Tragic tail

[Riverdance]

Give her a chance, you may be surprised what grows back.

While in the care of a "trainer" my stallion, as a weanling/yearling, got very ill with strangles, was not treated properly and was not taken to the vets till he was almost dead. The vet managed to save him, but his back hoof fell off. (not sure what the whole true story was on him and it cost me $5000 to save him) With time and care it did grow back, a bit smaller than the other one and scared, but it grew back.

When he was 4 I took him out into the show ring as it was such a shame not to show him. At two shows he won 7 grands and 1 reserve grand. then went on to be a central regional champion and 11th in the open class at the Worlds. All owner handled and trained. Not bad for a horse with a scared back hoof that was smaller than the other three.

So hang in there, you may just get a wonderful surprise and it will grow back.

 

[PaintedMeadows]

I am so sorry to hear about your little girl losing her hoof. She sounds like she is bright and upbeat so I would say there is hope. One of my colts from last year I sold in the fall along with his half sister to a wonderful family. This spring he got injured and eventually lost his hoof. At the time that his hoof fell off he also had a fever and was pretty sick so they opted to put him to sleep. I am still so sad about it but there was no other option at the time. Sorry, not upbeat news but it sounds like your little girl has alot more good going for her so I will say prayers that she makes a wonderful recovery!! All the best! I would love to see a picture of her and also I would like to see her foot for learning purposes and also to help me understand what my poor Spiderman might have gone through. Hugs to you!! I hope you find her a great home!!

 

[R3]

Did she lose her 'foot', or just the hoof wall?

If she only sloughed off her hoof wall, and there isn't some other damage, then it should grow back, in time. She might end up with other issues from using her good foot more while the other hoof grows back in. But, if it is just the hoof wall, and she seems to be reasonably comfortable, I would wait and see how she does. She may come back as good as new.

I worked with a full size Arab that was caught under his stall door all night. It swelled up and had a lot of dead tissue around his fetlock and cannon bone because of loss of circulation in that tissue. The damaged areas eventually sloughed off. It was nasty looking for a while, and he had big empty spots, but it eventually healed up with minimal scaring and no disability. But, fortunately, his hoof was not affected.

I have also dealt with a cow that had an injury riding in a trailer. The floor board had a rotten spot and both of her back legs when through and were dragged on the road. No one knew about it until they arrived. I don't know how far she went that way, but when she was finally unloaded, the foot bones in both of her back two feet were visible. She couldn't stand up, and we cared for her while she layed down. We doctored her feet, and had to deal with the equivalent of 'bed sores', but eventually she regrew her hooves. She laid there for a long, long time, and even had her calf while laying down. Within hours of having her baby, she finally stood up, and did great after that.

Here's hoping for the best with your little filly.