RIP – Finally! – Two Socks
Sep 02 2009
I just love this article, check out the title and what the focus is on…certainly not on the horse!
Horse Rescue Director Threatened
Definitely, we should focus on the fact that this woman heard from one internet wacko…not the fact that anybody trying to keep this horse alive IS a wacko. No, it’s not like losing a fingernail. When you lose a fingernail, you don’t have exposed bone. And you don’t WALK on that raw place, and you don’t weigh 800 pounds.
Ah well. I’m just glad the horse got put to sleep. Rest in peace, you poor old boy…thank heavens they stopped trying to “help” you. The whole thing reminded me of Terri Schiavo except that Schiavo, unlike Two Socks, was mercifully unconscious!
53 comments to “RIP – Finally! – Two Socks”
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What ever…the media just goes after the story not the actual facts. Just look at NBC and CBS…
I really love the trashy background (falling down fence, pile of old hay, overgrown weeds, etc etc) chosen for this shoot. Very professional.
Also gotta love that some of the horses are turned out with loosely fitting nylon web halters in a pasture with lots of halter-eating objects (wire, some uncapped t-posts with no hot wire, tree branches, metal gates, etc).
-sigh-
I admit I didn’t read beyond the link; I clicked it first and watched the news clip… and thought EXACTLY the same thing; raise your hand if your physiology forces you to walk on your fingernails. No one? How strange! I’d always assumed more ungulates on the internet.
It’s such a great example of crappy journalism. They completely misquoted the vet, who was trying to explain the process of how a damaged nail falls off to the process of a damaged hoof. He’s not really happy with being mis-quoted like that either. His full e-mail response is on COTH if anyone is interested.
And the fight is still on to get the rescue investigated on the state level. Since obviously local animal control can’t tell that the horse was emmaciated, and doesn’t even know what a Hennke scale is!
Another problem along with the obvious hoof problem is why he looked like that after he was in good weight when they first got him? Why was he so skinny? Any labs done on him? This is the question I want to know.
The article screams unprofessional. Perhaps they were trying kindle an emotional and connected feel with the reader, but dumbing down a sentence to make it brain-friendly for us folk is ridiculous. My case in point: “necropsy, that’s an animal autopsy,”. It sounds so… casual! I hate it. Where’s: necropsy – an animal autopsy -?
But I have a dumb question… horses losing hooves is a common occurrence? I haven’t heard any gory stories or nasty health stories in my 7 years of being with horses, so, I don’t know.
I didn’t watch the video entirely. I moved the slider a couple times and the glimpses I saw were unnerving. The woman with the sunglasses looks like she’s had one too many cigarettes. The pasture fencing is awful, too. How can anyone think that’s acceptable?
OH, fugly! I have something funny for you. I’m in highschool and we have a very in-depth agriculture department, which includes 3 greenhouses, rabbits, a miniature donkey, sheep, goats, and 3 or 4 horses. The barn is quite nice (4 stalls, 2 wash rooms, a feed room, and a tack room), as well as the half an acre of luscious pasture for the animals. However, over the summer, the ag department fenced in another half acre. And you’ll never guess what material they used! Barbed wire. The first pasture is fenced in with the fence with the little squares. I’ve forgotten what it’s called, sorry. I don’t know why the horse science teacher (who’s been around horses for 30+ years), horse-owning students, and other agriculture teachers think barbed wire is acceptable for horses. The barbed wire pasture is for the horses, and the other pasture is for the donkey, goats, and sheep. Hilarious, right.
R.I.P Two Socks…
from the text of the article:
“Dr. David Hodgson tells me a horse losing a hoof is not uncommon. The physiological breakdown is similar to a human loosing a fingernail. However, it is just the process that is similar. The consequences are quite different. In humans, a missing fingernail causes minor discomfort. For a horse, a missing hoof can have devastating consequences”
The “journalist”, (and I use that term loosly), obviously had a choice about what part of the vet’s quote to use…she minimized the actual damage to poor Two Socks and failed to tell the most important part about how devastating loosing a hoof is. I know when I trim my fingernails too close it hurts like hell but I don’t have to WALK on my fingernails, do I ? Idiots, I don’t blame the vet for being furious. I’d still like to know how Two Socks went into the rescue looking fat and healthy and ended up a hoofless rack of bones.
