Esmerelda
Esmerelda was rescued in July 2026 with several other high risk horses. She is a 2007 registered Standardbred mare bred in IL and recently imported from CO from WI. We learned this by tracing a freeze brand on her right neck.
Her veterinary exam and evaluation included the following information:
Esmerelda was likely a broodmare as her udder shows signs of broodmare use, likely having had several foals over the years.
Her left hock is enlarged and palpates firm to the touch, non-effusive, and there is a surgical scar over the dorsal aspect of all four joints, although it is difficult to assess if it was planned or traumatic. She is 3/5 lame on the left hind hock, which becomes pronounced as she slows from the trot to the walk. She is unwilling to have the left hind leg handled or flexed.
Radiograph results:
The “upper” high motion proximal joint shows roughened/irregular articular surfaces of the tarsocrural joint, with increased radio-opacity of the subarticular bone, indicating chronic inflammation and sclerosis.
The medial malleolus (MM lesion) shows significant remodeling and proliferative bone. It may be a former surgical site due to the vast radiolucency seen on lateral view. She has a prominent remodeling of the high motion joints, and lytic regions in the low motion cubital bones and joints, indicating long-standing inflammation and bone resorption.
Bone resorption can be due to mineral imbalance, or a possibly genetically-linked response to congenital hock lesions and/or response to chronic inflammation.
Paired with the dorsal hock wound noted in the exam, Esmerelda likely had congenital lesions(s) such as DIRT (distal intermediate ridge of the tibia) and MM, which may have been surgically addressed. While these surgical approaches are typically via arthroscope, many are opened intra-op due to vast articular cartilage damage and grossly curetted to provide best pain relief, albeit short-term.
Based on overall evaluation Esmerelda damaged joints could no longer be managed even for the short-term after keeping her on anti-inflammatory pain medication with close monitoring. She was humanely euthanized.
This horse is not available for adoption