I'm kicking myself for not catching this sooner. If I had only looked back on this blog one year ago on Fat Tuesday, it would have clued me in.
Joey, our quarter horse, is 20 years old this year and is prone to founder.
When a horse founders, there is an increase of blood flow to its hooves. The extra blood puts pressure on the bones in the horse's feet. If the pressure is strong enough or goes on long enough, the bones will shift, leading to permanent lameness.
In Joey's case, all that lush green grass and early spring we experienced in January here in California, caused him to founder early. It's my own fault, I should have taken him off the pasture and locked him up in his paddock earlier in the month of February instead of waiting until March. But my vet assured me, I was not the only one this has happened to this year.
I think Joey will be okay and will get through this. He's on medication, eating low-carb food and resting in his paddock. He's also getting visits from us at least three times a day, which I'm sure he really likes. Paige has been a huge help in giving Joey attention. She and I brush him every day, clean out his hooves and give him a ton of petting.
Here's last year's post on
Joey and Fat Tuesday. It also has some fun Mardi Gras recipes too.....Hurricane cocktail and a fun dessert recipe; Bananas Foster.
What are you doing for Fat Tuesday??
