Eagle gave his life to DSLD/ESPA research in June 2005. He was a Thoroughbred
gelding owned and donated by his owner Linda Kielland. He was purchased at an
auction and thought to be a Quarter Horse needing a trim. After the sale Linda
was given his papers, he was a Jockey Club registered TB and had the famous
ancestors of Bold Ruler (sire of Secretariat), Native Dancer, War Admiral, Man
'O War, Swing On (dam of Seabiscuit) in his pedigree.
He had dropped rear pasterns. Linda agreed to have him checked by ultrasound and
he came back with a positive reading. He was then donated by her to research and
he went to Washington University and various tissues/organs went to U of GA, U
of KY, U of FL. The diagnostic and research fees were all donated by dedicated
individuals and through ICHO- International Curly Horse Org, who hosted a fund
raising drive and donated toward Eagles diagnostic ultrasound fees. We thank
everyone who was involved. A huge thank you to Linda Kielland and Eagle, and to
Terry Barral who did all the calling and made arrangements with the universities
and for being there with Linda and Eagle at Wash U. Here is the rest of the
story ~
Eagle's Last Day by Terry Barral
~Part One ~
As I think about the events around Eagle's donation to research, there's one
really important detail that has never come up on the list, and I want to take
this chance to do so. That is, the invaluable involvement of DSLD's Guardian
Angel, David Burrell.
When I first learned of Eagle and his positive diagnosis I emailed David. The
initial conceptualizing of this entire project was laid out in a couple of
emails and telephone conversations with him. For most of the time span between
conception and donation David was deeply involved with business issues, and was
out of the country until a few hours before we were to deliver Eagle to WSU. The
evening prior, I received an email from him saying he was somewhere in South
America, and had about an hour of internet time. He let me know he'd phone on
Sunday (travel day) as soon as he landed in the USA. In that email, he offered:
- The use of his company's Fed X number to pay for all shipping charges. This
was a significant chunk of the cost, due to the requirements of shipping
fresh-frozen tissues in hot climates!
- $300.00 of the total costs for WSU's services.
- A hotel room for me, Linda and her son
This last really touched me, as I hadn't wanted to even consider taking money
for our overnight out of the funds raised… but it was a genuine help for both of
us.
So, in addition to the individual donors who gave through ICHO, whose names I
don't know, I believe personal recognition should go to:
Mary Donald, who sent a sizeable personal check, Patti Kuvik and the other
members of the board of the (former) Sonora PP Club for the entire balance of
their treasury, and David, for the above.
This sort of dedication is worthy of mention, but
ALL of us share the conviction that we can bring about the end of the tyranny of
DSLD. All of us share the determination to stay with it until the job is done…
So, particular thanks in this case to these folks… and *always* thanks to all
the members of the DSLD equine list who support in so many ways.
~ Part Two ~
Linda beat me to Pullman by a couple of hours & dropped off Eagle at WSU. When
she dropped him off she spoke with a 4th year student named Maren who was
particularly interested in Eagle and his rare disorder. Linda promised that we'd
find her in the morning with some internet links for information. I met her at
the motel for a quiet evening. We tipped a drink over dinner to Eagle, then
tried to get a good night's sleep.
She made me get up much earlier than I'd have preferred, and we headed to the
teaching hospital to find Maren, and to take final photos and digital video of
Eagle for documentation. It was a pleasure to find that Eagle's stall was
freshly cleaned and he's been nicely groomed before we even got there! He was
nibbling on gorgeous orchard grass.
With all the photos done we had a bit of a panic as the processes started.
"Yellow Top" blood tubes had been requested by the U of KY, but these guys
didn't know what a yellow top was. A couple of phone calls got that straightened
out, and blood was pulled for use and for storage. At that point, Linda and I
said good-bye to him and left to check out of the motel. His necropsy was
scheduled for that afternoon, and we were to be allowed to attend.
~ Part Three ~
*Warning – this post contains details of an equine necropsy.
We returned in the afternoon to observe his necropsy. We both felt that this was
such a unique opportunity that we couldn't pass it up. Fortunately, we both have
done dissection in our work with hooves and legs, so we were comfortable with
the concept. The scientific and academic curiosity was way more powerful than
the `ick´ factor. I was impressed that Linda´s 14 year old son also wanted to be
there and was as interested as anyone. Future scientist?
When I made the arrangements for this procedure I thought they would simply
harvest the tissues that we requested and that was it. Was I ever mistaken!
Apparently when a horse comes in for a gross necropsy, they get the full deal.
The body was delivered to the Diagnostic Labs building in the early afternoon
and we were told that we could observe in an amphitheater with a huge plate
glass window only about 20 feet from the workers. There was a connecting door
open so we were able to hear some of the comments made.
