Poor Lolita
This week I called a farrier for Lolita. A farrier will trim her hooves and give her regular hoof and leg care in general. Jocelyne tells me that she has not been able to get a hold of a farrier since late July. Lolita's hooves are in GREAT need of care.
I felt very useful because I called the farrier, set up a time to get her trim done, and took care of everything by myself =). The only problem was that I didn't realize how bad Lolita's hooves actually were. The farrier handed me a lead to bring Lolita out of the pasture to him. I hooked it on her but she would not come very far with me. The farrier came out to help but when he took a look at her hooves he said, "Never mind, I'll come to her. She's in a lot of pain." D= After trimming the left rear hoof he said, "This donkey's either foundered or has foundered in the past and has never been treated." Founder is a very serious hoof disorder generally caused by improper care of some kind whether nutritional, poor hoof hygiene, or very hard work ( http://www.animed.co.uk/laminitis.htm ). We talked about how the only way to tell how badly she's foundered is to get a vet to take an x-ray . . . something the farm really cannot afford for an animal that, according to David (livestock manager), "serves no real purpose." My argument is that she serves no purpose currently because she can barely walk. Of course she's not protecting the herd from coyotes when she can't even walk 100 feet to get to the farrier! D=<
Lolita stood so well for the farrier and you could just tell that she was in agony. She reminded me a lot of Annie in that she would let you or a vet do anything to her no matter how much it hurt. She trusted us that much. The whole time the farrier would say, "You're such a good pony. Good girl." and shake his head while trimming massive hunks off her overgrown hooves. He couldn't take as much off as he should because the hooves are so overgrown that if he removed more she would bleed and have an even harder time walking . . . like trimming a dogs toenails after they have grown out for a long time. It was only $30 for the farrier to trim her which made me a little mad that it hadn't been happening regularly.
There are many forms of treatment that vary depending on the severity of the foundering. We have decided to bring the farrier back in about 6 weeks to trim her hooves again. If she looks like she's feeling better we will continue that regimen until her hooves are trimmed to where they should be. If she doesn't look like she's feeling better or if she looks worse . . . . . . . . we will have to put her to sleep. ='(
It was frustrating and really embarrassing. I couldn't even tell the farrier how old she was or where we got her from. When I asked David at lunch he said that she had been donated even before he got here (at least 5 years ago) and ever since they had her she had not had regular hoof care until Jocelyne came and at least tried to get a farrier for her. D= It reminded me of one of those animal cop shows where they remove an animal because their owners abuse OR neglect them. I feel really bad for Lolita. David even questioned whether we should spend the money on a farrier regularly or just put her to sleep!!! It's only $30 a month!!! Money here is NOT that tight at all! Maybe if we spent a little less money on expensive cheeses and butter or if we turned off the TV and lights when we're done with them we could spend more money on keeping ALL our animals healthy.
When I went back to check on Lolita I brought her one of the apples we spent tons of money getting at the store today. She was thrilled with the apple! =D I wouldn't say that she was walking "better" than before, but she looked a little more willing to walk over to me rather than me always going straight to her. At least now I have a task that I am completely responsible for =). I only hope we caught this problem in time.
I felt very useful because I called the farrier, set up a time to get her trim done, and took care of everything by myself =). The only problem was that I didn't realize how bad Lolita's hooves actually were. The farrier handed me a lead to bring Lolita out of the pasture to him. I hooked it on her but she would not come very far with me. The farrier came out to help but when he took a look at her hooves he said, "Never mind, I'll come to her. She's in a lot of pain." D= After trimming the left rear hoof he said, "This donkey's either foundered or has foundered in the past and has never been treated." Founder is a very serious hoof disorder generally caused by improper care of some kind whether nutritional, poor hoof hygiene, or very hard work ( http://www.animed.co.uk/laminitis.htm ). We talked about how the only way to tell how badly she's foundered is to get a vet to take an x-ray . . . something the farm really cannot afford for an animal that, according to David (livestock manager), "serves no real purpose." My argument is that she serves no purpose currently because she can barely walk. Of course she's not protecting the herd from coyotes when she can't even walk 100 feet to get to the farrier! D=<
Lolita stood so well for the farrier and you could just tell that she was in agony. She reminded me a lot of Annie in that she would let you or a vet do anything to her no matter how much it hurt. She trusted us that much. The whole time the farrier would say, "You're such a good pony. Good girl." and shake his head while trimming massive hunks off her overgrown hooves. He couldn't take as much off as he should because the hooves are so overgrown that if he removed more she would bleed and have an even harder time walking . . . like trimming a dogs toenails after they have grown out for a long time. It was only $30 for the farrier to trim her which made me a little mad that it hadn't been happening regularly.
There are many forms of treatment that vary depending on the severity of the foundering. We have decided to bring the farrier back in about 6 weeks to trim her hooves again. If she looks like she's feeling better we will continue that regimen until her hooves are trimmed to where they should be. If she doesn't look like she's feeling better or if she looks worse . . . . . . . . we will have to put her to sleep. ='(
It was frustrating and really embarrassing. I couldn't even tell the farrier how old she was or where we got her from. When I asked David at lunch he said that she had been donated even before he got here (at least 5 years ago) and ever since they had her she had not had regular hoof care until Jocelyne came and at least tried to get a farrier for her. D= It reminded me of one of those animal cop shows where they remove an animal because their owners abuse OR neglect them. I feel really bad for Lolita. David even questioned whether we should spend the money on a farrier regularly or just put her to sleep!!! It's only $30 a month!!! Money here is NOT that tight at all! Maybe if we spent a little less money on expensive cheeses and butter or if we turned off the TV and lights when we're done with them we could spend more money on keeping ALL our animals healthy.
When I went back to check on Lolita I brought her one of the apples we spent tons of money getting at the store today. She was thrilled with the apple! =D I wouldn't say that she was walking "better" than before, but she looked a little more willing to walk over to me rather than me always going straight to her. At least now I have a task that I am completely responsible for =). I only hope we caught this problem in time.