Writer of the Year

The Story of Titch

By Shirley A. Wilsher

continued.........page 3

As soon as I met this small, bearded gentleman I immediately felt reassured. I felt instinctively that I could trust him, that here was the one person who could help Titch and give me hope.

'Titch' on his way back from the vets

Titch was very wary of strangers. His world consisted of me, the people who owned the small, private yard where he lived - and vets! He wouldn't let Charles near him to begin with, but stood shaking on the end of the head collar, remembering strange men who stuck needles in him and did things that were painful! This made it difficult for Charles to approach him. However, patience and a bucket of food triumphed in the end allowing Charles to lay his hands on the affected joint. He spent a considerable time in contact with Titch and talking to him and eventually Titch relaxed, even beginning to look in Charles's pockets for titbits!

After a while Charles said I was not to worry as Titch would be OK. When I said "but he will never be the show jumper he was bred to be" the reply was "why not?" Charles said he would perform absent healing for Titch. He also instructed me to massage the area for 20 minutes at an agreed time of each day to help him in the absent healing. Charles named him the 'ebony colt'; he said that if I needed him again he would remember Titch better by his own descriptive name. I now felt much happier with my decision to keep him alive. Charles left me feeling confident and relaxed for the first time since the diagnosis.

However Charles talked to the other people (who also had good results but with whom I have lost contact.) He told them about Titch and said he hoped the healing would work, as Titch had been so resistant.

By the time he was due to undergo his next set of x-rays in February 1996, things were looking a lot more hopeful. Titch was still very lame and often on three legs, but no longer appeared to be in constant pain. Often he was quite playful. He had a horse ball attached to a chain across his door and he would bang this - especially when feeding time was near! He also had an inexhaustible dangling supply of plastic bottles - which he could flatten in one night! He also used to push them between the cladding and the wall of the stable. He developed tricks such as standing on the fork while I was trying to muck out, tipping the wheelbarrow over and generally being playful. I was obviously delighted - even though the vet's prognosis for the future had not altered.

Titch was nearly one year old when he went to have the next x-rays taken. The lump was still present and he was still not completely sound - but much improved on earlier times. The x-rays were again sent to Newmarket for specialist analysis. The decision was that his bones were beginning to de-mineralise because of the 8 months spent in the stable. The advice was to put him out to grass. Obviously he was of an age to be gelded, but the vet refused to perform the operation as he said it would be a waste of money. He did not qualify this remark but the inference was that he would at some point have to put Titch down. (The vet later confirmed that he expected the joint to break down when Titch had freedom to move around.) Before I felt happy about putting him out I sent again for Charles Siddle. Coincidentally, he was due to make a visit very close by and so was able to come quickly. He asked me why I had called him as he had already told me once that Titch would be all right! I admitted that I needed just a little more reassurance as it had been a long climb out of desperation and I was afraid to sit back and assume Titch that would be fine. Charles put his hands on the stifle joint - no resistance this time - said that I had a good horse with whom I could do anything - and that he would be pleased to have him for himself, but I would be the loser!

Continues........

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