Procedure

The team used various surgical instruments, such as scalpels and a suction tube, to remove excess fluid, and a camera fed live video to a TV screen so Goodrich could see what was happening as she worked.

“Horses have a tendon that goes down deep into the back of their hoof,” Goodrich said. “It’s the main tendon that supports the horse’s legs and causes the flexion ability of them to flex their legs, and that tendon is the most important one. … The navicular bursa is bordered by a tendon and the navicular bone and has fluid within it.”

The second patient, named Finn, was put under anesthesia and prepared for surgery. The team used many straps and harnesses to attach Finn to a crane to move him into the operating room for his surgery.

For Goodrich, the most difficult part of the job is attempting perfection.

“You want everything to go perfectly, and it doesn’t always go perfectly,” Goodrich said. “You always want the cutting-edge best for your patients, so I think when it’s not at 100% — it might be 90% — that’s, in our minds, not good enough.”