Pixel's one big issue, that I knew needed to be addressed immediately, are his feet. They had just been trimmed (aka rasped) a few days before I brought him home, but they were still very long and unbalanced.
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On Wednesday my farrier came out to take a look and give Pixel a trim. He will get another one in two weeks when Gentry's regularly scheduled shoeing happens. Then Pixel will get trimmed every six weeks with Gentry, after that.
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| Being a good pony |
It seems to my farrier that Pixel has likely foundered in the past (no surprise there); perhaps not a bad founder, but definitely some sort of founder. Regardless, we should be able to get his feet to look somewhat normal again with regular trims, diet and exercise. Pixel is after-all sound, so even if he has foundered in the past, he's recovered from it. Furthermore, we aren't talking about a performance horse here, but a walk-trot pony.
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Glad you're taking care of the little guy. Hope he's exactly what JR needs!
ReplyDeleteYeah, he has definitely foundered. But with if you watch his diet you should be able to avoid it in the future. I also highly recommend a supplement by AniMed called Remission. It has magnesium and chromium in it which helps regulate the sugars and other things that cause founder. And as a side bonus it has biotin in it that makes their feet grow strong! It works wonders, and since I have so much green grass I feed it to all of my horses now whether they've foundered in the past or not. It can't hurt!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip. I'm ordering some right now!
DeleteI'm glad Pixel has landed softly in a good home with you. He's going to love his life as JR's first horse!
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