When mental health therapist Bridget Connell lost her brother in 2019, she decided to pursue training in equine-assisted psychotherapy.
“The equine therapy model is powerful,” Bridget said. “Horses are so therapeutic, but some people are intimidated by their size.”
So, when Bridget’s husband surprised her with a six-month-old miniature horse on the anniversary of her brother’s death – she knew exactly what to name him.
“I named him Tony, which was my brother’s nickname,” Bridget said. “Tony the Pony is what we all call him – even though he’s technically a miniature horse.”
Tony was an instant hit with Bridget’s patients.
“He is so curious, and he has such a silly personality, people just open up around him,” she said.
Weighing only about 185 pounds, Tony is too small to ride. And while he liked the full-size horses in the barn, Bridget decided he needed a buddy, so she added another mini horse named Maisey to the mix.
“They love each other and often play together in their pasture,” Bridget said.
But, then one day last summer, Tony came up out of the pasture limping. At first Bridget suspected a snake bite, but after bringing him to her regular vet in Georgia it was clear there was something more serious wrong – so they took him to The University of Florida Veterinary Hospital for evaluation.
“Tony came to us with a sudden onset of lameness on his left front limb,” said Lawrence Kadic, MVetMed, MS, DACVS-LA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Large Animal Surgery at the University of Florida. “We diagnosed him with a subluxation [dislocation] of the left shoulder joint.”
The painful injury left four-year-old Tony barely able to walk and Bridget was faced with a sobering choice.
“We had two options, an expensive surgery or euthanize him,” she said. “We were already struggling financially because of large medical bills in our family due to a cancer diagnosis. We just couldn’t do it.”
But thankfully, the University of Florida had a solution. Between donations to a Good Samaritan fund and teaching funds that were available for allowing veterinary students to learn a procedure, Dr. Kadic, Dr. Adam Biedrzycki and their surgical resident, Dr. Sierra Chanutin, were able to help.
“We also came up with a more affordable solution using a tension band technique to stabilize the joint, instead of performing an arthrodesis with plates and screws,” Dr. Kadic said. “We called Arthrex to help us figure out the right anchors and sutures to make the repair more stable. Miniature horse breeds can have shallower glenoid cavities, which can lead to more subluxations and arthritis in their shoulder joints.”
Arthrex Vet Systems Sales Representative Doug Tollett knew this was a unique case that required careful planning.
“Tony is so small that some of the products we might recommend for a full-sized horse just wouldn’t work,
Doug said. “We needed to think outside the box on this one and do what we do at Arthrex – solve problems for surgeons and their patients.”
So, Doug reached out to Arthrex Senior Product Manager Andy Petry, who works on the Upper Extremities team, and asked him to join a call with Dr. Biedrzycki and Dr. Kadic and brainstorm solutions for Tony.
“This was definitely different; usually when we’re talking to clinicians, we’re talking about humans, and equine pathology is very different,” Andy said. But he was happy to jump in with his deep expertise with shoulder implants. “We love digging in to help solve complex problems and it was wonderful to be a part of finding a solution for this little horse.”
Together, they decided to use a single Knotless PushLock® anchor – there was only room for one in Tony’s shoulder. This Arthrex implant was combined with an additional cable to stabilize the joint.
“The surgery went great, and he is healing well,” Dr. Kadic said. “The surgery Tony had wouldn’t be possible in a full-sized horse because of their weight. If we hadn’t done anything, his shoulder would have become arthritic and very, very painful. Our goal is to make him pasture sound again – we don’t need him to be able to run the derby, just live without pain and be able to walk comfortably.”
Tony also received laser therapy and acupuncture to help get him back on his feet. Today, he is staying with a woman in Georgia who has experience rehabilitating horses and offered to keep Tony and his buddy Maisey free of charge.
“I cannot say enough good things about all the people who have helped us. From those who have volunteered their time and stable space to the University of Florida, the Arthrex products they used and everyone who has gone above and beyond to help us,” Bridget said.
Now, the miniature horse is on track to return to the job he does so well – providing support to patients in therapy.
“All Tony needs to do is be himself and be able to walk in his pasture,” Bridget said. “Thanks to all the people who jumped in to help us, we are well on our way, and we feel very blessed.”
