Buddy
Adoption Fee: $500
5/18/11- Buddy has found a home locally where he will be living with a sweet little burro and teaching young children to ride and care for horses. Congrats to Buddy and his new family!
3/20/11- Buddy had a very eventful weekend! He attended "Round Up at the Ranch" at Hidden Cave Ranch in Burkesville, KY with us, giving pony rides to the kids, as well as taking riders through the gorgeous trails. Buddy is super good with children and he very much enjoys the attention! We couldn't be more proud of our Buddy!
12/25/10- For the first time in the 8 years I have been here, we finally had a white X mas! We took a snowy ride- what a great xmas present!
11/08/10- The vet was out over the weekend to take follow up x rays of Buddy's front feet. The right front we are seeing a tract through the foot under the hoof wall due to the scarring and stretching of the white line. The left foot we are seeing no more rotation, but the cofffin bone does look like it has sank towards the sole in the past year. Buddy's feet are finally on the proper angles and he has been doing well being ridden barefoot thus far. Our farrier will be reviewing the x rays for determination if corrective shoeing is advised. Buddy is a horse will will need to have a light rider and careful attention to his hooves. He is a great little guy who will always have good days and bad days regarding soundness as stretching of his white line has allowed pockets to form beneath the hoof wall, and sometimes this can cause flare ups of pain and inflammation in the hoof.
10/09/10- Buddy was trail ridden today and did rather well considering at one point we had a loose horse running about! He has been ridden bareback in the ring and did great then as well. We have started riding him in a Kimberwick and so far so good!
September 2010- Buddy has been traveling a bit this month as did really well other than being stubborn about loading on the trailer in the pouring rain/ thunder storm. They always pick the most opportune times don't they? Here is a pic of him at The Homeplace on Green River Festival where we had him displayed for an educational booth. He is pictured with our kind friend Lea who traveled all the way from MI just to meet him.
July 2010- Buddy has been staying in overnight to prevent over grazing and going out on the pasture during the day. His ration consists of Triple Crown Lite daily with a bit of biotin and one small flake of grass hay over night. Buddy has been ridden by young girls here in the ring, and he loves to go out with the adults on trails. His feet are almost completely straightened out, and he is back to a 6-8 week hoof trimming schedule.
5/17/10 Pic-
5/14/10- Buddy has been getting one Biotin Hoof Cookie per day to help with the growth of his feet. He has remained sound but they look a fright! We have been keeping him trimmed every 3-4 weeks to help prevent the breaking. He was muzzled for the first time yesterday, he will keep his muzzle on during the day and off at night. He is very a very attentive and adorable guy who needs that special person to love him forever! With this horse, its not hard to do!
4/15/10- Buddy is doing great maintaining his weight and he loves those trails! Buddy really needs an intermediate or higher rider who will be firm with him. He is a fun ride and is too adorable! His hooves are starting to break off where the gravel, stretching and scarring of the white line occurred. His new hoof growth is wonderful, we are hoping to keep him sound through this stage in his progress. His front feet are now very short, but so far we don't see any sign that he is off because of it.
1/17/10- Buddy had his teeth done today and we are told he has excellent chompers...not that we doubted it in the slightest... he is an air fern! No problem keeping the weight on this guy, its more of a concern to keep it off! We also had his feet trimmed up and they are on the right track to growing out properly. A great farrier accompanied our dentist to the rescue on a Sunday! Thank you Steve Johnson! www.dragonflyfarmshoofcare.com
He has been put into a pasture with our other 2 paints, Iri and Galahad. Once bonded, they will all be put in with the younger herd. Buddy has been living with our seniors to help him acclimate to a herd environment. He is now ready to have herd mates his own age!
1/10/10- Buddy is an amazing little horse and is quite full of himself! He has a very outgoing personality and is very friendly. He is an air fern, meaning, he is extremely easy to keep. Buddy receives no concentrated feed whatsoever, just good quality alfalfa hay. Buddy is ready for that forever home with that special person who will be his friend, but not be a pushover!
11/21/09- Buddy is being ridden weekly and is starting to be much more forward and energetic. Here are some pictures of him being ridden by me.
Now Buddy being ridden by a intermediate rider. Lauren is my little sister who is 18 now, and hasn't ridden since she was about 12! I gave her basic riding lessons as a child, she has a great seat, but is definitely not an experienced rider. Her and Buddy did great!
11/01/09- Buddy had his riding evaluation today and did spectacular! He was ridden walk/trot/canter in the pasture and then we hit the trail! He was very good and is a bit on the slow side. He was confident and easy to control, but he did tend to loose focus on his rider. He needs a bit of a refresher course and he will be a great mount. He is now available for adoption.
10/24/09- Buddy's feet were trimmed again today and our farrier is confident that his riding can begin. He indicated there should not be problems regarding the gravel. This should grow out naturally with his foot. He is back to a 6- 8 week trim schedule now. He is fully weaned from his meds and is now grazing at night, muzzled in the day. He receives 2 flakes of Alfalfa per day.
10/15/09- Buddy was fitted with a grazing muzzle and introduced to his new herd today. He is being pastured with Feint and Mo, our seniors, and has done wonderfully in his new herd. He is being weaned off his meds, he is at ideal weight now. His feed consists of hay only, and we will have to adjust this accordingly with the new routine and cold weather coming on. Buddy does have bruising in all four feet, this is consistent with his condition and the bruises will have to grow out with his new foot. For now Buddy is getting comfortable with his new pasture mates, and his riding assessment is scheduled for November. He has surpassed our expectations regarding his condition, and is well on his way to being adoptable. We have been working on his food aggression, he does get rather "pushy" at feed time and we are hoping that we can get him past this by now offering additional feedings. We will keep you updated!
9/15/09- Buddy's x-rays have been done and we are seeing a 5-7 degree rotation of the coffin bone on the near front, less for the far. He has some bone absorption in the near, but we are confident he can be kept sound provided we manage future founder episodes. He has gravel that has traveled up the white line into his hoof, which will make this process interesting trying to avoid infection and abscess. He is scheduled to have his feet trimmed for the second time on Saturday. He has good sole which is helping to keep him comfortable, so we have to trim slowly every 4 weeks to encourage proper growth and the proper angles. He has not been around other horses for about 10 years and has no socialization skills. He can not be pasture kept at this point anyway, so for now he has his own space and is just now getting to meet the other residents. Buddy will have to learn some social skills over the fence before being turned out with a herd. We were told he is broke to ride, though no riding will be considered until his weight and hooves are on the right track. He is very friendly and is good with children. He gets along with the cats and so far is doing wonderfully here at the rescue. Pictures below of him "meeting" some residents.
INTAKE- 9/01/09- Buddy is a 12 year old paint gelding who is currently in rehab due to chronic founder caused by being overweight & overgrazing. Buddy’s rehabilitation involves a strict diet and exercise program, weight and insulin supplements, occasional pain medication, x-rays and proper care of his feet. He is an extremely sweet guy and is on his way to becoming well again!
