Abby's Hoof Close Up

As I watched the newscasts of Abby's rescue, it struck me that the close-up photo of one horse's slippered hoof might be Abby's. I had been told that her hooves were in the worst shape of any of the rescued horses, and it made sense that they would take photos to document the neglect when the animal welfare people went to court to petition to confiscate the animals.

I looked more closely at the photo, and the red-brown color on the leg was the same as Abby's. So I pulled out some pictures of the white marking on her left foreleg, the one that she limps on.

No surprise, the markings matched. That WAS poor Abby's hoof they documented.

The photo taken from the newscast on my computer.

Look carefully. The hoof has curved upward and actually is rubbing her fetlock. That must've been painful.

 The white marking on her leg has become dirty from the rubbing.

So, after looking at the newscast and these photos several times, I began wondering how her hoof got from this picture (above) to this one (below.)

In order to remove the overgrowth, they had to trim all that off. And, since horses' hooves are like fingernails, that would have made her very sore since so much had to be cut off at once.

Which is why she is standing like this, pointing that leg out so she's not putting any weight on it.

The process of getting her hoof back into good shape after that major trim would take nearly a year. Not only had it grown overlong, it had grown to the side, most likely due to  the way she stood to alleviate the pain from it as it grew out.

As I take all this in and think about the situation she was in, I wonder about her personality. Clearly, she is people-oriented. She loves to hang out with me, and comes when she is called. She is gentle, and easy to catch and halter. I have sat companionably next to her while she eats her hay, and she "touches base" by nudging me every few mouthfuls just to say "hello."  Or walks over to make contact while grazing knowing full well I do not have a treat for her - just because she wants to be with me. Never does she give any indication that she was beaten or hurt by the people who previously owned her.

So why, if they treated her so well physically, would they allow her feet to get so bad? And starve her pasture pals?

I cannot make sense of it.