That gave Kas some time to do some digging on his own. Hunter Williams had already been by the ranch to check on Tenterhook, clearly showing distress over what had happened. He put a bar shoe on the horse’s injured hoof after Dr. Cornin, the ranch’s regular veterinarian had taken an ultrasound of Tenterhook’s hoof and made his diagnosis. Kas wanted another opinion, something Trip didn’t challenge him on when asked. Especially after he learned that Sean Knight would be coming to the ranch to examine Tenterhook himself.
After giving Sean some time to look at the films and examine Tenterhook himself, he gave Kas his diagnosis in the barn.
“What’s the verdict?” Kas asked.
“I wish I had better news,” Sean said. Sean Knight was a well-known veterinarian on the rodeo circuit, although not formally connected with the circuit as a veterinarian. His family had founded the Western Rodeo Circuit generations ago. While he kept his own practice going, he did a lot of work for the rodeo family when asked. Because Sean now lived just outside of Las Vegas with his new wife, making it more difficult for him to examine Tenterhook, Kas was thankful he was able to coordinate Sean’s visit home to his mother’s ranch in Montana. It was close enough for him to come out to the Lone Creek Ranch when Kas called.
“What are Tenterhook’s chances?” Kas asked.
“Looks like he has a coffin bone break. That in itself won’t keep him lame. He’s hurting right now. He will be for a good while. But with the right treatment and a lot of rest and confinement, he could be sound again.”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s a strong horse. A beauty. He reminds me a little of that champion horse going back a few years…what was his name?”
Sean fought to think of the name of the horse that had swept the rodeo circuit with countless near perfect rides two years in a rodeo more than ten years ago. The moment Kas had seen Tenterhook, he’d thought the same thing.
“Silver Moon.”
Sean snapped his fingers. “That’s the one. Real tragedy he died so young. He was a beauty too.”
“Yeah.”
News of Silver Moon’s death years ago made headlines in the rodeo world for months. The stud fee for breeding had gone sky high for what little there was left of frozen sperm that had already been collected. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many horses from his line that had appeared on the circuit since.
“Tenterhook is quite a thoroughbred though.”
“Tabby said he was a mustang.”
Sean frowned. “A mustang? Are you sure?”
“It’s what she told me. Her father bought him from Levon years ago. Levon got him from the BLM.”
Sean whistled. “I never would have guessed this was a horse from the Bureau of Land Management. Well, whatever he is, he’ll get through this injury with some time off as long as he gets proper care. I have no doubt he will, given what I’ve seen so far from Dr. Cornin. This bar shoe the farrier put on should keep him mobilized. He should continue with those through his recuperation. But I have to agree with Dr. Cornin’s initial assessment though. I’m not sure about Tenterhook’s chances of competing again.”
“I think Tabby already knows that next season is out of the question.”
Sean closed the gate to Tenterhook’s stall and leaned his arm over the top rail. “I’m talking about competing at all.”
“Never?”
“This injury will take months to completely heal. At least the whole next season. If Tenterhook gets back to training too soon, he’ll lose all the ground he gained. It could take eight months to a year before he’s back to normal. And that’s only if he doesn’t end up with arthritis.”
“So there’s no chance of him competing again?”
Sean shrugged. “Did Dr. Cornin suggest he would be able to compete again?”
“No. In fact, he said Tenterhook’s competition days may be over.”
Sean rubbed his temple with his fingers. “I’m inclined to agree with him. I’ve seen horses come back after a bad injury. It’s not out of the question. But in my experience, a high-performance horse with this type of injury runs the risk of getting reinjured when pushed in training. Like I said, the coffin bone will heal and he could be a fine riding horse for years to come. But there will be scarring that may continue to be a problem, he may develop arthritis, and there is always the risk of infection. Any number of factors could set him back. So it’s hard to say just what Tenterhook’s future will look like. Only time will tell. If he’d pushed, the next injury could be much worse requiring he be put down. I’d hate to see that happen to such a stunning animal.”
“It would kill Tabby.”
“Then make sure she knows Tenterhook needs more than a little bit of rest. It’s going to take him a lot longer to heal than it will take Tabby.”
He shook Sean’s hand. “I appreciate you coming out here on such short notice.”
“Any time. I was with my brother Jesse when you called. He said you two used to be on the circuit together.”
“We were. I’ve been back East so it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”
“He says hello and asked me to pass on the message to call him for a beer while you’re still in Montana.”
“I will.”
After Sean left, Kas filled Trip in on the conversation about Tenterhook’s care. Tabby was due to be released from the hospital later in the day and he’d offered to get her so Trip didn’t have to drive out to Billings. Before he went to the hospital, he stopped at a floral shop and picked
