Introducing Skipper

On Christmas Eve, Kris and I went to pick up our little man, Othello and his new friend Skipper.  We met the trailer half-way and the switch went smoothly.  Looking back, I remember thinking that Skipper 'didn't look quite right', but we were so excited to be bringing the boys home for Christmas, we got on the road as quickly as possible.

The journey home went well and we unloaded the boys.  To say I was shocked was an understatement.  Skipper, a lovely brown and white paint gelding, was a mess!  He was about 300lbs underweight, had rainrot everywhere, cuts on both hips, some of the worst mudfever I've seen and lacerations to both hind legs.  To top it all off, he was hitching his right hind and I suspected Stringhalt or Shivers.

One step at a time!  It is very tempting in these cases of extreme neglect to over do things.  We started him off on frequent, small meals of hay and addressed his wounds.  Four of us started working on the mud he was caked in, revealling more problems the cleaner he got.  During this quite invasive cleaning, our wonderful new boy just stood, munching on his hay and tolerating our attempts to clean him up.

Over the Holiday, we kept cleaning up a little at a time and we gradually began to see the white legs we knew were underneath the black mud!  His mud fever improved and Skipper was given a nice warm blanket.  He has been on antibiotics, bute and homeopathic remedies, and I'm pleased to report he has responded well.  Skipper is not out of the woods yet.  Today an abcess burst at the back of his fetlock joint.  It has given him some relief, but now we need to be concerned about what is the underlying cause of the abcess.

This week, it was confirmed that Skipper has Shivers, a neurological condition that will likely prevent this young horse from ever being ridden and will likely claim his life much earlier.  We will keep working away and I will post regular updates of his progress. As long as Skipper remains comfortable, he has a home at Bella Misty Meadows.

Tomorrow, Skipper will get his first Equi-Bow session!