Buddy

I’m sorry to have to tell everyone that we lost Buddy last week. He was discovered down at night check by our volunteer with his hind legs caught under the fence. He got himself up while she went to call for help, but he was in a lot of distress. He was covered in sweat, and very unsteady on his feet. When he threw himself back down and started rolling from side to side, it was clear that we were dealing with a serious colic. His elevated heart rate showed he was in quite a lot of pain. The vet was called.

Help was able to get out here pretty quickly, so we were able to get both Banner and Buddy to the indoor arena. Dr Lewis arrived shortly thereafter, and gave Buddy an injection for sedation and pain relief, which quieted him down for a short while. She did an ultrasound which showed that his small intestine was looped and swollen. We made the hard decision to let him go at that point. His pain and suffering were so intense that we were not willing to let it continue. We said our goodbyes and Buddy passed peacefully.

His lifelong friend Banner was there to comfort him, and to say goodbye. He was allowed to smell Buddy after he had passed, and although his face showed a deep sadness, he seemed to accept what had happened and find peace with it. We were concerned that we’d need to sedate him, but he was calm and quiet when moved him back to his paddock. It’s uncanny how peacefully horses often react to losing a friend if they’re given the chance to touch and smell them after they are gone.

Buddy was a sweet and darling old man, and we will miss him terribly. Once again, we take comfort in the fact that he enjoyed six months of paradise here at SAFE. Every day, he had good food to eat and a good friend by his side. And every day, there were people who smiled at him, petted him, and valued him. He knew his place in the world was a very good place, and he left us with dignity and grace.

We are beyond grateful to our Night Check volunteer for finding him and immediately getting help. This is why we do night check. And once again, our vets at Rainland Farm Equine were there when we needed them, and arrived quickly to help our horse. We are so fortunate to have such a strong and caring community working alongside us. I know that Buddy was beloved to many of us. I’m so sorry he’s gone, but he won’t be forgotten.

When Buddy first came to us, he was turned out in a gravel paddock and was experiencing some foot soreness. We try to let our horses go barefoot whenever possible, but we sometimes have residents who don’t do well on gravel due to thin, flat soles. Those horses get moved to dirt paddocks and then typically either get ridden in boots or they get metal shoes depending on the severity of their problem. We treated Buddy as a horse who was sensitive on gravel until he told us that his pain was more significant than that.

One morning Buddy started showing signs of laminitis. He was pointing his right toe forward to take the weight off of that foot and his heart rate and digital pulses were elevated, indicating pain. We immediately called our veterinarian and Dr. Fleck came out to assess him that afternoon. Radiographs of both front feet were taken, and they revealed rotation in both coffin bones. The rotation was very mild in the left front foot, but it was worse in the right front. Dr. Fleck said that the radiographs showed that he had foundered in the past—this did not look like a recent change to his coffin bones. There were no signs of active laminitis, which was a relief. It was recommended that we place him on bute and keep him in soft ride boots. Dr. Fleck did some corrective trimming to help realign the coffin bone. He also used impression material to make a supportive pad for Buddy to wear. Dr. Fleck came back the next week to do a follow-up radiograph and it showed improvement in the position of that coffin bone so we knew we were on the right track. At that point he said that we could either continue to keep him in the soft ride boots with the impression material for support or put him in therapeutic shoes.

Buddy lived in soft ride boots with the frog support pad until the next time our barefoot trimmers were out to the barn. The ultimate goal is to get Buddy’s hoof wall to grow out and realign itself with the coffin bone, and for him to grow more sole under the tip of the coffin bone. Ideally, he will be able to go barefoot again in several months. In order to help facilitate this, we have opted to put him in glue-on shoes during the time it takes for the hoof to get back to a more normal state.

We have been able to keep Buddy comfortable on just one gram of bute per day, and he seems to really enjoy walking in his new shoes. We will never know for certain what events led to the coffin bone rotation in the first place, but equine Cushing’s disease is a common underlying cause so it seems likely that the two things are related for him. With Buddy’s ACTH levels under control with medication and careful hoof management, we can hopefully get Buddy’s feet back to a healthy place and keep them there.

Buddy is a total sweetheart, and a staff and volunteer favorite. He’s a cooperative patient and acts like he knows we’re here to help him. With time and patience, we hope to get him back to a pain-free life again.

Horsemanship volunteer Kaya had this to share about lovable Buddy:

Buddy is the sweetest old guy! I’ve been spending some time with this gentleman for the last couple of months and have enjoyed every minute. Buddy greets everyone that walks up to his paddock very politely, sometimes with a little nicker, and always with ears forward, wanting some scratches.

He clearly loves to be doted on, but doesn’t really have any pushiness or bad manners (such a rare combination!). Sue, who comes out to groom frequently, joins me in my adoration of Buddy. She says that Buddy should be used to teach others how to groom because he’s so good about picking up his feet! I really can’t say enough about this sweet boy. He would be so happy to have his own person to love on him and he so deserves it.

Thank you to Kristina Oden for these photos of our new friend Buddy.