Intro

So, my name is Shawn Ratliff and I am a natural barefoot trimmer. I am working on starting up a non profit that does barefoot rehab/rescue work, but we are just getting started on all the paperwork so it will be a little bit until it's official. I recently took in a new 12 hand rehab project pony named Lily - she is in her early 20's and is not just foundered, but starved as well. This blog is to chronicle her rehabilitation and keep track of progress made. If you would like to make a donation to help cover Lily's costs, anything (even $1!) helps! To donate cash, you can paypal any amount to FlyingHeartsFarm@yahoo.com with Lily as the subject line. Please E-Mail me to donate items.

Lily's Wish List:
New Halter (or $25)
Blanket (winter is coming up and she's so thin!) (or $100)
Sheet (or $35)
Hoof Boots (or $100)
Probios (or $30)
Or cash for hay ($3.50/bale - lasts 4 days), grain ($3 per month), bedding ($5.50 per bag - lasts one week), or her Source multivitamin supplement ($1.40 per month).
Volunteers to come pick out her pen, brush her, handgraze her, and make her feel important and loved! We are located in Goshen, Ohio - just east of Cincinnati.

Lily arrived home on August 29th, 2009. These are photos of her upon arrival. Her right front is her worse hoof - she weights it less than the left front. She was x-rayed August 31st and there is evidence of an old infection and more arthritis in that hoof/leg - it's also taller than her left front. She is just starting to knuckle over - it's especially evident when you watch her walk...hopefully we can resolve this in time because the darling deserves better than this! Actually, Lily is supposedly nicely trained to ride and drive, but she was also supposedly not old haha! So we'll see.

I trimmed her after taking plenty of photos and video of her, and this is how she looks now - both feet are fully weighted in this photo. Scary, eh?


The good thing is that after a couple of days of plenty of food, attention, treats, and a much needed bath, she has gone from looking miserable and in pain all the time, to looking cheery and bright and whinnying whenever she sees me. Man, she knows how to make me feel important! And the best part is that as of today, September 2nd, she seems to be a little more willing to move about her pen for water and such. She still spends a decent amount of time laying down, but when we go out handgrazing she walks a little faster and with a little more enthusiasm. I trimmed her heels a teeny bit again today, but there really isn't anything to take without going into live sole - I need to be patient and let her heels drop down. I feel like they did a teeny bit since the first trim, but now they are "floating" that high again since I trimmed a little more today. I stretched her front legs forward tonight, I think I'll start doing that whenever I feed.

Right now she's getting free choice grass/timothy hay, about 20 minutes of grass a day (will be upping that slowly starting tomorrow), and one cup 2 x day of mushy Equine Senior with Source and electrolytes (she was barely drinking when she first came, now she's drinking a bucket a day instead of a few sips).

I think with some weight she's going to be a really pretty little mare. I'll get some happy face photos tomorrow and put up some photos to compare how much her expression has changed since she arrived 5 days ago.