Successful Outcomes at Alamo Pintado Equine

Mater: Together

Ella Bramsen and her horse Mater are truly the epitome of success. Ella had been rodeoing with Mater since she was in the 4th grade and the two had established quite the connection as athletes and as friends. So as you can imagine when Ella’s uncle, the great Dr. Bramsen, referred Mater to us as a severe emergency colic case in 2016, Ella still remembers the sadness she felt. At that time, Dr. Troy Herthel discovered a strangulating lipoma and a small intestinal lesion.  He performed a resection of 10 feet of the intestine and an anastomosis, a connection made surgically between parts of the intestine. Dr. Troy remembers the horse being pretty sick due to the severity of the colic and some complications due to Ileus, the lack of movement somewhere in the intestines that leads to a buildup and potential blockage of food material. The horse refluxed for days. However, under the watchful eye of the Alamo team, and with the help of stem cell therapy (a fairly new treatment at the time) Mater recovered well and was able to go on to achieve great heights.

In 2019, Mater and Ella were named Reserve State Champion in Pole Bending and went on to qualify for state three consecutive years. “I trained him by myself, he was young, I was young.” Like so many of the horses we care for at Alamo Pintado, the horse owner says she and her horse “have grown up together.” We are honored to have played a role in the care of Mater over the years. And we have enjoyed watching Ella and her horse shine. In the summer of 2023, Ella’s senior year, the duo competed for state on the way to nationals. That fall, Ella and Mater headed off to Cal Poly… Together.

Joker: From PSSM to Competition

Amy Ganci donned her shadbelly in early March this year in preparation for her first Prix St. Georges test on Jolly Mon. This moment held special significance for Ganci, given that she and her 11-year-old Oldenburg had been through a hellish journey that nearly ended in euthanization.

Ganci purchased “Joker” (Cavallo Star—Demoiselle) as a 4-year-old in 2012. The sweet, laidback chestnut was supposed to be a mount for her husband, Kevin Ganci. But when Amy brought Joker to his first dressage show, the horse took on a new persona. He became expressive and elegant, and Amy was smitten. READ FULL STORY

Goldrush: Down to the Wire

Goldrush, a beautiful 21-year-old dark palomino mare, came to Alamo Pintado late one night in April after several days of intermittent fever and lethargy. An ultrasound was performed, which showed an abscess by her sternum. She was diagnosed with Peritonitis and subsequently treated with antibiotics. After initially responding well, she began to show signs of low-grade colic after her first week at the hospital.

When medical therapy did not succeed in relieving her colic, Goldrush was placed in the hands of our surgical team for exploratory surgery. During the procedure, surgeons discovered that her large colon and tip of her cecum were adhered together and attached to the body wall by the sternum. These abnormalities were due to a penetrating wire which was causing an abscess. The wire was removed as Dr. Troy Herthel slowly freed the colon and cecum from the body wall and associated abscess.  

Upon culturing, the abscess returned three different forms of bacteria, and Goldrush then underwent a large colon resection, with the tip of her cecum being removed as well. After a 5-hour procedure, Goldrush was slowly brought out of anesthesia and was able to stand within 3 hours. She underwent extensive medical treatment post-operatively, which included a blood transfusion and many days of abdominal lavage.

Goldrush made a successful recovery and was discharged from Alamo Pintado Equine in mid-July with an additional 4 weeks of antibiotics to continue at home. Her rechecks have shown slow shrinking of the residual abscess. The internal medicine and surgical teams were able to work together to return Goldrush to health, and we’re so happy to see her doing well.