The farrier was out 7/28/2010 to work on Shecky's feet. His soles have finally healed enough and he has grown enough hoof for the farrier to trim him up without causing more problems.

Shecky got himself a pair of heart bar shoes to relieve strain on the laminae. Shecky seemed to step out a bit easier and has been a little more active. Farrier suggested keeping him in these supportive shoes for a bit and then possibly going to wooden shoes which he will craft himself.

Shecky is due for another chiropractic adjustment, but funds are tight right now. As soon as we are able, we will have Dr. Don Moore come out and adjust this lovely Old Man again. He improved so much after his last adjustment. Put on a little more weight and is a bit more mobile. Shecky even broke into a trot the other day when he was turned out with his buddy!

Remember how he looked when he first came? Due to Shecky's condition, founder and age, his progress as been slow, but we are seeing progress!  As you can see from the BEFORE pictures below, he is making a comeback.  Feed, U-Guard, MSM, a little shredded beet pulp and of course, Pawier Vitamins are helping the old man to recover!

The farrier was out to trim Shecky and some of the other TIER residents.  His left foot still has a bit of drainage going on at the coronary band and there has been some recent swelling.  We are continuing to use moisturizer on the hoof (so it won't crack as a result of the abcess), and using Ichthamol on that hoof to see if we can get it to completely drain before using Iodine. 

He is moving better and you can tell he is more comfortable!  The sole is thin, so not too much was taken off.  Toes were backed up as much as the farrier was willing to do at this time.  It may not look like a lot of toe was taken off, but quite a bit was removed.  Farrier will be back out this weekend to finish with the other horses and he will check Shecky out again. 

His backbone is not as prominent as it was and he has shed quite a bit of that unhealthy coat. 

Farrier had to reschedule and will be out Monday. Yesterday we did the Ichthamol, Cotton & duct tape slippers on both front feet to try to get out any remaining residue from the abcesses before the farrier arrives.

Dancin Shecky & his buddy Scooter munchin on hay.  He is SLOWLY putting on weight.  Notice the lovely Hunter Green fly boots which were a gift from Ted & Wendi.  Shecky is a master at undoing velcro and has been seen with a fly boot dangling from his mouth as he flaps it around.

Shecky basically has the run of the place.  He needs to be moving around to keep circulation going in those poor feet, but he doesn't move too far from his new buddy.  Today we put them out in the arena area so that he would travel a bit more than usual. 

Shecky is kind, respectful when handled and totally herd bound to his neighbor.  He gets anxious when his neighbor is turned out in another area. 

Shecky is also a fan of music.  One of our regular VolunTIERS, Mel, put her cellphone up to his ear while music was playing.  He closed his eyes and took a little nap.  We might just get him his own radio since he likes music so much.

Vet basically told us to continue with the feed program he is on. Feet of course are a mess and the farrier will be out Friday.  Vet said not to take off much sole, but to back up his toes.  Tomorrow I will put more hoof reconditioner on (we are doing this every other day), Ichthamol on the sole abscesses/cotton/duct tape to hopefully drain any remaining abcess.  We purchased another bottle of Bute so that we are sure to have it on hand for pain/inflammation for the boy.  He is bright eyed and curious.  Vet got a call while he was examining Shecky and that lovely boy kept snuffling the Dr. while he was on the phone!

Shecky's feet are really sore.  Cleaned them out Saturday because on Friday he'd had a lot going on.  Blown abcesses at cornet on both fronts, old blown abcess on sole of left front, draining abcess on sole of right front (that's why he was so sore!).  We moisturized all his hooves, cleaned them out, put Ichthamol on the one that was still draining, but didn't wrap it.  Gave him 2 Bute and eventually he was more comfortable (Bute helped, but the acbcess breaking through was the real relief).  Probably won't trim just yet as the hooves need to be a little more softer/moisturized so they won't crack.  We let him wander around by the feed shed/round pen so he would get some circulation going and that seemed to help.  He's cleaning up his food.

He is getting hay, pellets (no sweet feed/grain!), Pro Bios, Redmond Salt and Pawier Vitamins.

Kristy, her sister, her kids and I picked up Dancin Shecky & Spin Around this morning. 

Shecky is very attached to Spin Around ( I think they are going to call her Penny because of her color) and became quite worried when Kristy started to lead her toward the trailer.  Our contact at DAS told us this was this case and that he would follow her.  He became pretty concerned and I thought I was going to go dirt skiing for a minute. 

Kristy led Spin Around/Penny to her roomy trailer and she loaded up after only a second or two of taking a good look inside.  Shecky led me to the ramp where I handed him off to Bonnie who walked him right in.

Both horses rode well.  No stomping or rocking the trailer while we drove over to TIER.  Shecky unloaded well after he figured out that it was a ramp and not a step down.  Once he was unloaded, Spin Around/Penny was backing up in the trailer trying to get out too!

First off, I want to thank our farrier.  Val took time out of his schedule to go with me to DAS and give his opinion on whether or not these horses could be helped.  My intent was to find out specifically if Dancin Shecky&rsquos condition was something that could be helped and that he would be comfortable.  I truely value Val&rsquos opinion as he was a jockey at one time, managed a few racing farms and was raised around horses.  He&rsquos seen a lot, knows a lot and promised me he would give me a straight answer.  Quality of Life was uppermost in my mind for Dancin Shecky.  I also wanted his opinion on the pronounced &ldquodivot&rdquo  in Spin Around&rsquos back.