Hmm . . . I thought that journalists were supposed to present both sides of a story. What would this be called, then?
Monday – see, but you ALREADY know better and that means you’re a step on the horse care scale above your instructors!
And NO, it is NOT common for a horse’s hoof to fall off. I have NEVER seen that. I’ve seen white line disease where a portion had to be resected but I haven’t EVER seen a whole hoof come off like that! That should be in the dictionary under Founder Management Fail.
No, a horse losing a hoof is NOT common. I have seen it twice, though. BUT! I worked in an equine vet clinic for almost eight years, and these were extreme cases. As to Two Socks’ condition? I hope they NAIL the people responsible for his decline.
The poor horse was probably so skinny because of the immense pain he was in, and I do believe he was in pain, regardless of the supposed scar on the nerve. Honestly, it’s probably a blessing as bad as it was, that he was thin, as the added weight on his remaining three legs and hooves would have been unbearable. The fact is, that he should have never had to suffer to that point to begin with, and I’m so glad his misery is finally over. RIP sweet boy!
Those crazy Kentuckians with their computer hacking skills were reponsible for the pictures of Two Socks being posted? Is their vet examining the horse via pics? I’m thinking she posted them hoping for big $$$ donations and just did not expect the attention. Glad the attention “encouraged” them do the right thing.
I have seen a hoof fall off. The horse was neglected but not intentionally. Over weight and looking back this horse was severely foundered. They lost one a week earlier to founder and the other two looked like they also had founder/laminitis. They were well meaning people who had NO idea what they were doing. Anyway this fat, cresty dominant mare went to put the smack down on another horse in the pasture and just merely TURNED fast and her hoof came off. She went trotting off on the bone for a bit. I couldn’t handle it and went to throw up but a few others went to handle the mare and call the owners (this was a pasture a friend had bought with boarders on it and told my BF at the time that we could retire our old geldings there, which is why we were even there in the first place) We called the vet and the horse was put down ASAP before the owners even showed up. The vet said there was no hope to save her for any usable life. It was horrible. The most traumatic thing I have ever seen in all my years of horses and it wasnt even my horse. Last time I checked HUMANS to do not walk around with a bone hanging out for obviouse reasons. Thank god this animal is finally at peace.
I had a 5 year old Arab/Appaloosa mare loose her front hooves to founder. That was 20 years ago when research on causes and care of foundered horses was in it’s infancy. We, myself, a top equine vet, and a topnotch farrier, had worked for nearly 6 weeks to save this mare. On the day I noticed the abscess around the coronet band had gotten worse, she was put down at my request. The vet thought we should give her a few more days, I couldn’t. After she was gone the vet found she was loosing her hooves. I’ve missed her ever since, she was the only foal I ever breed for and raised. But I’m glad I didn’t make her suffer longer.
Since then there have been great advances in care and treatment of founder. A friend had a 5 year old mare survive a total resection of a front hoof. The mare foundered and the hoof abscessed. Most of the hoof came off. It required intensive vet and farrier care for most of a year to save this mare. My friend kept everything very clean and safe for her mare to recover. I don’t believe this type of care could have been carried out in a situation like this rescue appears to have. I also don’t believe she would have tried as much if the mare had been elderly instead of 5 years old.
horserescue13 says:
September 2, 2009 at 11:12 am
“Another problem along with the obvious hoof problem is why he looked like that after he was in good weight when they first got him? Why was he so skinny? Any labs done on him? This is the question I want to know.”
THIS! This this this this this! What the heck did they do to that poor horse? I haven’t been following the story from the beginning so I’m unaware of what caused the hoof issues in the first place, but he looked damn good in the “just arrived” photo posted the other day.
Horsegal984, could you please be more specific as to how I can find that veterinarian’s e-mail about Two Socks’ condition? I am new to Fugly and I had too Google COTH, so any help will be apreciated.
As to Two Socks, I’m so glad he can finally rest. Shame on his caretakers for letting him get so bad that even those shallow-trolling journalists picked up on his detirioration. I hope the state pursues an investigation to see if this was a case of neglect while at the rescue.
