Hitch’s story "I decided that if his owner would give him to us, we’d try to save him" This is a love story of sorts. The love of a foal named Hitch. Hitch was born on Easter of this year and from first sight he was going to be a big one. My boss deemed him very special due the how early Easter was and that we would never see one this early again. He was quick to get up and get around, falling only once. Everything was text book, he got up, nursed, got his navel soaked in iodine and was given an enema and then left alone to bond with his Mom Barbie. The next morning, signs of problems began to show, Hitch looked like he had a broken right knee, it was bent and swollen, but he showed no signs of pain nor was he giving to it. When Dr. Charles Mercer came to check him over he believed within a few days it should straighten out on its own just watch him. So that’s what we did, we turned him and his Mom out with Pebbles and Sadie and waited for his leg to straighten out. After 10 days it was getting worse and the left leg was starting to show signs of swelling, Dr. Mercer put him on 10 days stall confinement, with a 10 day old baby it is definitely “confinement, not rest.” There were no signs of improvement, so we turned him back out until we could take him to Akins to be x-rayed. The fear was that his bones were growing unevenly that and he would need surgery to have any hopes of being sound. Hitch was really a good boy for this, he loaded in the trailer like he had been doing it for years and marched right up into the clinic and stood extremely still while strangers with a scary machine x-rayed both legs. Dr. Mercer sent the x-rays to Mississippi State and they decided that his bones were fine, but due to his size he had ruptured his front extensor tendons in both of his legs. This is where the love story really begins. The owner of his Mom didn’t want to be out the estimated expense to have Hitch treated not knowing if he would ever be anything other than a pasture ornament. I, on the other hand, was a huge Barbaro fan, and always thought his owners were special people for trying so hard to save him, that I didn’t think I could stand by and not give this little baby a chance to survive. So after a lot of soul searching, praying and asking advice from people I didn’t know, but had the same common bond of loving horses on the pleasure horse forum, my parents and I decided that if his owner would give him to us, we’d try to save him. We made an appointment with the vets at Mississippi State and loaded up Hitch and his Mom, my dog Skye and our friend Betty Sullivan and off we went to see what can be done and at what cost. Ruptured extensor tendons in adult horses are said to be a death sentence, but in a new born there was hope. Once we got to MS State, hope for just soundness turned into “I see no reason why he will not heal and become the show horse you want” from Dr. Ann, his assigned vet. Due to the fact that we told her how everyone we talked to said putting him down was the best option, Dr. Ann asked if we minded if they used Hitch as a case study for his injuries, of course we said do what you need to do, if it helps to save just one baby, a couple of hours of our time is more than worth it. Hitch was a real movie star down there, he got his picture taken probably 50 times, they ultra-sounded his legs, poured alcohol down his legs, rubbed on him and then showed me how to wrap his legs in splints which had to be done every day over the next 6 weeks. Hitch had everyone there mesmerized, from the 4th year vet student he knocked down to everyone who would peep into the exam room to sneak a peek at him that he laid his ears back at while waking up from being sedated. When he finally was able to leave he marched out of the clinic with his tail up and looking for the trailer, as if to say I’ve had enough, take me home! Loving Hitch was easy, after all who doesn’t love the underdog? Especially when it’s a month old foal needing you. Getting him to love back wasn’t, he was very shy when all of this started, so you can imagine the difficulty in wrapping both of his legs every day, on top of all the month old baby energy he had, to say the least, it could get interesting, he hated the wraps cut off but didn’t mind us putting them put on. I think he started to get used to the attention, he would play with my Dad’s cell phone case while he held him so I could wrap him and as soon as we would let him go he’d run to his Mom and demand to nurse like he was showing us!! He has gone from the shy, stay away from me baby to waiting at the stall door for someone to come in and play with him. After 6 weeks his knees looked just like his soon to be pasture mate’s knees. We started letting him out for 5 minutes at a time before the June 9th Dr’s appointment with Dr. Mercer. Dr. Mercer said Hitch’s knees looked better than he had hoped they would look and that we can start letting him out for a couple of hours a day and since nothing has happens from that, we have turned him out into the pasture to be a normal baby he hasn’t been able to be yet. Hitch has a bright future ahead of him, thanks to everyone involved with his treatment and recovery. I would really like to thank my parents; Ted and Joan Isbell for helping me save Hitch and Dr Mercer for not giving up on Hitch and finding us the great vets at MS State and to God for looking out for the little guy. He has turned into the sweetest loving baby you could ever want. You call him and he comes running up to you nickering and wanting to be petted, he plays with the dogs Skye and Cricket and is just a happy healthy baby. If you ever see us at a show over the next few years and hear Vindicated Sheik called out, remember he’s the baby that overcame the “hitch in his giddyup”.