Rip off half his foot, horse stays sound. Twist a shoe and sting himself with a nail, lame. And pitiful. So very pitiful.
Sammy hadn’t been shod for an ungodly eight weeks after his suspicious self mutilation. He finally got new shoes and the next day twisted the shoe on his good front foot and bled a little from a nail hole. Mom said the Auburn colors were by “accident,” but given how much time she’s spent cleaning, medicating, and bandaging Sam’s feet lately…I wouldn’t put a joke or two past her. “Designer look!” was the accompanying message to the following photo…
Sam jacked his shoe up on April 4th. The day prior his boo-boo looked like…
The black stuff is medication that hasn’t come off yet. Since the cream (which forms a fairly durable barrier) has to be scrubbed off in order to clean and reapply, it winds up bleeding and looking redder and scarier than it actually is.
April 8th was the first time I saw the wound in person while I was in Georgia announcing at the Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials. He really did a number on himself (still no idea how), but it is not as awful looking in person as it is in a photo. Plus, it is a lot smaller and a ton of hoof has grown back there on the south side. It’s clearly a bit deformed and there will be a crack between the old hoof and new hoof that will grow down and have to be managed with supportive shoeing. The hoof should ultimately look normal again, but the vet thinks the bulb will probably always look a little funny. I wonder if the hair on his coronary band will grow back normal, if at all?
In the photo above, taken on April 13th, it looks great! Much less bleeding after cleaning, no proud flesh, and it looks like it’s really healing from the inside out. Even just a few days after seeing it myself it looks less awful…except his hoof looks all gnarly down by the shoe. Ugh. He exhausts me…I’ll add “order more Keratex” to my to-do list.
After the initial rounds of antibiotics and using the cream the vet prescribed, we ordered Equaide at the recommendation of a friend. I found nothing but positive reviews online, and Mom swears it’s a miracle medicine. It healed the bit of proud flesh that had appeared and has since kept any new from forming. Equaide looks like something the creature from the black lagoon might like to take a bath in. It’s pearl black (kind of pretty actually), and just a little bit goes a long way.
Silly Sam has been soaking up the daily attention he gets from his “Maj” (short for her Her Majesty…yes, Mom picked the name out). Really, though, Mom has been awesome taking care of my sweet boy and been very gracious about the insane changing travel plans.
For being a pasture pony for so long, he still looks so handsome! He’s always had a lovely shiny coat, a sexy cresty neck (thanks in part to Gamble taking six inches of his neck between his teeth when Sam was five resulting in a conveniently located chunk of scar tissue), and a great butt! He’s shedding out his teddy bear winter hair and feels so soft and sleek.
Sam is a quirky kid (he’s so mine!). His drinking bucket is behind him in the corner, but his dunking bucket is hanging on the wall next to his nibble net there. He likes to flavor his hay with a little H2O.
For several weeks, Sam has been wrapped just while in the stall at night. Now he is going unwrapped 24/7 (hooray!) but still needs daily cleaning and medication. I’m really hopeful the wound will be mostly closed up within the next few weeks. He did have to be separated from Gamble as Mom and Sue came back to the barn after a trail ride and found the two goobers stallion fighting over the fence between their walkabouts. Although they were just playing, neither Mom, Sue, nor I could handle the stress of the risk…he should just live in a bubble.
I can’t wait for my sweet boy to come home. Kisses, kisses.
Thanks everyone who has continually asked about him and helped me keep my brain between my ears throughout the ordeal. xoxo
Leslie Threlkeld | Breezy Files 