Link to thread on COTH Forum
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=221807
Text of post with Vet’s email response:
I heard back from Dr Hodgson already!
——————————————————————————–
The man already wrote back to me a wonderful thorough email. Here’s his response…
Jessica,
Thanks for contacting me. I believe I have been quoted out of context, although I have not heard the quote. Such outcomes are, in my experience, common in these situations when folks search for small, specific quotes to add to a story. Yes I did mentionloss of a fingernail. Of course a horse losing a hoof is potentially far more catastrophic than a human losing a fingernail. However, the principle of the disease process is the same – breakdown of the laminae between the supporting & keratinized tissues. That was the point I made, nothing more. Of course given the critical weight bearing nature of the hoof in the horse such a delamination in this species has far more deleterious & life threatening effects. Losing a fingernail is usually no more than a temporary inconvenience.
I trust you were also informed of the great support I afforded your program & the excellent job I believe you do to support our equine companions. In addition, I also provided my endorsement of your decision to euthanize ‘Two Socks’ given the irreparable nature of the problem.
I hope this provides some clarification to the matter. Indeed I believe I defended your position (strongly) particularly given the number of comments I had received following your posting of the graphic pictures of Two Socks’ affected foot on the web. An extremely prominent member of the horse industry called me just this afternoon after his wife saw the pictures asking whether I knew if the horse had been put down? They had a horse with a similar problem a few years ago & believed the process resulted in unrelenting pain for their horse & therefore elected euthanazia.
So, in summary I believe you had (have) nothing but the best interests of the horses under your care at heart. I too honor the welfare of the horse and my comments today were supportive of your great contributions to this ideal. Again, in my opinion euthanazia was the only reasonable opion for ‘Two Socks’.
The fingernail issue was but a small portion of my comments designed to provide some form of restricted analogy to a person with limited understanding of equine anatomy & function.
I hope this answers your question.
Dave
I responded back with the direct link to the article as I think he will not be happy with how they worded it. Of course I also thanked him profusely for getting back to me so quickly and for agreeing that this was a cause for putting him down. Also where he states “our program” I think he meant the members of CoTH.
Was he denerved for foot pain prior to coming to the rescue? Wouldn’t you notice that the horse had no useful feelings down there? No vet or farrier in their right fucking minds would have an animal walking around on bone outside!
There are at least two threads on COTH going on right now that I could find.
Yikes. Just…Yikes.
IF YOU CONTACTED AUTHORITIES OR RVHR RE: TWO SOCKS, PLEASE READ!
Also, @Fugly: FHOTD Picture
Impromptu, here’s the link to the thread on COTH:
http://chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=221268
One of my biggest pet peeves is horse “rescue” groups suffering from Don Quixote syndrome.
Aside from the fencing, pastured horses wearing nylon halters, crisis mentalities, ignorance of basic training and management essentials, a love of publicity, futile attempts to save doomed animals, and — last but not least — sparkly starry-eyed fairies dancing somewhere on their sorry-ass websites, there is ALWAYS an element of paranoia.
THIS one says somebody hacked into their system and posted pictures of the late Two Sock which only the vet was supposed to see??? WTF???
There is a fine line between rescuing animals and hoarding them. These women look like hoarders to me. Watch the video, visit the website; res ipsa loquiter. Does anybody involved with this group know how to pull a mane, hold a body brush, trim whiskers, take a picture, lead a horse, or — God forbid — RIDE????
Sweet Peace Old Man…his cute kissable nose has been in my thoughts.
Oi, one of the links has rehosted photos of this poor horse. Look at the photo of the bottom of his hoof verses these anatomy pictures.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5
Link 6
(Several angles and mediums of healthy horse hooves.)
His tendons are gone. You can see the coffin bone, navicular bone, and part of P2 (…I think, it’s been a while since I’ve dissected a hoof, and it was a PITA to get P2 out, let alone the coffin bone). The fatty cushion is gone… I don’t know what came off with the hoof, or what happened between the 24th, where he had a sole, and the 27, where he doesn’t, but… 0_0!
