Connor has not been getting any better; still not putting weight on his left front foot, so I called the doctor out to have another look. And here’s a look at his hoof for you, too…
Connor's left hoof gets the squeeze
Farrier, Rob Greenwood had been by last week, pulled of his front shoes and rounded the toe. Connor winced, quite a bit, evidence of pain in the hoof. Frog had a lot of thrush, too! (This was a new development for him!) But the oddest symptom was, when the doctor pressed on the center of the hoof, liquid oozed out at the point of the frog, suggesting an abscess. Odd, because abscesses generally erupt at the bars of the frog. Dr. Bender (Creekside Veterinary Services), cut away more of the thrushy frog to release more of the abscessing liquid.
We decided to take a radiograph, just to see if there was any bone rotation in his foot causing the pain. Now, I know this horse looks pretty bad, but he’s an old (30+ yrs) ex-race horse, grey with melanomas, and been rolling in the mud!
He’s actually in pretty good shape and up until this hoof thing hit him, he was doing leadline with the little kids and lovin’ it! He’s one of the “people horses” that I have. (The other is Jack, also an OTTB – they both prefer the company of people over horses.)
After the x-rays, Dr. Bender slathers on the ichthammol to pull out the rest of the abscess, then wrapped the hoof securely in bandages and duct tape!
Connor gets radiograph
Then a shot of bute to help with the pain and inflammation. Hopefully, Connor will be good as new in a few weeks! I know several young children waiting for a ride…
