Triple Trouble: A Suspensory Shock

July 11, 2025Marcella GruchalakMarcella Gruchalak#series, #tripletroubleComments Off

“Buns shaped who I am as a rider. His old injury shaped the name Triple Trouble because we knew we were living on limited time, and every second was a blessing. I didn’t need it to be this real. I didn’t want the series to become this honest.”

They say things come in threes, but I didn’t think they meant heartbreak, vet bills, and the kind of emotional toll that drains you to the core. I didn’t think I had any more left in me to handle another leg injury and another rehab plan, yet here we are. This series, Triple Trouble, got its name for a reason, but I never imagined it would earn it like this.

This time, it’s not about Payco. It’s not about Hot Sauce. It’s about Buns.

Funny Bunny B, my partner, my heart horse, my seasoned veteran, has given me more than I could ever put into words. We’ve shared hard-won victories, redemption runs, and some of the most soul-filling moments of my life. But we’ve also shared pain. And lately, it feels like that pain has come knocking again.

Buns’ first major injury in the fall of 2019 was one of those defining moments. The vet’s X-ray showed debris and rocks embedded in the wound, and a fracture with a chipped piece of his canon bone. I still remember the tears streaming down my face when we unwrapped the bandage for the first time. It was worse than I had prepared myself for. The borders of the cut were so clean and deep it looked surgical, except for the ligament, which was visibly hanging out. I thought his career was over that day. I was preparing to say goodbye to the horse who taught me the ropes and held me up when everything else felt like it was falling apart.

Initial Injury in Fall of 2019. Photo by Marcella Gruchalak

We loaded him, heartbroken, onto the trailer that day. He didn’t want to walk. He didn’t want to load. But he did. That was the beginning of what I knew would be borrowed time. Conversations with the vet, friends, and mentors always circled back to that fact: if he came back at all, I’d be grateful for every ride that followed.

And he did come back. Against ALLLLL the odds. He came back stronger than I expected, giving me seasons of soundness, of wins, of partnership that I cherished even more deeply because I knew every run might be the last. You can read about his rehabilitation here.

The sweet feeling of victory on Buns. Photo by Kari Anna Photography

But something changed recently. Over the last two weekends, Buns was blowing turns. Not just one, multiple. For him, that’s uncharacteristic. This is a horse who rarely puts a hoof out of place. The first weekend, I chalked it up to behavior, maybe tension. But the second weekend, it tugged at my gut. Something wasn’t right. I started seeing things most people wouldn’t notice, slight changes in his top line, small shifts in posture, the tiniest signs that something was off. I suspected it was time for hock injections again. It had been a while.

But the vet visit revealed something I wasn’t ready to hear. A slight soreness on palpation. Then an ultrasound. And then the worst possible confirmation. The leg — that leg — was finally giving out.

Dr. Baney of Equine Performance Veterinary Services performing an ultrasound on Buns. Photo by Marcella Gruchalak

The suspensory ligament is torn. The ghost of the first injury has come back to haunt us. I sat there, trying to be strong, listening to the treatment plan, hearing options and possibilities, but all I could think was: I don’t know if I can go through this again.

Suspensory ligament tears are one of the most common, and frustrating, injuries in performance horses. This vital ligament acts like a shock absorber, supporting the fetlock and helping the horse bear weight during movement. When it’s torn, even partially, healing is slow and often complicated by scar tissue, re-injury, or chronic inflammation. Science shows that because ligaments have limited blood supply, they don’t regenerate the way muscle does; instead, they form scar tissue, which lacks the same elasticity and strength. This makes a full return to high-performance work uncertain, especially in horses with previous trauma in the area. Treatment typically involves strict rest, anti-inflammatory support, therapies like red light, shockwave, and/or PRP, and long-term monitoring with ultrasound to track healing.

Ultrasound image by Equine Performance Veterinary Services

We’re doing everything we can. Triple Crown Gut Health wafers to support his stomach and prevent ulcers during downtime. Equioxx for pain. Daily red light therapy. Pasture rest. And a recheck ultrasound in 60 days. We’re discussing possible platelet-rich plasma therapy or Renovo, but quite honestly, the options are costly and I am already in pretty deep with my attempts to pay off Payco’s vet bill.

Photo by Kamille Huff

I wish I could say I’m handling it with grace and optimism. Maybe I am, in some small way, but it’s heavy. The mental toll of keeping horses sound and well, especially when they’re part of your identity, is brutal. You smile through it, do the daily chores, apply the meds, monitor the food intake, rotate the turnout areas, and keep yourself moving because if you stop, the heartbreak will catch up to you.

Buns shaped who I am as a rider. His old injury shaped the name Triple Trouble because we knew we were living on limited time, and every second was a blessing. I didn’t need it to be this real. I didn’t want the series to become this honest.

Photo by Marcella Gruchalak

But here we are.

We don’t know if Buns will come back to the show pen. That’s the hardest part — not knowing. Will he be fully retired? Will he be retired to trail rides? Will we get one more season? One more run? One more chance to speed through a mounted shooting course with the wind in our faces and trust in our hearts?

Time will tell.

For now, I hold tight to the memories and pray for more. I look at that sweet face in the pasture and remind myself that borrowed time is still time. He doesn’t know what the vet said. He doesn’t care about titles or timelines. He just knows I show up. The Triple Trouble series lives on, even though I wish I would have named it Boring Barnyard or something to that nature.