Indio
Indio was rescued in April 2026 to prevent him from entering the slaughter pipeline. He was lame and sore “all over”, but had clearly suffered from a traumatic knee injury at some point.
It is unclear whether or not a significant eye injury occurred at the time of the leg injury. Indio was blind in his left eye which was sewn shut. The vet carefully palpated the area during his initial exam and indicated there was a prosthetic eye in the socket.
Details of Indio’s veterinary exams:
Radiographs were taken of both front knees (carpi). Soft tissue swelling on both lateral views is evident, but mild to moderate osteoarthritic (OA) changes in all three carpal joints are not necessarily commensurate with the degree of inflammation at the time of exam. It may be possible that having non-stereoscopic vision at auction and then a crowded pen in a feedlot setting may have been a handicap for jostling, pushing, or trauma from kicks or falls, further irritating or causing blunt force trauma to create an acute-on-chronic event(s).
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the remaining visual eye may have further inhibited vision, as most horses spend their time at rest either with the eye closed or half-open due to the high degree of pain this cancer causes to local tissues.
Indio is an aged, 25+ year old black pinto pony gelding with visibly swollen carpi, L>>R. Gentle flexion of both carpi elicits a 3+ positive flexion result.
The left eye is surgically closed over and healed, with an underlying prosthetic from a previous enucleation surgery indwelling the orbital space.
The right eye is visual and has evidence of untreated, progressed squamous cell carcinoma at the lateral scleral canthus.
Indio was humanely euthanized due to his advanced, extremely painful and untreatable medical conditions.
More About Indio
- In Assessment
- Pinto
- Gelding
- 2000
- Pinto
- Colorado