Ruffian record--look at info for sire and dam--joke?

[Toccet02]

If not, wow.

The whole famn damily broke and re-broke legs coming out of anesthesia??

[Pan Zareta]

Not a joke.

[vallygirl927]

Yeah, I noticed that back several months ago when the movie came out. Weird huh??

[summerhorse]

Yeah odd for sure. I read an article where a vet said there was probably a genetic problem dealing with anesthetics at least on dam's side. I believe Reviewer went under for breaks, Shenanigans had colic and fell trying to get up from anesthesia and broke either one leg or two. She was older too of course. Reviewer was just plain fragile.

[Heidilady]

Yeah I heard some story where they were describing the process of dealing with Ruffian in the aftermath of the injury and someone injected her basically without saying they were doing it or with what, after which they noted her wigging out. The others working on her got mad. I hate being so vague on who did what but I don't remember exactly and I don't want to get the names wrong. I bet they tried to give her some sort of sedative and it kicked in.

Is there a way they have now or had then in the event the horse had a negative reaction to the anesthesia? I mean negative as in they became erratic as opposed to allergic. Did they know Shenanigans would have trouble with the stuff? I was thinking about it in the context of their trying to fix the problem and thinking it was worth the risk. When did they start bringing pools in like Barbaro had? I've seen it as long as I can remember but I dunno how far back it goes.

[Vindicated]

I did not realize that was not common knowledge-I always thought it was part of the mystique that was Ruffian-

[soft hearted]

[pokeyman]

It was very common back then to die coming out of surgery. Most horses didn't make it back then and died the same way.

They didn't have the safety guards in place like today for when they come out of anesthesia (swimming pool, sling, etc).

So, I think you will find most horses shared the same fate in those days......

Of course, modern medicine has all those bases covered. They come out of anesthesia in a sling, in a pool, with blindfolds, etc. So, when they thrash around they do no damage.

[louis finochio]

Native Dancer BMS of Ruffian is responsible for the mAjority of breakdowns & injuries, ND dam Natalma by Nat. Dancer is carrying on his unsoundness.

[summerhorse]

There was an article in BH or TT this year (I think) talking about the improvements in survival rate coming out of surgery. Relatively few horses suffer breaks or anesthetic "accidents" now although they still do happen of course (The Tin Man). The big problem now is laminitis.

No there is no way to know how anyone will react to anesthetic until they are given it. Don't believe Shenanigans had had surgery before but I am not 100% sure.

The vet who owned the hospital was the one who gave Ruffian the sedative which unfortunately had the opposite effect because she was already upset and she REALLy became upset. And of course when she was waking up from the surgery the same thing happened. I think it was probably for the best. I can't imagine that she would have survived all the OTHER complications that would most likely happen if she had. Infection, laminitis, confinement. Now she might have but not then. Even now that break would be difficult to fix because of the damage to the blood supply.

[WarHorse]

Ditto SH. That was a heck of a lot to ask of her.

I know when I did recoveries it was in a padded stall. We used Isoflurane because it had a lower reaction rate than newer anesthetics. I only lost one and he didn't thrash, just stopped breathing. We think he had an aneurism that burst as his bp came up.

Back to the OP - I read in Burning from the Start that her parents had fractures, but didn't know it extended beyond that. How many of her relatives died from leg fractures?

[Pan Zareta]

Ruffian's sire Reviewer (3 yrs., 13 starts) broke the same cannon bone 3x while running. The first two times he was fixed up & went back to the track. Third time he was retired. Her dam Shenanigans (2 yrs., 22 starts) didn't retire sound, but I'm not sure of the specifics. Both had other foals that raced long and hard, but retired sound.

[WarHorse]

Thank you sugar.

[Pan Zareta]

That didn't exactly answer your question, did it. More to the point, Reviewer was having a 1st or 2d cast change after breaking a leg in pasture when he reacted badly coming out of anesthesia. (Don't know if it was same leg and/or bone he'd broken on the track.) Shenanigans thrashed & broke bones in 1 or maybe 2 legs after colic surgery. As far as I know, they're the only individuals in Ruffian's 5g ped. that died directly or indirectly as a result of a leg fracture.

[WarHorse]

That's pretty much the same as the book. I was under the impression her siblings had the same problem.