10/13/2026
Let's talk about Samson and what's going on with him. Samson is our 20-something Belgian draft horse. He's been here since February and has been plagued with abscesses on his front right hoof the whole time. We would do all the things to heal one and another would pop up. As a result of one of the early ones, we resected a huge chunk of the hoof wall. He grows fast and that part is doing really well. He has gi-normous shoes to help support the resected hoof.
But his most recent abscess is once again at the coronet band - right at the top of the hoof where a split can be dangerous. And he's fed up with me messing with that hoof --- soaking, spraying, medicating, bandaging. So I made the hard call to take him to Peak this past weekend - asking them to take on the treatment and come up with a plan.
Recurring abscesses indicate that there's something else wrong, and they can't tell exactly what from the x-rays. It might be cancer or it might be some other serious internal cause. What they can see in the x-rays is that his hoof bones are all messed up and there are bone spurs and deterioration. And with all that, Samson is never lame.
The next step is a CT scan. Peak doesn't have a CT, so Samson and I will go to ESMS on Thursday for the scan. Thankfully they have the machine that can take the scan with him standing, and he won't have to have general anesthesia, just light sedation.
Once we have the CT results, we can plan the next steps. There's a good chance that he will need surgery on that hoof. I am hopeful that we can come up with a solution.
Please send Samson all your love!!!
(And donations don't hurt either - just sayin'.) 💞
***Donate by Zelle to 512-658-9004
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