Hamilton's Recheck with Dr. Ted Vlahos

Hamilton, 2 year old mustang gelding from the ISPMB neglect situation, traveled back to Cody, WY for a recheck with the vet who gave him a chance to live. Hamilton was born missing most of the coffin bones in his hind feet and we were facing euthanasia. We consulted with Dr. Ted Vlahos, an expert in limb deformities and amputations, who treated him last September with an aggressive trim and custom shoes to see if we could get the hoof growing normally and enable Hamilton to grow and live.

We returned this weekend for a recheck and are happy to report Hamilton is doing GREAT! He has gained over 200 pounds and grown considerably. We have spent the majority of the winter helping his hooves grow from the twisted mess of abscesses they were into much more normal hooves. He has developed a healthy, very thick sole & frogs and other than the bone structure his hoof actually is looking and functioning as a hoof!

For the past few months Hamilton has been in a shoe that helps support his tendons, however with the new trim our new goal now is to encourage expansion of the heels and hoof wall, so he received a normal shoe that was adjusted to be more of a U shape. Our goal for the next several months will be to correct a slight twist in his hoof that has developed and expend the hoof to be more round shaped than U shaped.

Scroll through the pictures from yesterdays' checkup and enjoy!

Hamilton's vet bill was $700 and his farrier $150. The trip has cost about another $800 in gas and hotel. We have raised about $450 of that and could still use help. http://gentlespirithorses.org/donate for options.

OR order from Hamilton's Schwann's fundraiser! When we reach $100 raised Schwann's will double it to $200. When you buy a $25 gift certificate we receive $10!