Maribel Update

Maribel Update

Maribel is the mare that arrived on February 27 with extremely long feet. Thanks to Dr. Rivett and Ray, our farrier, we were able to start working on her front feet right away. We were also able to test her for insulin residence and Cushing’s Disease. The tests offered good news. According to Dr. Rivett, “Her ACTH was equivocal, so we will recheck it in a couple months to see what it is doing. The insulin was very mildly elevated, but I would not consider her insulin resistant right now.” This was really good news. The next challenge was to x-ray her front feet.

We anticipated finding some rotation in her coffin bone. From what we were told from the rescue she came from, she had “chronic laminitis.” However, we are so happy to share that her feet look really good.

We recognize that in these images, her right foot is at angle, but you evaluate rotation by the position of the coffin bone to the bottom of the hoof, regardless of the angle of the hoof. There is some rotation, but it is very mild. It is also good news that she has plenty of sole. These images will help Ray as he continues to shape her feet in the coming weeks and months.

We don’t know what caused her past laminitis. Dr. Rivett explained, “It is possible that previously with her diet etc., she did have insulin resistance and this caused the laminitis, but now on her current diet she’s doing better. It is also very possible those changes in her hooves are due to the length she had.”

Thanks to your support and our wonderful veterinary-farrier team, we will be able to keep her on the best diet, monitor her insulin resistance and of course keep her feet properly trimmed.

We owe a special thank you to her sponsor Patty Ducey-Brooks, who was willing to take a chance to support this special mare in spite of the scary diagnosis we had been given. Thank you for making this new chapter possible for Maribel!