>>THIS one says somebody hacked into their system and posted pictures of the late Two Sock which only the vet was supposed to see??? WTF???< <
Yeah, first point: What are you trying to hide? I’ve never had pictures of any injury or health condition on a horse I’ve owned where I’d freak if they got leaked to the Internet. If you really believe you are doing the right thing, why be upset about the pictures being distributed?
NOBODY ‘hacked into’ their system. Dumbass originally POSTED those pictures on her website, I’m assuming to garner sympathy and get the money rolling in. Instead, she got a veritable shit storm of people calling her out on why the horse hadn’t already been put down.
By the time Braindead Muncy got around to taking down the pictures, someone had saved them on their OWN computer. Unless a picture is copywrited, there’s no legal infringment if they’re copied.
She’s obviously paranoid and has a saviour complex, as well as typical hoarder behaviour and emotionally stunted maturity level.
I do think the death threats may be real, because there are a lot of crazy, violent people out there and some of them own horses. They are NOT helping the case that’s trying to be presented to the Commonwealth in order to get Ms. Muncy and her ‘rescue’ investigated.
Never seen it until Two Socks, but I have heard warnings that if you nerve a horse with chronic lameness you run the risk of not realizing there is a problem until the hoof falls off. (Horse isn’t showing signs of pain etc) Looks like the poor old guy was proof that the warnings are true.
If he was suffering from a massive infection, which would explain the chronic abcessing etc, that would cause the weight loss shown in his pics regardless of how much he was being fed. Sudden unexplained weight loss is a warning sign every horse owner and for damn sure every rescue shouldn’t ignore.
I have an old injured OTTB who abcesses once in a while and when he does he gets soaked and wrapped in a poultice boot made of diapers and duct tape. This has to be removed after 3 days and even after that short time, his coronet band is very soft and mushy for a day or two until the air dries it out. I saw the original web page and they said they had been wrapping him for weeks. Wonder if they inadvertently didn’t soften his hoof so much it sloughed right off?
I’m glad to read that the poor old man was put to sleep and agree it should have been done a long time ago.
Ha! I knew there would be at least one on the interwebs: here’s a leg bone column from underneath. Also a radiograph from above, and below, some neat plasticized hoof sections, and a few more horses with hoof loss to look at. Plus a stallion being bred with only three legs.
Holy hell! Did anyone see all the collected shit in the bottom of Two Sock’s “hoof-stump”? That is the kind of mess I’d find in the bottom of my horse’s hoof – after playing in the pasture 24-7!
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but this horse was in a rescue, right? Presumably they take and rehome horses, probably fatten skinny ones up and fix up the sick ones, going by common assumption of the role of a rescue. So, they have this horse with an issue that is going to take upwards of a year to heal, countless pots of money and many, many man-hours.
If it was my personal horse who lost her foot, I don’t know if *I* could afford the cost of first-class care, especially if I then had to work a second job to pay for the treatment and had no time to actual treat the horse. So, suddenly these people, faced with a very expensive and painful condition, think that treatment is the best option? I mean seriously, it’s tragic for Two Socks, but wouldn’t they of been better of to put him to sleep peacefully, and use the “treatment money” to help other rescue horses?
This sounds terribly harsh, but one has to draw the line somewhere! If it were someone’s beloved personal horse, sure! Try treatment, but not to the detriment of the horse.
Having said that, listening to the video and looking at the conditions her other “rescues” are in, I don’t think I’d want her anywhere NEAR another horse. If she didn’t have money to pull her act up before… well, what is she going to do when one of the other horses rips its face open on that shocking fence.
Oh, and mesh? LOOSE mesh? I know that horses loses hooves to mesh, and am wondering if there is more to the story – that injury on the horse’s heel looks to me like he got caught up in the mesh fence, and damaged his hoof to the point of losing the capsule days later. It has happened before.
Mack Truck:
I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the moment the shutter is pressed, the person who takes a photo owns the copyright to said photo, even if they do not formally register the copyright.
From http://www.cradocfotosoftware.com/tips/the-importance-of-copyright-protection.html
“Copyright protection for your photos exists the moment the work is created. But in the case of infringement you’ll need to have registered your copyright in order to file suit.”
