On Saturday morning, as we were taking horses out to pasture, we found blind Rosie could barely walk. She looked so painful we suspected she was beginning to founder, a terrible and often life-threatening condition in which the coffin bone in the hoof rotates downwards. Rosie has always had foot problems; she has very thin soles, so she has had to wear shoes, boots, and pads at various times, and requires special trimming. After cleaning her hooves to make sure there wasn't a stone or pebble lodged inside that might be bruising her soles, I took her heart rate (elevated) and temperature (elevated), and then called our new equine vet, Dr. Steve Levine at Northern Equine.
Steve happened to be out on Saturday rounds that morning and was over here a short while later. After doing an initial exam, he ruled out founder and believed she might have an abscess in her left front foot. But at first there was no visible sign of an abscess. After paring back her hoof tissue, though, Steve found it — and that was a relief. The last thing we wanted was a case of founder.
Once he drained and treated the abscess, he proceeded to wrap her foot. When he got done, I looked down and saw Rosie was now wearing a beautiful bandage in perfect Santa colors! Out of season, perhaps, but very stylish nonetheless!
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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