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| When World Horse Welfare farrier Donald Nicol first saw a Shetland pony named Haggis, he went right to work on his overgrown hooves. The pony's owners were prosecuted under British law for cruelty in allowing the pony to become so obese. In the video, Donald goes all around the pony and comments on his hooves before he starts trimming. (© World Horse Welfare photo) |
Showing posts with label neglect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neglect. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Video: Almost Killed with Kindness, an Overweight Pony's Rehabilitation Begins with His Overgrown Hooves
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Deformity in Motion: Neglected Hooves Respond in Ireland
Horses and ponies and donkeys with overgrown hooves are not uncommon to find. We routinely see photos of them when they are rescued by agencies or brought to farriers and vets for care.
But Johnny and James are different because these are not still shots, these are videos. You can see not just how overgrown they are, but that these strong, adaptable donkeys can still get around. They've had to adapt their gait a bit, perhaps, but they're still on the move.
We are always taught that the hoof wall bears the horse's weight and that the weight is transferred down the bony column of the limb. But nature obviously has a plan B, so that the horse can transfer its weight to the heels.
Another thing we're taught is that the toe is the strongest part of the hoof and the heel is the weakest and most deformable. And yet in these donkeys and so many other neglected equines, the heels are standing up to the job. The foot doesn't collapse, the heels don't rupture.
The second video shows that Johnny began to recover once his feet were under him again. The sanctuary mentioned that the hooves were radiographed and that the trim would be fine-tuned over the weeks to come until his weightbearing and gait could be normalized.
The hoof has to be one of the most adaptive structures in nature, yet we always try to make it conform to our ideal--whatever that may be. Surely there is a sweet spot for every hoof, a place where that foot finds optimal function.
The trick is to find it, to find it before it is too late, and to keep the hoof shape and position under the limb within a range of that spot throughout the animal's life.
Visit The Donkey Sanctuary web site to learn more about the charity's work on behalf of donkeys in Ireland--and everywhere.
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Sunday, December 26, 2010
Montana Marathon: Farriers and Veterinarians Trim 31 Donkeys' Hooves After Years Of Neglect
The struggling Montana Large Animal Sanctuary and Rescue gave up. It gave up trying to go on taking care of more than 1000 hooved animals it had taken in. There are camels and llamas and horses and donkeys and cows by the dozens.
According to news reports, they ran out of money, then they ran out of hay and now the animals have been rescued from the rescue. They are in temporary shelters while organizations in the state try to figure out what they will do to re-home them.
What these animals do have, in excess, however, is hoof. It's been years since the donkeys, at least, have been trimmed.
That changed this week when the donkeys were moved and a group of vets and farriers joined forces to get their hooves back to some semblance of normal. That, of course, wasn't easy. Some may be suffering from laminitis. All may be sore after trimming, whether from the trimming itself or the redistribution of load on tendons and ligaments. Donkeys are also prone to white line disease, which would require medication if they are affected.
But the farriers just kept on trimming.
According to the television news report, each hoof was radiographed before it was trimmed, and a farrier spent an average of 15 minutes sawing and then trimming each hoof.
The Montana Animal Care Association, Montana Horse Sanctuary, Montana Office of the Humane Society of the United States and Western Montana Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation all organized the effort to help the donkeys.
It's interesting that about 75 inquiries have already been received to adopt the donkeys, which will be going to new homes in pairs to lessen the stress of having been in a herd for so long. Their plight--and their pain--touched a lot of people.
Donations for the animals can be sent to: Western Montana Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation, P.O. Box 1168, Corvallis, MT 59828 (indicate "for donkeys" on check).
To help the horses, please contact Jane Heath, Montana Horse Sanctuary executive director, via email: ht@mt.net. They'll also fix you up with a camel. Or a llama. Or...
Thanks to KAJ18.com, the website for Channel 18 in Missoula, Montana, all the volunteer organizations, and all the veterinarians and farriers who worked on this rescue and the hoof trimming marathon. Special thanks to anyone who takes in one of these animals and gives it a home, at last.
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