For all that losing a hoof is supposed to be so common, in 20 years of horses and being around horsie folks, I’ve never even HEARD of a horse losing a hoof let alone seen a case of it!
Just gruesome..when there is no quality of life, and a horse can not be a horse, they should just let the poor thing go. It’s heartbreaking to think of the needless pain, I just don’t get it.
I wonder if the people mentioned in the article who stated they “saw the photos” did see ALL the photos.
That horse was sleek and healthy in May, and by August it’s scrawny, sickly, and lame. Losing the hoof aside, that horse was in horrid condition!
Rest now, Two Socks.
If it takes hundreds of negative emails to do the right thing, then we need to continue.
I’m so, SO glad that poor animal has finally been put down. Christ almighty, I saw those photos where not one but TWO of his hooves fell off. They were beyond horrifying and I about wanted to cry seeing that sweet, beautiful old horse suffer like that. I can’t imagine the amount of pain and agony he must have been in, but at least it’s all over for him now.
Although Fugly, I remember you showing the “before” photo where he showed up at the rescue in GOOD condition-fat, shiny, good weight on him, bright-eyed, and the “after” one where he’s got his feet stuck in that water bin, and he looked like a walking skeleton. What I want to know is what the ever-loving FUCK happened that they’d allow him to get into that state? How could a so-called “rescue” let him get that bad?
These people need to be shut down, STAT. They don’t need to have ANY animals in their care, lest some other unfortunate horse meets the same fate as Two Socks.
One of the horses I ride lost a fair amount of one of his front hooves many years ago. I believe that the cause was a really bad abscess. Luckily this horse is very lazy and was fine on 6 months of stall rest (with occasional short outings for grazing), his hoof grew back fine, and there have not been any more problems with it.
That said, having seen a few badly foundered horses, I can’t imagine doing anything but putting a badly foundered horse down.
FL, I think the change in condition can probably be explained mostly by pain. A horse who is in enough pain will drop weight no matter what you do. I doubt he felt good enough to eat, for heaven’s sake HIS FOOT WAS GONE.
Although I just read elsewhere that other horses seem to have dropped weight in the care of this rescue. This story gets weirder and weirder.
I’ve had an IR mare shed a front hoof.. but she shed it in tandem with the new growth that was coming in, not catastrophically as that old horse had. However, she was very healthy otherwise and with care she grew an entire new, healthy, foot. And she was comfortable and walk/trot sound even after everything.
I also know of another horse that shed both front hooves.. However he was at a top of the line vet clinic receiving INCREDIBLE care the entire time.. from the first onset
A horse can shed their hooves and recover.. but that horse was old, not in the best condition to tolerate that and it was doubtful that with his age & condition that he would be able to regenerate quality horn… also the level of care that these horses require prior to the new hoof growing in is beyond the skill of many people.
Also, the overall damage to the interior structures that would have been under the horn.. makes me even more doubtful that there would have been any healthy, stable, regeneration.
.. To Quietann:
Founder is not a death sentence. It’s ugly at the beginning, but can be resolved, without drama, with a good farrier, a good vet, and a good owner.
I’ve seen ALOT of horses that are SOUND and competitive now that were once considered lost causes because of laminitis and founder.
Just a personal observation. I was volunteering some time at the UC Davis large animal barn while taking some summer school classes on campus. This was some years ago. One late Saturday afternoon two women drove in with two horses in their trailer. They had just come from an endurance ride somewhere not too far away. Both horses had stress foundered from doing this ride. They essentially tried to do a 50 mile ride on fat, heavy Appaloosa horses that they only rode on weekends. They were NOT in any kind of condition to do a 50. They were both put down because they were about to walk out of their hooves. Very sad for all involved. The vets were really bummed and the women were practically hysterical.
After reading all 20 pages of posts regarding Two Socks and RVHR on COTH, I don’t see this saga ending without some honest answers about this rescue. I can’t imagine waiting until a horse has lost both front hoof capsules to euthanize it. Something is terribly wrong with too many aspects of this sad story.
Wait a minute…you’re telling me they kept this horse alive for months while he was missing one of his feet?
