Have you ever had to rehab a horse?
Unfortunately, I’ve had to do it more than once. I’ve got a few stories, but today I’ll share the one I remember best—about my daughter’s barrel horse, Flor, also known as "Florzilla" (that’s a story for another day).
During the final race of the year, Flor came out of the arena walking oddly and favoring a back leg. Long story short, our friend and veterinarian, Dr. Nancy (who also does guest segments for our upcoming YouTube channel—send us your questions and topic ideas!), diagnosed her with a separation between P1 and P2 in her hind leg. If it didn’t heal properly, surgery would be needed to fuse it.
Flor needed to stay in a small space for six weeks, no bigger than a 12x12 stall. Our smallest permanent pen was a 12x24, made with heavy-duty oil pipe fencing. So what did we do? Camp Corrals to the rescue! We used our portable panels to create a 12x12 enclosure.
After six weeks, Flor was better but not fully healed. I figured if six weeks helped, eight weeks might be even better. Dr. Nancy agreed to give it more time, and sure enough, Flor improved even more.
However, she started getting restless. Instead of removing the panels right away, I gradually expanded her space. I ended up keeping her contained in a 12x24 pen for an additional 10-12 weeks.
By then, Flor was almost as good as new, but we didn’t want to rush her recovery. So, we set up one of our 20-foot round corrals, allowing her to graze and socialize while staying safe. After another 4-6 weeks, (over 6 months of stall rest in total) she was fully recovered and back to her winning ways!
