Titok

After a long recovery, Titok's feet have improved dramatically and the gelding is back in work.

Ridgeview client Anne Ledbetter knew that August 8th, 2003, was going to be a bad day, but she never dreamed it would be as bad as it turned out. After a sudden diagnosis of aggressive cancer in her warmblood-cross, Tilos, this was the day she had scheduled Dr. Kostinas to euthanize the mare.

Not able to bear to be there, Anne decided to turn her attention to her other horse, Titok, Tilos's son. Dr. Kostinas wasn't down the stable driveway, however, before Anne summoned her frantically: something was terribly wrong with Titok. The gelding's high fever and violent diarrhea pointed to a diagnosis of Potomac Horse Fever, despite up-to-date vaccinations.

With an eight-day stay at the Leesburg equine hospital, Titok pulled through. But the illness had taken a grave toll: the toxins had caused severe damage to his feet, a common side effect of the fever. One front foot had four degrees of rotation in the coffin bone, and all four soles were paper thin. "My poor farrier almost fainted when he first saw Titok's foot—it wobbled when he picked it up because it was so loose," Anne says. "But he stuck with it."

Titok came home facing a long and daunting road to recovery. "He was in a lot of pain," Anne recalls. "He would just lie in his stall and groan." It would have been easy to put him down, given his pain and uncertain outcome. "But Titok never got that look in his eyes that said 'I quit,'" she says. "He didn't quit, so I never quit on him."

Ridgeview's staff was caring and attentive throughout. "We faced constant abscesses," Anne says. "It was hard to see him like that, but Will and everyone at Ridgeview was incredibly supportive. They were right there whenever I needed them."

Titok's situation was precarious for months, but by February he was out of the woods. Now, all they could do was wait for healthy hoof wall to grow. "The staff at the stable have been super caring and more than willing to help," Anne says. "They even let Titok roam loose while he was recuperating, until he started feeling good enough to get into trouble."

Finally, in September, more than 13 months after his illness, Titok was ready for shoes and for work—if only long-lines. Anne threw a party for everyone at the barn.

By November, Will gave the OK for Anne to start riding again, although she knows it will be months more before Titok is totally back. Still, she can't help but grin when she sees him galloping up and down the hills in his paddock. "It's been so long, it is just great to see him this way," Anne says. She is grateful for the care and support of the barn staff, her farrier, and the Ridgeview team. "Both the vets and the office staff at Ridgeview," she says, "have simply been phenomenal."