Wow, so much has happened since I originally put this site together that it is hard to know where to start. I guess starting where I left off is the easiest......we were still enjoying the birth of Libertá in June of 1998. Libby was the first foal sired by our stallion Conversano II Grace (Gracen). This beautiful, spirited, athletic filly is the image of her sire. We had a healthy, happy summer enjoying the new baby and watching our yearling fillies grow and mature.
Life seemed so calm.....and then the unthinkable happened. Christmas Eve morning I went out to feed, only to find Gracen down with an obvious case of colic. With a horrible sense of deja vu I ran to call the vet. This simply couldn't be happening again. By afternoon Gracen was not improving so off we went to UC Davis Vet Hospital. My Christmas Eve was spent waiting for Gracen to come out of emergency colic surgery. The only light moment during the whole evening was when the janitor came through and asked who I was waiting for. When I told him my stallion was in surgery he smiled and said, "I was there when they tried to take him into surgery. They made the mistake of walking him past a mare. He put on quite a show and was in no hurry to leave".
Midnight Christmas morning I saw Gracen standing in the recovery room having successfully come through surgery. We were relieved that he survived the surgery, but we knew that we had a long road to recovery ahead of us. The next morning we went to see Gracen at the vet hospital. As soon as he saw me, he started banging on the stall front. The vet tech laughed and said, Agosh, he=s been really quiet until now@. We visited for a while, then headed home. The next day when I went to visit Gracen, I was talking when I walked into the far end of what must be a thirty stall barn. I soon heard this terrible banging and thought, gosh what are they tearing apart. When I got to the far end where Gracen was, the vet tech looked up, shook her head and said, AI knew you were in the barn, he was perfectly quiet until he heard you.@ I was allowed to take Gracen out for his first walk and when I put him back in his stall and closed the door he started standing on his hind legs trying to crawl out of the stall. Not something a horse with a two foot long incision in his gut should be doing!
I quickly left thinking he would settle down. The next morning I was just getting ready to head off to visit Gracen when I got a call from the Vet. When I informed her I was just on the way out for a visit she said AIt would really be better if you didn=t. Three hours after you left we had to sedate him because he was still trying to climb out of his stall. I=ve never had to ban an owner from I.C.U. before, but please don't come back.@ I wasn=t sure if I should be flattered or embarrassed.
I didn=t get to go see Gracen again until he was ready to come home on day five. When I picked him up all the vet could say was, AHe's totally devoted to you. I just know that he thought if he could just crawl out of that stall he could go home with you.@
It was a long road to recovery. Six weeks in a 12 x 12 stall with three times a day hand walking Six weeks in a very small paddock, six weeks in a little bigger paddock. By the end of the first week Gracen was feeling so good that the hand walking became ......well, a circus. His pattern was we walk ten steps, he threw himself down in the mud and rolled. Walk twenty steps and do three HUGE capriolles. Walk to the far end of the property and stand on his hind legs. I am not sure how we both survived it but Gracen has made a total recovery. And yes, he is totally devoted to me as I am to him. All I know is that this special stallion knows that he has been given a second chance at life, and somehow he is happier, healthier, more content than he has ever been.
This wonderful picture of Gracen was taken during the first week that he was actually allowed "at liberty" after his surgery. It was taken by Alan and Sandy Carey and it might be my favorite picture of Gracen. He just glows with vitality and life in this picture and I can't help but think what a precious gift......life.
