A Little More Sole

You may remember a post from early last week, when our equine vet Bill Brown was  at the ranch to look at several horses.  Among the horses he examined was blind Rosie, who was very 'ouchy' on her feet.  She appeared to have a case of laminitis (severe inflammation in the hoof), but the X-rays we took that day told a different story: The soles of her feet were paper thin.  This can be caused by either leaving a horse on very rocky terrain or overly aggressive trimming.  Since Rosie arrived in this condition, we don't know for sure what happened to her soles. 

Of course, we were very relieved she didn't have laminitis, which is a very difficult disease to manage and can be life-threatening.  As painful as Rosie's thin soles are, it's a much better problem to have than laminitis!

Enter Pat Beebe, a lady who is a natural hoof care practitioner.  (For more info on this technique go here).  Pat had visited the sanctuary a couple of weeks ago and had seen Rosie then, and offered her services to help Rosie if she could.  So when we got the X-ray results back, we looked at the various treatment options and decided to invite Pat to take Rosie on as her 'patient.'

So Pat came out today to begin the rehab work on Rosie's hooves, which is what she's doing in the photo.  This involves trimming and positioning the hoof to help the sole grow back.  It's a long process and may take months, but eventually Rosie will be back to normal.

(In case you're wondering, the big red thing with the white chute in the background is our tractor-mounted snowblower.  The black attachment to the left of the snowblower is the round-bale spear for the tractor.)

(Click on photo for larger image.)

Comments

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

It's great to hear that Pat Beebe has come to Rosie's rescue! I know that Rosie is looking foward to her feet feeling all better. I didn't see Pat's wings in the photo, but I'm sure they are there somewhere. That certainly is wonderful news.
Hugs to all,
ginger & Tobias

[Roz]

How fortunate Pat is able to help Rosie and with a natural approach. I'll definitely check out the website.