I’d assumed that the loss of his hooves was a fairly recent thing, and they were rather futilely trying to save him when clearly there’s NO HOPE. I mean, for pity’s sake this horse was 25 and walking around with exposed bone! Hell, even in a much younger horse if they lose TWO of their hooves I would think that’s a pretty clear-cut case for euthanasia.
This has GOT to be the worst case of founder that I’ve ever seen.
The day he lost his first hoof is the day he should have been euthanized. Period. Now I’m even more horrified to think that he could have suffered for months with a missing hoof. Dear God.
As for the rescue itself…it looks to me like a “rescue” turned hoarding situation. *sighs*
Either way, this is sad all around.
Sorry, Fugs, but Two Socks didn’t get in that condition in a week (the timeline from when he lost his hoof to being put down). No way, no how. The rescue owner had originally blamed the extreme weight loss on the fact he had no teeth. Another lie! The horse had all of his teeth which were reported to be in very good shape for a horse his age. Look how good he looked when they first got him!
There was some mention of infectious disease that caused him to slough his hooves made on COTH by one of the rescue’s BOD members in a piss poor attempt to defuse the situation. She didn’t seem to have any real knowledge of what went on nor did she know which “infectious disease” affected the horse. I’ve heard some very ignorant people think “laminitis” is an infection of the foot so who knows? No mention of infection by the rescue owner or anyone else though.
Be that as it may, this horse suffered, denerved or not and for far longer than the week she claims. In none of the caretaker’s updates did she mention a vet had seen the horse though any of this. Who emails pics as horrible as those she posted on her website to a vet but not call one to come out? She did claim an “expert” ferrier (her spelling) was involved but didn’t show up!! She posted that bit of info on Saturday night.
Truth is, if her photos hadn’t caused such a commotion on the net, the horse would still be suffering without any vet care with the caretaker mentally masturbating over prosthetic legs. One can only hope this place will be thoroughly investigated by someone in authority in the state of Virginia and shut down ASAP.
Actually, the vet said the only thing similar in a horse losing a hoof and a human losing a fingernail is the PROCESS:
“Dr. David Hodgson tells me a horse losing a hoof is not uncommon. The physiological breakdown is similar to a human loosing a fingernail. However, it is just the process that is similar. The consequences are quite different. In humans, a missing fingernail causes minor discomfort. For a horse, a missing hoof can have devastating consequences.”
P.S. For the person that has never heard a horse losing its hoof…..
A friend of mine, with the help of a well-known barefoot trimmer, rescued a filly that was a former Appaloosa halter filly. She went to World, placed, and was originally being sold for $25,000 before the trimmer found her. Her hoof was, literally, rotting off her foot from the crappy (pun intended) conditions in which she was being kept (stalled 24/7 – no turn-out). With proper Veterinary and hoof care that filly retained her hoof and has lead a normal, active, sound life as a pleasure horse (read as occassional ride around the farm or on the trails).
A boarder I had back in 2000 sent a horse to RVHR when she could no longer afford him. I was concerned about it then and this makes me sick. I would just like the ‘director’ to explain how a healthy looking horse was surrendered to her care and 4 months later had gone to a 1 on the scale. Sickening.
I wanted to go beat on these “rescuers” feet with a hammer,then make them stand in a bucket! However I did not send death threats- Maybe this will lead to a better life for the rest of the horses.
Two Socks leg had been fired-see the little pin hole scars on the first bad leg? So he had been in a great deal of pain before..
Why, why, why…does it seem like every ACO hires people that don’t know jack about horses? Why, why, why don’t animal control officers not even take it upon themselves to learn about the basics of horsecare? From my point of view, it’s gross negligence by the state/province when the officers hired lack the education required to actually do their jobs effectively.
The Two Socks situation is horrific. That he should have suffered for so long is nothing less than a travesty. However, his situation (not necessarily the specifics of it) is not at all unusual. It is also not uncommon to hear that Animal Control is not only uneducated and of no help at all, but they actually end up prolonging the suffering of the animal(s) in question.
Rest in peace, old man.
Now, I hope they do right by this fellow:
http://www.wfaa.com/video/featured-index.html?nvid=394995&shu=1
I hate people.
AnotherJuli, I stand corrected.
