The story of Trucker

 01.29.11 Incredibly, this morning, this little guy was found outside of the fence at Shiloh, right next to our wooden sign. Eric found him standing there when he drove in. He was obviously dumped there. He is a weanling, approx 6-7 months of age with twisted and crippled legs and horribly long hooves.
This is such a sad story...
We have named him Trucker.

Coming in the side gate...

His hind hooves. He could hardly walk...

His front hooves.

Trucker got lots of attention...

We moved him into the Medical area, here he greets Huckleberry...

We immediately called our Ferrier, Osblado, who came out to trim him...The hooves were so long that we could not trim it all off at one time- but we had to get them down to where he was standing better and would be more comfortable...

Finished! Notice his crippled front leg, it looks like it has been fractured in the past. He also appears to be suffering from OCD in some of his joints. His one hind leg is twisted as well, but hopefully, with good hoof trims we can get it back into shape...

Jill wrapped his legs for some support. We also gave him some Bute to keep him comfortable...

Later he laid down to nap. He was exhausted and his legs and hooves were sore...

Eric comforted him...

Then he was up and back to eating...

He even "helped" Felipe cleans his corral...

02.02.11 We brought Trucker into the vet clinic for his evaluation and x-rays. Here he is arriving in the clinic with Sally.

Then x-rays taken of his two crippled legs...

This is his front leg (image 1). Dr. Schur thought that that probably at some point in his young life this joint was septic and never treated. The bone remodeled and his joint is crooked. We are hoping that this joint will fuse even more, making it more stable. We will be checking it again in a few weeks and we may have it injected to speed up the fusing process. The vet thought he was relatively comfortable on this leg. The problems will come as he grows and becomes heavier which will put more strain and pressure on this area. Only time will tell how well he will do...

This is his hind leg (image 2), his Deep Flexor tendon (That runs along the back of his leg) is all stretched out and his pastern joints are luxating...

A front view of the hind leg (image 3). See how his toe is tipping up?

How his hind leg stands...

Dr. Schur and Dr. Lamb put on a "magic shoe" which projects off of the sides and back to support his leg and put it back into the correct position. Trucker was so patient, he stood like a champ...

Look at the difference the magic shoe makes! See how much more normal the angles are. For the first time Trucker was able to shift his weight to his crippled leg.

Our vets think we should continue on watching him closely and see how he progresses as he grows. He is active and interested, eating and drinking well and becoming a bit more chipper every day. As long as he has a quality of life and a will to enjoy his life, we will continue on with him.

So this was good news for now!

Little Trucker seems to be feeling better, he was walking better today and is eating and drinking normally. We will bring him into the vet clinic sometime this week for some x-rays and an evaluation. We are hoping that he will be able to find a good quality of life- we want this little guy to know kindness and comfort in his short life. He has had a hard life up to now and we owe it to him to show him the other side of life. It is possible that he may have to eventually be euthanized- but time, and Trucker, will tell us that. As long as he is fighting, interested, eating and exploring his new surroundings- then we will continue as well. His young age is on his side- with correct care some of his leg issues may clear up. For now, we are keeping him comfortable, giving him good quality feed and fresh water and giving him lots of care, attention and love...

02.08.11 Trucker and Mojo are best friends now...

02.18.11 Trucker had his foot and Magic Shoe re-checked. His foot was twisting and his toe turning up in spite of the shoe. So a bungee was added to act as a tendon to keep everything working properly! The bungee resists the toe tipping and acts as a pulley when he walks (just like a normal tendon would do). Hopefully, this will allow his tendon to contract and stay into a normal position...

03.04.11 We sent little Trucker into the clinic to have his Magic Shoe reset or re-done. We will see you soon little Trucker !

04.20.11 Trucker came home from the vet clinic yesterday afternoon with his newly placed Magic Shoe. He was a bit sore after all the work that was done but should be feeling better in a few days. Here is his newly placed shoe. It's working!!

Trucker is doing well, filling out and growing up...