His first thoughts, as he stood there shaking his head back and forth, were that Buddy would likely not be rideable. He believes that Buddy does have ringbone and arthritis in his hind leg. He also feels that there is a certain amount of suspensory ligament degeneration going on as well. And, to make matters even worse, by looking at the poor condition of Buddy's hooves, he felt that Buddy had at one time had laminitis. Buddy has stress rings in his hooves and his soles on his front hooves are 'down and prolapsed'.
After hearing all of this, I was starting to feel dismayed. If Buddy is not serviceably sound, what are the chances for a successful placement in a forever home? When Dr. Deward palpated Buddy's lower left hind pastern, he felt that there was lack of movement, pointing to the fact that it may have fused. So, he suggested we do a flexion test. He was surprised to see that Buddy trotted off fairly sound. After I walked him back and forth a few times, Dr. Deward re-examined him and decided that it was very likely that Buddy had quite a few years of being serviceably sound for light duty (walk/trot/trails).
We talked about his upcoming enucleation appointment and what I can do for Buddy's eye in the meantime. Dr. Deward didn't think it would benefit Buddy for me to be cleaning it or messing with it. However, he did give me a tube of Banamine, suggesting I give him a dose daily up until his surgery. He also suggested I start him on SMZ's so that he would have the antibiotics in his system when he had his surgery.
Due to his past history of possible laminitis, he suggested I change his feed. I have been giving Buddy quite a bit of Equine Senior in order for him to gain weight. Now I will quit giving him Senior and instead start feeding him strictly SafeChoice. Per the recommendation of Dr. Deward, I will start him on Rice Bran and Vegetable Oil to help him gain weight.
I also asked Dr. Deward about Buddy's current physical condition. I feel that it is important to know about Buddy's training level. I have heard that he is well broke, but if he is not and is actually unsafe under saddle, how do you decide how much to spend to fix Buddy? For example, if Buddy is unsound and not safe under saddle, do we spend a ton of money for a half blind pasture pet that will be difficult at best to place? After seeing Buddy prance back and forth, Dr. Deward felt he would be fine to be evaluated under saddle before his eye surgery.
So, I may hop on Buddy tomorrow and see what he knows. Wish us luck! Here's some pics from today - thanks to Becky for being my personal photographer!
