A Lefty Leg Dilemma

Dr. Cherise Neu has gotten to know Lefty's left hind leg really well over the past few months. Her first "upclose and personal" occurred a few months ago when Lefty's back legs, especially the left one, were swollen for several days.

She came, gave me some linament and some wraps and told me to rub him down each day and keep the wraps on until the swelling disappeared. We never did figure out what the problem was, but eventually they returned to normal and Lefty continued on with his summer grazing program.

About three weeks ago, she visited again. This time Lefty was suffering from an ugly lower leg malady called scratches. It manifests itself through dirty scab-like tissue that spreads if not treated. Normally, scratches is a wet-weather problem for horses, but Lefty's came on in the midst of a very dry period.

Once again, she left me a jar of goop to put on the scratches and several layers of dressing. Keep it wrapped for three days, check it, clean it, goop it and wrap it again as often as needed. Those were my instructions. Cherise figured after about a week, the scratches would be healed.

Her prediction seemed right after the second treatment, so I left the dressing off for a day. The scratches came back, so I started all over again. A couple of days ago when I removed the dressing, the scabs appeared all but gone. This time the problem appeared to be solved.

So, I took Lefty over to my sisters' yesterday for his driving lesson. He did very well, especially adapting quickly to having a couple of long poles dragging behind him and touching his body. That's one of the steps to full-fledged cart driving.

We all agreed that we'd wait until spring to get him hooked up to the Amish cart. I would just keep working him with the poles and getting him to where they're no big deal. Lefty would go back to the clinic today and have some more of the same experience.

I loaded him up, and we headed home, which is about 3.5 miles. Almost to South Center Valley Road, I felt the sensation of tugging behind. I stopped the pickup, walked back to see Lefty looking back at me through the opening, just like normal. I walked around, looked at tires and the hitch, got back in and drove on. No more tugging sensation.

We pulled in and parked. I opened the trailer door, and there stood Lefty holding his back hind leg. Blood was streaming down it. Patches of skinned had been scraped from hock to fetlock. He was visibly traumatized, holding up the leg and sweating profusely.

I have no idea what he did in that trailer, but I know he did a number on himself. Earlier before his lesson, while still in the trailer, he somehow pawed at his haybag, pulled it down from where it was tied and got his front foot stuck inside the web of nylon. It took some talking, but with help from Merisa, another clinic attendee, I was able to remove the haybag before we took Lefty out of the trailer.

My only theory on his serious injury incurred on the ride home is that he must have panicked, maybe thinking about the haybag experience. The rest of the details, only Lefty knows for sure.

Long story short, Cherise came back again last night and treated the same leg. Lefty's walking around this morning with a bandage from hock to fetlock, and he'll not be attending his lesson today. This is all very disconcerting, especially when so much care is taken for a horse's welfare.

The little guy has had his problems from day one. He also seems to have some kind of a chronic skin ailment which flairs up from time to time with a patch of hide suddenly turning warm and wet and eventually having the hair fall off.

This morning the dilemmas are many: getting Lefty to ride in the trailer without panicking, figuring out what the heck the skin ailment is and hoping to goodness that Cherise has treated the back left leg for the last time.

This is why horses are expensive. It's never the initial investment but more the day-to-day upkeep that runs up the tab. But we love them, and they're family, so we do our best to take care of their needs and their quirky hang-ups. Lefty's had more than his share lately, but he's trooper.

On the plus side, everyone who saw him yesterday agreed that he's going to be a great little cart horse-----if we can ever keep him and that left hind leg healthy, that is!