This message is from: "Kim Nord" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi all: I have an 11yo Fjord gelding I purchased last October. You may remember he was in a difficult situation "out to pasture" at a horse trader's "farm" for six months. After I brought him home he made a rather miraculous recovery from a rather suspicious guy with bad feet to a lovely and willing trail buddy with great (!) feet! However, although he was very sound for about three months, he started favoring his left front going up and down our steep trails. He was examined by our vet, our chiropractor, and our massage therapist and injected, massaged and adjusted. After three adjustments the chiropractor said he was in fine shape; after three massages the massage therapist said the only reason to continue massages is because he enjoyed them so much! The vet diagnosised a "bursis" (don't know how it is spelled but it is an injury to and inflammation of his right pectoral) and put him on Adequan once a week for six weeks with a follow up injection a month after the sixth injection, light work following the sixth injection. Yesterday (after the sixth injection) we put him in one of our pastures which is accessed by a steep road (he had been in a barn paddock or our arena for the last six weeks). I noticed he seemed to be favoring his left front again. ARGHHHH! My vet says he should stay sound with light work if we keep him on the flat. What flat?!? We are in western NC in the heart of the mountains and don't have "flat". >From 13 horses I have finally gotten down to four, two Fjords and two Friesians, and now only have three that are ridable (and the Friesians are both very young and green). My fiance and my son both say we need to find him a "flat" home and replace him with another gelding that can be ridden immediately by novices (them and friends). Intellectually I have to agree with them as the purpose of getting down to only four horses was so we could all interact and bond with the ones we have and still have time to ride! But emotionally I hate to sell this guy after what he has been thru. Although he has not been here long enough for the rest of the family to forge a bond, I have. He has had a rough couple of years and I sure don't want to make it any rougher. Andrew's foal date is 6/29/94. He is 14.3hh, and his sire is Valea's Lee, dam is Fair Acres Chloe (Anvil's Torbjorn). He was a much loved stallion at a breeding farm in (I believe Wisconsin)and was both ridden and driven by the owner until he had a heart attack. While he was recovering his family dispersed his herd as he would no longer be able to care for them. He was sold at auction, gelded, and would have been resold at auction had he and one other not contracted strangles. So the trader turned him out in the woods and just let him make or break it on his own. When I bought him Andrew was alittle aloof and reserved. That lasted about two weeks. He now has the typical Fjord temperment, calm, thoughtful, willing if slightly stubborn. He is somewhat affectionate, and very patient. He rides smoother and more powerfully than my older gelding. When we first started him on the trails he "pulled" to the left, but after geeing and hawing him on the trails along with leg and rein commands he now steers straight lol. We just worked him in the roundpen this morning and he is still short strided on the left at a trot, presumably due to yesterday's steep road. I am pretty sure his injury is due to rough play with my Friesian gelding as he was trail ridden for a couple months last fall without incident. But it does not seem he will ever fully recover as long as he has to navigate steep ground, as he has been rested now for six weeks while being treated with Adequan. He seems to have no discomfort at a walk, with or without rider. I would love to see him go to a therapeutic center as he is very patient with kids and elderly and would probably be the same with handicapped. I purchased him for $2500, and that is negotiable to a good home. He has great feet, is up to date on all vaccines and worming, and had his teeth floated shortly after we got him last fall. He gets along well with other horses (my Friesian gelding only gets along with another Friesian), and defers to my 22 yo Fjord in the pasture. Please let me know if you have any interest, and also is you know of the availability of a good trail Fjord of similar age. Thanks, Kim Nord
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