It’s been a wild ride since we rescued Mister Ed from a situation of neglect last May and placed him in foster care with Barn Manager Brenda Izzo. Ed had a bad case of heaves, a respiratory ailment caused by moldy hay. Our first priority was to improve his diet and treat the asthma. Ed is on Prednisone, which has helped his breathing, especially during the hot, humid days of summer. He no longer has white foam coming out of his nostrils!
Our next challenge was dealing with an abscess in Mister Ed’s front right hoof. Due to his age, the soles of his hooves are very thin and the abscess was poking through the sole. The regular soaking and treatment were not working and he went down in his stall. Our equine veterinarian prescribed pain medication and our farrier, Peter Buckbee, was called to the scene to apply special clogs to relieve the pressure while the abscess healed. We were pleased when Ed seemed comfortable after the clogs were removed and replaced by a special shoe with a metal bar and leather toe pads.
A check-up from the vet confirmed that Mister Ed’s sole had grown from one millimeter to nine. The normal sole for a horse is 12-15 millimeters, but this was certainly an improvement. Ed was trotting comfortably around his paddock. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
Brenda had a few worry-free days until Mister Ed got in a tiff with his foster brother Silver. Silver was never very excited about Ed’s arrival and we suspect that he objected to Ed flirting with Brenda’s Thoroughbred mare Pretty Girl. Strong words were exchanged and Ed ended up getting his left hind leg stuck in the fence after trying to kick the daylights out of Silver. Thankfully, Brenda witnessed the exchange and ran out to help disentangle Ed from the fence. She asked him to quietly hold still while she worked to free his leg. He listened. The veterinarian was back out to examine his swollen leg and prescribed pain meds and cold-hosing twice a day. The swelling slowly went down and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
And then the rains began. Torrential downpours that flooded Ed’s paddock and left it full of mud. Ed promptly developed a limp. Our good farrier, Peter Buckbee, was summoned back to examine Ed. He felt it was likely a sub-solar access and took his shoe off just to make sure nothing was trapped.
Brenda went to work removing as much mud as she could and hauled in 12 bags of mulch and a truckload of shavings to help dry out the paddock. Mister Ed stood by cheering her on and appeared quite satisfied with the results, walking quite comfortably around the paddock. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
A big round of applause for Ed’s foster family Brenda Izzo and Morgan Izzo, for his amazing farrier Peter Buckbee, and for all the wonderful veterinarians at Oakencroft Equine Clinic. We are. so grateful for all you’ve done to care for the legendary Mister Ed!
