**Blue Update 🩵🐎**

This is a hard one to write

I spent several hours with Blue yesterday, and it was a beautiful day. She was present, soft, engaged — very much herself. Not dull. Not in obvious pain.

Me and my girl Blue

But if you’ve loved a horse long enough… you know.
They know their own bodies.
And she knows something is not right.

Today’s update brought some real concerns.

Her x-rays were - mixed. The implants on the surgery leg still appear to be in place, which is good. It's the right leg - the "good" leg - that is bearing too much weight. The coffin bone is far too close to the sole (and that is from the inside). If it breaks through under the strain of the extra weight, this is over.

Blue’s good hoof -the screws are holding on the wooden clog

Her bloodwork showed a significant increase in a value that indicates infection — rising from 400 to 700. That is not the direction we want to see.

She is also laying down more, resting more than she should at this stage. We are now nearly four weeks into recovery, with almost all of her weight being carried on one leg — a leg that was never meant to carry that load alone.

Blue resting when we first arrived - the patch on her back covers a catheter that allows the docs to send medication right to her body

There are a few possibilities we are facing.

The biggest concern is that her support limb — the “good” leg — may be struggling under that load, potentially developing laminitis. She is wearing a wooden clog to help support that foot, but it also limits what we can directly evaluate.

There is also concern for infection — either around the implants or under the cast where we cannot see. The surgical leg remains warm, which has been consistent, but at this point we would hope to see that improving.

So now we take the next step.

The plan is to take Blue under general anesthesia, remove the cast and the clog, and fully assess what is happening.

If what we find is something we can address — whether that means additional support, adjusting the repair, or further treatment — then we move forward.

But if what we find tells us that her body cannot continue this fight… then we will let her go peacefully, while she is still asleep.

I want to say something clearly.

Trying was never the wrong choice.

Giving her this chance — this time, this care, this fight — was not a mistake. It was a responsibility.

We do not walk away when it gets hard.
We do not choose the easy path over the right one.

And right now, the right thing is to look, to know, and to make the best decision we can for her — not for us.

Wayne and Blue

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers tonight.

We will know more soon. 💙