 PM
Thanks for the update....she looks so precious. You go, girl!
Posted by: Nina | April 21, 2008 at 08:36 PM