If anyone is interested in detail, or photos, please email me privately.
Harvested tissues for our purposes included spleen, lung, aorta, eyes, and
suspensories and flexors from all four legs. The spleen is for DNA study and
went to U of KY along with blood samples. The remainder was for U of GA for
study of connective tissues.
Once the needed parts were harvested, the workers continued to examine *every*
organ in the horse for any signs of disease, cyst/tumor, or any other visible
sign. Each solid organ was sectioned about every ˝ to 1 inch and physically
examined. Every inch of digestive tract was opened, (imagine about 50 feet of
small intestine with a guy squatting next to it on a concrete floor, snipping it
open with scissors), the contents removed and checked and the tissues checked.
Every hollow organ, like the heart, was opened, flattened, examined and then
sectioned. Very impressive.
One thing that pleased me about this was that no one will be able to say that
there was anything else wrong with this horse besides DSLD. I haven't received
the reports yet, but it appeared that if not for the DSLD he was 100% fine…
Once he was euthanized, he stopped being a horse to both of us. Linda told me
she knew when he was released, even though we were not there at that time. She
could feel it. I had the same powerful experience when Faro died, so I know what
she's talking about. After that, the body that was left was simply the
biological machine. We were both very grateful for the learning experience that
it afforded us, as well as the donation to research.
My impressions: Big organism! The liver was huge, the heart was huge. The gut
was huge. I don't know how it's all packed in there. The windpipe, too, was very
impressive. We all know how big it is, and have felt the strength and resiliency
of it when we are around our horses. It was sectioned in half, back half and
front half for inspection & it was particularly beautiful to me. Strong, white,
very flexible but the individual parts rigid. Perhaps most impressive – the size
of the aorta! Almost as large as a garden hose, it's a substantial structure
that held it's shape and rigidity even in the removed section. All in all, I was
taken with this beautiful structure and extraordinary interaction of biological
parts that created the living symphony we call the horse.
In addition to the tissues that were harvested for our use, the university also
kept some tissues – including the brain – presumably for their teaching
function.
Now, here comes the funny part… Linda and I were both trained in distal limb
dissection by the same person. Anatomically speaking, we know legs and feet far
better than the rest of the horse, and, frankly, better than most people. After
all the examination of internal organs was complete, one of the workers prepared
to harvest the tendons and ligaments of the legs. Removing his gloves, he left
by the far door and stopped at a stainless steel table with a large book in his
hands. Linda and I looked at each others… "Is that a reference book?" And,
seeing some illustrations of the lower leg, "Yes, it is!"
"Go talk to him!" Linda said to me. "Go tell him!" I'd been told that we were
not allowed in the actual room because of liability insurance, and had to stay
in the amphitheater. It's probably more because they don't want to also have to
clean up rookie-barf, but that's what I was told. So we watched him do one front
leg, and then return to the reference book. We looked at each other again and I
couldn't stand it. I knocked lightly on the window and pointed to the connecting
door.
He came over and I asked if it was a reference book that he was consulting.
"Yeah, we don't do the legs as often." I told him that I do this all the time
and I could show him what we wanted, but had been told I couldn't enter the
room. "Oh, c'mon" he said "put on some gloves and booties." "My friend?" I
asked… "Sure, gloves and booties…"
Well, this is fascinating for us, so in we rushed, and we able to examine and
closely photograph the ligaments in place and excised. I pointed out which
sections we wanted and where to cut them. I also noted that the extensor branch
of the suspensory looked large, and asked if he could remove and ship that too –
even tho it wasn't on the official list. He looked at me blankly for a second,
and I told him, "skin it further down, to the hoof… there… that one, take that
one…"
Needless to say, we felt quite proud of ourselves. I'd like to hope he thought
we were a couple of visiting professionals, but he didn't ask and we didn't say!
Without a doubt we had a tremendous educational experience.
I'll summarize the reports from the universities as soon as all are in, but I
can say that U of GA has received some of the slides back which do show cellular
changes... once more validating the diagnostic protocol of Dr. Mero as Eagle was
not too far along in his disease process.
Thanks, everyone for your support for this procedure. I believe Eagle will go a
long way in helping a cause that his breed groups hardly know exists -- yet!
Eagle showed the classic symptoms of DSLD/ESPA with dropped pasterns and the
post legged stance typical of half or more of affected horses. For more Eagle
photos go to-
Webshots - Images of Eagle-Body and Beauty
Address:http://community.webshots.com/album/384559825KpuWcx
Your tax deductable donation is so appreciated!
Give by PayPal, credit card or check at-
http://store.curlyhorses.org
Click "Donations" then "DSLD"
Thank You!
