For the past few weeks, we’d noticed a bit of a hitch in Renee’s step. At first it was thought to be a hoof abscess in her left front foot, so we wrapped it and treated it as such. But when the abscess resolved and she was still lame on that leg, it was clear that something else was going on and she needed a lameness evaluation. Dr. Lewis came out to the farm to perform the exam, and we weren’t too far into it before we already had a diagnosis. It was determined that Renee has a pretty bad case of osteoarthritis in her left knee.
Luckily, Renee is still pasture sound. But she will need to be officially retired from riding. Her pain level is not high enough yet to warrant long-term pain medication, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on her comfort level and will address that if her condition worsens.
Renee was a good riding companion. She was sweet and sensitive under saddle, and once she trusted her rider she’d likely go anywhere with them. But it was clear that it was not her favorite thing. Her favorite thing is hanging out with her buddies in the pasture. If she had one wish, she’d probably wish for just that. A life in retirement.