However, in order to file charges for infringement, the work needs to be copyright registered. Since we know that didn’t actually happen, Ms. Muncy has no legal leg to stand upon, which makes it a moot point.
The pictures were copied off her very public website. Nobody hacked into her personal files and took them.
We need to stay on top of this, people. This hits very close to home for me, as I met Ms. Muncy a year or so ago. I thought then that she was a little over the top, but figured if she was doing well by the horses, my opinion of her didn’t matter.
I’ve e-mailed the State Vet’s office, as well as contacted the television station that ran the ridiculous ‘update’ on RVHR. I also plan to try and get my state’s legislators involved. They might not help, but at least they’ll be made aware of the situation.
It’s too bad that the governor isn’t up for reelection, because this would be a real hot potato for him to deal with, since VA is horse country and we horse people spend a LOT of money in the Commonwealth.
fhotd said “FL, I think the change in condition can probably be explained mostly by pain. A horse who is in enough pain will drop weight no matter what you do. I doubt he felt good enough to eat, for heaven’s sake HIS FOOT WAS GONE.
Although I just read elsewhere that other horses seem to have dropped weight in the care of this rescue. This story gets weirder and weirder.”
Yeah, I doubt that its totally just from the pain. aficat posted a link to a horse named Delilah who lost her hoof. Her owners seemed to have the monetary capabilities to try to save her and it seems like they did – and she’s in the same shape in her “before” photo in a halter show as she is in the “After” photo (you have to click on the “Delilah’s progress” link to see more recent photos. Her hoof almost is completely grown back and she’s shiney and though not fat, she’s not underweight at all.
Metabolic issues in general, too? I mean, it is laminitic and it sounds from other posts like it had been fighting that for a long time.
Regarding copyright, as I’ve noted many times, copyright attorneys do not come cheap and it’s not the sort of case your local small town lawyer can pursue because you have to be able to practice in Federal court. So even if you have a GREAT case, if you can’t show that you’ve suffered many thousands of dollars of losses as a result of the infringement, it is unlikely you are going to sue because it’s simply too expensive to sue.
This is the kind of stuff that makes me proud to be one of Fugly’s Minions, as we have been called on other sites. One of my favorite quotes by Edmund Burke is ” The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing”. Not likely, as long as Cathy is around. Mind you, occasionally the simply stupid, ignorant, or careless are scorched by the flame. But maybe thats what it takes to prevent evil from becoming acceptable and commonplace.There is no excuse for ignorance nowadays, education is everywhere if you care enough to learn. RIP Two Socks
Thank God they put that poor horse down, though it’s sad they didn’t decide that was the right thing to do on their own. If the horse had had its nerves cut, it must have already been dead lame, probably from navicular. But the fact it can’t feel its feet doesn’t mean it’s right to have it running around on raw bones without a hoof.
A hoof coming off is NOT common. In all my years with horses I have heard of only one case, from a friend who was a vets assistant. The vet had been called out because a horse either wouldn’t get up or wouldn’t take a step (many years ago, so don’t remember which). When they got there they found the horse was in a stall that obviously hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. They got the horse out, and at least one hoof fell off (either at that time, or maybe it was already off, again not clear). They euthized the horse on the spot. This horrified my friend so much she told me about it. There was no question of whether this horse could be returned to a healthy state.
Maybe vets have seen and heard of it because they’re the ones who get called out when this happens, but it is not at all a common thing.
I’ve been reading ‘Wicked Plants’ by Amy Steward, and she mentions that ergot infected feed can take the hooves off cows. I wonder if this is what happened here?
Let me clarify that, as ergot has more than one definition.
Not this one:
http://horses.about.com/od/partsofthehorse/g/ergot.htm
Rather this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergot
More on the grain fungus:
http://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/foxs/durum/pathol/ergotback.html
And this:
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/toxic/plant14.htm
From ‘Wicked Plants’: “There are over fifty ergot species, each favoring a particular kind of grass or cereal crop.”
And it’s been a wet, cold summer. And, as someone noted in the threads comment, there is old hay accessible to the horses.
I don’t wonder if this is going to be something the vets are going to see a lot of, this year. If it is ergot.