Dusty's Long Road

by Deb
(PA)

Rescued a 9 yr old Haflinger sight unseen. The 1st. time I saw him I almost cried when I saw his feet. My hauler said don't get upset he may have been sick, he removed his one & only sideways shoe and we took him home.

He was filthy, hungry but otherwise moved and acted normally. Since his feet were covered in fever rings, I did not pasture him and did not give him grain until he was Vet checked.

He appeared healthy to her and she was puzzled by the rings. I still did not give him more than a cup of grain and no pasture. Within the following weeks he went from a slight limp to being completely stall bound from the pain.

The Vet checked him but could find no evidence of founder, she took blood samples & the story was told Cushings. That explained the winter coat in August.

We put him on special feed and started special trims by the Farrier. He shed out beautifully the next spring, but still acted sore on his feet. Once you could see his body minus the shaggy coat we discovered deep collar marks on his neck. This boy was used and hard. The Farrier feels he has come along way but he still gets long lasting lame episodes, mostly in Winter and changeable weather.

He is alert and has the best personality. We are going on year 4 and he will be 12 and I have never ridden him. I have tried numerous herbs and supplements and I will certainly try Jiaogulan. My goal is to find a comfortable zone for him where he is relatively pain free. He is my million dollar horse, I've spent quite a lot on him and not ready to give up yet.