Monday, January 18, 2010

Founder: Then and Now

Today, I was sharing my experience with founder on a horse message board. To show that a horse can go to the depths of hell and bounce back, I decided to dig up some old photos of Limerick's fabled LF (left fore) hoof.

Looking at these, it's really quite amazing how far she has come in the past several years, and the past year in particular thanks to my farrier.

(Photos taken in early 2003, about 8 months after a hoof wall resectioning)






Back then, we were pretty sure that Limerick would be crippled for life. It's hard to imagine escaping 17 degrees of rotation, with near-sole prolapse, without any blemishes.

But we were wrong. Almost seven years after the photographs above were taken, here's Limerick.


This photograph was taken yesterday by The Click Chick Photography.

It brings a huge, huge smile to my face. Here is a 19-year-old mare, once horribly foundered, galloping through the snow with pure joy. As they say, a photograph says a thousand words. What do all the photographs on this page together tell you?

5 comments:

Jesse said...

That her spirit is strong and she won't let anything stop her!

Mom said...

Just goes to show that having the right vet care plus the correct shoeing and tons of patience, returning to normal can be accomplished.

Divas said...

I just love that last pic!
XOXO

EcoLicious Equestrian said...

what a great recovery story..thanks for sharing

Pamelle May Gallardo said...

Beautiful, though I know nothing about horses. :)