By Erica Hilton
My horse, Righ (Jockey Club name “Brolic,” which suits him OH SO WELL), is a 12-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred (OTTB) that I adopted on May 4th, 2019. He retired from racing after 18 starts, with three firsts, two seconds, and one third-place finish, earning only $75,148. Upon the discovery of a fractured sesamoid in his front left leg, he was let down from racing, but cleared for full work after rehabilitation. After rehab, I leased him from his prior owner before officially adopting him, as we just clicked.
Righ always had mild arthritis due to his racing career, and when we moved down to Virginia, the vet examined him, and we put him on monthly Adequan® i.m. for support and to keep him feeling good for work!
Still, over the last year or so, I started to notice a lot of on-and-off lameness, and he was still not right; something was “off” with him. At this point, I knew it would take a lot of vetting, and a process of elimination. Righ is a stoic horse when it comes to more severe injuries, but a bell boot rub? Forget it; he’ll be dead lame, and I will know about it right away (he is a funny one for sure, and keeps me on my toes).
I started to check all the boxes; I had a wonderful saddle fitter come out and examine him, who determined his saddle was a poor fit, and that he was a slightly hard fit due to muscle atrophy in one shoulder. She took thorough measurements, and brought some saddles to try, but none fit just right. At that point, we explored the option of brand-new semi-custom close contact saddles, which, unfortunately, were out of the budget for my husband and me. She worked with me while I tried to find something second-hand, and told me what exactly to look for in a used saddle, so I knew what I needed to do.
While searching for the perfect new-to-me saddle, I took time to reconnect with Righ. I started reading to him, enjoying the lazy afternoons grazing and grooming, and doing some light bareback work.
During this same time, we had our lameness exam with our vet, and Righ was diagnosed with pretty severe lameness in both hind legs from the stifles down. While watching him move and listening to me explain Righ’s symptoms, the vet was certain it might be Lyme disease due to the symmetry of his lameness and other symptoms he was presenting. We injected his stifles to start making him more comfortable, and collected bloodwork for the Lyme test. Lo and behold, a week later, the Lyme test came back and was positive for chronic Lyme disease. Finally, we had some answers!
Righ was put on oxytetracycline via catheter two times daily for 30 days. I chose this as his treatment because I felt it was the best option to guarantee that he got all his medicine and that it would be the best option for treatment, based on my discussion with the vet.
I was at the barn every morning before and every evening after work, and spending this time with Righ really helped us bond, and helped our relationship tremendously. He started to know the routine, and in the morning, he was always at the gate, waiting for me to bring him in for some treats and his Lyme treatment. The same went for each evening, and all of this time spent reconnecting and bonding was so helpful for both of our souls!
We did all of this while STILL looking for the perfect used saddle, which I FINALLY found from the United Kingdom at the end of June, not only for a great deal, but also in FANTASTIC condition! When the saddle arrived, it fit him ALMOST perfectly! The fitter came back out to assess the fit, and all it needed was a little bit of reflocking! FINALLY!
The difference was evident as soon as I started riding him in the new saddle, but of course, despite all the upswings, Righ did ruin his catheter, so the vet had to come out again and replace it on the opposite side of his neck (isn’t it always something with horses?).
Once treatment was done, it was a sigh of relief! My horse was gaining muscle again, getting stronger, and not feeling off in his hind end anymore! I was getting back the horse I almost never even knew, so it made my brain think how long he may have had Lyme disease, and I didn’t know. Part of me felt guilty about this, but the other part knew I had always done so much for him, and that it was not my fault. The difference in Righ post-treatment is nothing short of amazing! We went from on and off lame to him going back to what he loves to do and being happy and comfortable doing it!
We went to our first jumper show in over two years in October 2024, and Righ was phenomenal. I had my horse back! He was forward and had impulsion from the hind end, but he listened to everything I asked of him. I could tell he was happy based on the photos, because his ears were forward in every single one; not only that, but he felt phenomenal! We also went to our first horse trial in over two years this past November, Eventing 4 the Cure, which benefited the Angel Oncology Fund of Shenandoah, and we both had a blast! Again, he felt amazing, and I knew I had my horse back!
While this year was full of ups and downs, I am so thankful for my husband, best friends, trainer, vet, saddle fitter, and everyone who supported us, and helped us see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The comeback is ALWAYS greater than the setback!
