What do you do when a horse in need of serious hoof rehab doesn't cooperate with said serious hoof rehab? Unfortunately, somtimes, you resort to drugs. (For the horse, not the rehabbers.)
You may remember Nate, who arrived last June, seriously underweight, suffering EPM and dealing with several very serious foot issues, including advanced infection and a maggot infestation. Nate's EPM has been treated, but he still shows a weakness and some muscle atrophy on one side. He's gained weight and of course the maggot issue is not an issue at this time.
However......its going to take some time for his foot to "grow out" and return to normal, a process Nate himself is hindering because he is still quite insecure about standing on three legs and is extremely tired of having the bad foot poked and prodded and flushed. His response to a request to lift that foot is to plant all 1200 pounds on it and challenge us to pick it up. Understandable, under the circumstances, but not the most desirable behavior on trim day.
Is "laying him down" a good long-term solution? Absolutely not. Is it what we feel is best at this time? Yes. Retraining to stand for the farrier will likely be easier once the distraction of discomfort in the foot is gone and after Nate hopefully rebuilds a little more muscle to stabilize his balance.. So....for now.....this is Nate's Trim Tag Team. Two people working to do the job as quickly as possible with as little sedation as possible. Let's hope this technique becomes unnecessary soon!
1 comment:
Amazing. You guys are doing God's work. Thank you.
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