Rialto
Rialto was rescued in July 2026 to keep him from ending up in any further situations where his medical condition (DSLD) was ignored by ignorant humans, and ultimately he would have ended up in the slaughter pipeline.
Findings from Rialto’s veterinary exam and evaluation included the following:
“Rialto is a blue roan Quarter horse gelding with a body condition score (BCS) of 7/9. He has stick-straight hind limb conformation with severely “dropped” hind fetlocks and mildly dropped left fore fetlock. Both stifles and hocks are aligned in a single bony column through the distal fetlock when standing at rest.
All three fetlocks are in various degrees of hyper-flexion, likely causing non-articular bone-on-bone of the distal dorsal 3rd metatarsal and the dorsal proximal aspect of the long pastern in the hind end. After the 150 yard slow walk from his pen to the examination area, Rialto’s nostrils were flared with elevated heart rate and respiratory rates from pain.
Rialto suffers from end-stage degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD) which is an incurable degenerative collagen disorder caused by aggregation of abnormal proteoglycans within the tissues. It is likely all four legs are affected, and this condition may be aggravated by poor hind end conformation. Abundant body condition and a large frame likely hastened the degeneration of the ligaments.
A lateral radiograph was taken of the left hind leg. While DSLD is a soft tissue disorder, bony involvement was also suspected. In the lateral view, the distal dorsal third metatarsal has severe cyst-like bony loss, cavitation, and a moth-eaten appearance, presumptively due to ulcerative irritation and pressure necrosis caused by abnormal bone-on-bone impingement caused by attrition of the suspensory apparatus.”
Rialto had bones touching each other that in a normal state would never be doing so.
Rialto crossed the Rainbow Bridge to release him from unbelievable pain and suffering that went far beyond weeks or months. Shame on the people who rode this horse even for a few minutes to post online as a riding horse.
More About Rialto
- In Assessment
- Blue Roan
- Gelding
- 2001
- Quarter Horse
- Colorado