Our lovely Palmera is getting bigger – width-wise that is, as her foal is growing. She is also getting heavier, which brings with it more concerns. There is some hopeful news. Our vets have been back to take more X-rays and were amazed to discover that her pedal bone is now de-rotating and that the sole thickness is improving. They recommended cutting back her hooves further to relieve the pressure and, hopefully, make things less painful for her. Our farrier Jaime came up last week and, in consultation with Rocio, rasped her hooves back fairly drastically (the alternative was a full hoof wall resection). She is still on medication for her Cushing’s and is wearing her thick gel boots, padded with a baby’s nappy (changed every day). She goes in at night (and in the wet) on a thick bed of shavings. Palmera is such a pretty mare, and very well bred, obviously used as a brood mare and then discarded when problems arose. She is also a lovely character, so we are hoping that things will go right for her and her baby. Time alone will tell.
