Sully's Surgery

UPDATE: Sully is scheduled for a frontonasal boneflap surgery to remove the ethmoid hematoma on 2/13 at Mid-Atlantic Equine Veterinary Hospital.

On 1/14/23, "Sully" (tattoo 2D519) arrived at our private farm in Quakertown, PA from a kill pen/dealer's lot in western Pennsylvania. He is a 16-year-old standardbred gelding who began his life at the beautiful and prestigious Winbak Farm in Maryland where I'm sure his breeder had high hopes for him -- Sully's sire, Western Hanover, had lifetime winnings of $2.5 million while his dam earned $504,000. Unfortunately for little Sully, his racing career proved to be much less lucrative. In 54 races he earned less than $20k and was sold at auction as a four-year-old.

After that, there's no way to confirm what Sully did, or where he went, for the next chapter of his life. From the scars on his withers and legs, in addition to his terrible condition and the overgrown road shoes that were left on, I'm left to presume it wasn't anything good. He was likely a cart horse for the Amish before he could no longer physically perform his duties and was, once again, sent to auction.

This time, he was picked up by the kill buyers...and when no one else showed any interest in the poor, sad, wormy-looking gelding with dried blood on his nose, we stepped in with a home offer. Trust me when I say we weren't actively searching for another rescue case to bring into the barn. We'd just adopted an older paint gelding from Last Chance Ranch in November, and a morgan x quarterhorse gelding before that, and an ancient draft mule before that. But we couldn't leave Sully in those conditions knowing what would happen to him.

From the moment he stepped off the trailer, it was clear that Sully was in really rough shape. This was confirmed by Dr. Melanie from Quakertown Veterinary Clinic during his initial exam on 1/9. She gave him a 2.5/3 on the BCS (body condition scale), discovered a Grade 4 heart murmur, very pale gums, cellulitis in his right hind, bloody discharge from his right nostril, and overall he presented as very dull and lethargic. A fecal returned a strongyle worm count of 1300 (!!) and we got to work on the things that we could fix.

It's been 9 days since his arrival, and Sully has just completed a Panacur Powerpac for deworming that has yielded great results. All of his bloodwork came back normal. He's had a ravenous appetite and has been thriving on small, soaked meals of senior grain along with 24/7 access to hay. His coat is already shinier, his eyes are brighter, he has a little bounce to his step now, and he nickers whenever it's food time. His Coggins came back negative and he doesn't have a fever or cough. But his nosebleed has persisted, and today we had Dr. Melanie back out to take X-rays of his skull.

We will scope on the 23rd to confirm size and location, but Sully has been diagnosed with an ethmoid hematoma (tumor in the sinus cavity). After doing lots of Google research, this was what I more or less suspected -- tumors of this nature present with trickling bloody discharge from one nostril, which has been a persistent symptom since he arrived. There's no way to tell for how long it has been bleeding, or how long the tumor has been allowed to grow.

Once diagnostics are complete, we will have to have the tumor removed for Sully to live a comfortable, pain-free life which is our ultimate goal for him. He will never be a showhorse or win ribbons. With the severity of his heart murmur, Dr. Melanie has suggested that he remain a companion only. But all life has value, even when it's been beaten up and broken down. And despite all the ways that humans have let him down throughout all his 16-years, Sully does not have a mean or cruel or defensive bone in his body. He is sweet, kind, and gentle.

Unfortunately, all of these vet visits -- and, most importantly, the surgery -- have added up to a big expense for our small farm. We want the best for Sully, and would like to provide whatever medical treatment he needs. Any contribution, no matter how small, will go directly towards Sully...and while it's not much, we'd love to extend a barn visit to meet him in person once he's feeling better and/or a beautiful notecard with his picture on it!

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, and will of course provide lots of updates along the way. Thank you so much for being a part of this special little horse's journey.

Go Team Sully!