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Fabulous Rachel underwent five surgeries in the following months, including some experimental treatments.
“We did the first surgery within 24 or 48 hours,” Dr. Kristek recalled. “And then gave her a little bit of time before doing multiple revisions on it. The whole time we were medicating her and not once did she get sour. She became a
part of our family. I was a resident at the time, and we had interns that greatly helped with her care, too. While Dr. Brakenhoff would do the surgeries with her, we all shared responsibilities. Dan gave us the freedom to try some things
that you just do not do every day. One of our interns suggested at a time when she was having some trouble healing and the tissue wasn’t super healthy that we try medical maggots on her. That made a huge difference, and there aren’t many owners that would have given us that freedom. Dr. Katie Fisher and Dr. Alyssa Ball were both huge components in caring for her. “Even though she was going through all these treatments and trying to heal, we would
take her to the round pen to work off some energy, and she would bounce around there and play, acting like a normal yearling.”
Becky shared, “We just wanted to save her to be a broodmare, originally. We never thought she would be able to run. She lived at Oak Ridge from October until May. The team at Oak Ridge tried multiple solutions to get something to work, and to get the hole smaller. They did a bunch of grafts and even used fish scales like they do on burn victims. Through all the treatments, she made forward strides, and she was a good patient for them. She didn’t fight them, and just did everything she needed to.”
Following her miraculous recovery, Fabulous Rachel made her first start in 2022 at the age of three. In displaying the same grit and determination she demonstrated
in overcoming her injury and subsequent recovery period, Fabulous Rachel ran to her name in her initial start, recording a front- running win by a head at Remington Park.
“It’s just a miracle. She should not have been able to do all of this like she has. She should not have. I’m very thankful she has. She is our miracle horse.” – Becky Kincaid
Fabulous Rachel’s injury the day it occurred.
Courtesy Becky Kincaid
Fabulous Rachel winning the Juno’s Request Stakes-G1 on June
Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse
60 SPEEDHORSE August 2023
3 at Remington Park.