Blondie
Blondie was rescued in July 2025. Months prior she had been sold off at an auction and bought for resale or other use. However, she was lame from laminitis (aka, founder) with (reportedly) grossly overgrown hooves. The buyer had the hooves cut down and a pair of shoes put on (see vet report below re: the poor shoeing job). Blondie did not recover and was in danger of entering the slaughter pipeline.
Once rescued, Blondie was given 3 grams of Bute* (a gram more than a normal dose) to try giving her some relief prior to the veterinarian appointment. Results of the exam included the following:
“Blondie is 4/5 lame on both forefeet, with right front slightly worse than left front. She is hoof-tester positive on both forefeet in the dorsal (cranial) half of the sole and tip of the frog. She is shod in front with draft horse style steel shoes, but no pads or supportive structure for pad. The shoeing is clumsy and ineffective, with hard-squared toed shoes, not set back under the foot, and incongruous with proximal hoof wall. Acrylic has been applied to the lateral surface of the left forefoot but is cracking away from the lateral hoof wall.”
*It should be noted that Blondie was overtly lame in both forelimbs despite an overdose of NSAIDs the morning of the veterinary exam.
Results from Xrays indicated the following:
Images showed 7% rotation and evidence of minor “dropping” distal towards palmar sole surface, with approximately 6mm of residual sole. Although bony column alignment is normal, the dorsal hoof wall has pulled cranially away from the dorsal surface of the coffin bone, widening the white line (lamina) and creating rotation of the coffin bone.
Cranial/distal “tipping” of the distal tip of the coffin bone indicates chronic laminitis, changes to the bone, and focal pressure to the tip from weight-bearing.
Due to the diagnosis of chronic laminitis of about 4-5 months chronicity with irreversible changes of rotation and dropping towards the side, along with no effective relief from pain medication, Blondie was humanely euthanized as her quality of life and level of constant pain could not be improved.
It is a shame and disgrace that a horse with high likelihood for metabolic disorder and/or Insulin Resistance leading to laminitis (repeatedly) had not been properly cared for years ago and immediately at the onset of a laminitic episode.
More About Blondie
- In Assessment
- Palomino
- Mare
- 2010
- Haflinger
- Colorado