Heads up.......I totally forgot the camera so I didn&rsquot get any new pictures.  I had planned on taking pictures of Dancin Shecky&rsquos feet for everyone to see.  Sorry.  I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow! 

Yup!  Val really checked out his feet and legs.  Frog is so overgrown that it protrudes from the SIDES of both hooves!  But the good news is that he hasn&rsquot lost his sole.  There was no heat, inflammation or pulse in his feet.  Flies were buzzing around the blown abcess sites on both fores at the cornet band.  Shecky lifted his feet when Val asked and held them.  We didn&rsquot even have a halter on him.  Val talked to him the whole time in his low murmuring voice.  Shecky was a prince about the whole thing.
 
After checking out Shecky, Val said &ldquoLet&rsquos take a look at this sweet red mare&rdquo.  He started his murmur stuff and then checked her feet, ran his hands all over her.  Spin reached over and gave him a hug like a long lost friend!  Val kept rubbing her, telling her how pretty she was and she just sucked it up.  When I asked about the divot he said &ldquoNot to worry.  It&rsquoll fill in when you get some nutrition into her.&rdquo  I asked why it was so pronounced and he explained something that I didn&rsquot know and hadn&rsquot seen before.  He said since she was used primarily as a broodmare that her pelvis had expanded when in foal.  The weight loss just &ldquoenhanced my view of her frame&rdquo.  I guess most of the mares we have rescued that were under weight hadn&rsquot had many foals so this was a new one on me.  Live and Learn!  Her feet need trimming and most likely she will need dental work.  But he said she was a really nice mare and would fill out with good care.  He said  &ldquoShe&rsquos good to go&rdquo meaning he didn&rsquot see any major problems.  She continued to follow him around until we went back to Shecky&rsquos pen and hung her head over the fence near him.  Kristy, one of our HARD WORKING Volunteers, has graciously offered to house her during her rehab!!

Since Val hadn&rsquot said anything about Shecky and had gone over to Spin after checking him out, I was expecting him to tell me that the prognosis was not good.  When I asked him if we could help this horse he said &ldquoThis is totally doable.  No problem.  He ain&rsquot gonna win any races, he&rsquoll never be 100%, but at 25 yrs. old he just needs a little assistance with groceries and his feet.  He hasn&rsquot lost his sole and in fact has a little extra that we&rsquoll get healthy again.&rdquo  Shecky also seemed to think the sun rises and sets on Val and nuzzled him up.  I asked him to check his teeth.  After a brief look & feel of Shecky&rsquos teeth, Val&rsquos comment was &ldquoOh Lord!&rdquo.  I guess that means we&rsquoll be feeding pellets, senior feed and scheduling a dental appointment. 

Val didn&rsquot want to do his feet today.  He said for us to get him to TIER, get some oil/moisture into those hooves because his hooves will split where the abcesses have blown if we don&rsquot.  He wants him to have a few days of moisturizing treatments before he tackles the mess that is this boy&rsquos feet. 

Our contact at DAS was pleased to hear the news about Shecky as she too thought it was going to be sad news.  While we were all standing there talking, I walked over to him and felt inside his sheath.  His sheath has a lot of edema and I&rsquom sure he has a bean the size of Texas, but there was so much thick/dried Smegma (sp?) in the opening I don&rsquot know how this horse peed without spraying his stomach!  Shecky had been nuzzling up and glad of company until I went to his nether regions.  He was none too happy about my visit there and kicked out a couple times.  Can&rsquot blame him as the stuff I did pull out was hard and dry.  Once he gets to TIER, Kristy assures me that her lovely sister Bonnie is quite proficient at traveling in the Nether Lands and will be glad to soften up that stuff.  When I mentioned it to Bonnie, she said........&rdquoNoooooooooo&rdquo  We&rsquoll see.  HA!

So, Kristy will be housing Spin and Shecky will come to TIER.  We will be picking them up Friday morning!!

5/19/10 - TIER was contacted by Riverside Department of Animal Services regarding 2 horses that had been left in the Riverbed and, of course, are starved.  We have 2 days to find them a place to go as DAS cannot keep them.  If Shecky is able to be saved and TIER is able to raise the funds, we will bring him here.  We need to try to find a home for Spin Around.

To Donate to help these horses:  http://www.tierrescue.org/IndividualDonations.htm

Both horses have suffered neglect, malnutrition, dehydration.  Their immune systems have been compromised and they are suffering the effects of starvation in that their eyes are weepy/full of mucous, the hair coat is bad, they need dental work, food, farrier work, vitamins, etc.

Dancin Shecky:
DANCIN SHECKY C, 1985 DP = 10-5-13-0-0 (28) DI = 3.31   CD = 0.89

Shecky is in bad shape.  He has been starved, suffered dehydradtion and both front hooves have/are abscessed.  His front hooves have rings on them which may be indicative of founder.  Our farrier has graciously agreed to look at him tomorrow to see if he can be helped.