# please critque my rescue horse



## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

this is floocie. she is a 9 year old nearly 18hh shire thoroughbred cross. with an excellent temperament. very well broke surprisingly. i took her in from a very bad situation, where she was about 150lbs under weight. her feet were also very neglected and because of this- they have panned out and are nearly completely flat. we have started on the road to recovery though! she has gained about 50-60lbs. and her feet are in better condition than when she was brought to me. it is a slow process though. constant and correct trimming, a little bit at a time every 3-4 weeks. she is a wonderful mare. we have her on a strict exercise routine to start to rebuild some of her muscling. she is so mellow, i allow my 4 year old to ride her throughout the pasture. she is a special horse. now she will NEVER be a competitive horse. she does have a parrot mouth [which is why her tongue hangs out in a picture or 2]. shes going to be a glorified trail horse. nothing fancy. poor girl has cancer. she has squamous cell carcinoma's in both eyelids. so on march 8th, she will be going into surgery to remove the eyelids. hoping to fix the issue. aside from all that, what do you think of her conformation wise?


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## FeatheredFeet (Jan 27, 2010)

The VERY first thing, everyone here will notice, is that you have a toddler, riding a very large horse alone and not wearing a helmet. I don't care how kind/slow horses are, things can happen at any moment and the results, devastating. Put a helmet on that child.

Well I think the horse is just lovely. Maybe she is a bit long and leans toward having a very slight, roach back. I'd like to see a close shot of her pasterns and feet, after farrier work has caught up. I suppose that is what some call, an American Warmbloood? Regardless, what a nice big mare for you. Hopefully she won't have any future problems, after her eyelids are fixed.

And good for you, for taking in a mare who has problems. 

Lizzie


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

yes, i do realize she was not wearing a helmet. the little girls mother was in close proximity incase something were to happen. i apologize in advance for posting a photo with her without a helmet. we were not going to allow her to ride that day; we always have helmets with us. it was spur of the moment. please understand we only let them ride with helmets. this was a one time deal. though no excuse. 

thank you for your critique. i will post some more photos of her feet. i believe i have a few. we finally managed to get them to the point where we could shoe her. and yes, she is an american warmblood i guess. to me, shes just a special horse that needs a lot of love and attention.


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

here are a few more. you can sortve see the angling in the first picture. and the rest of her front hooves. not sure why i did not get a picture of the rear. i will take some more when i head out there tomorrow.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Looking really good! I bet you feel like you are on top of the world when you're up there.


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

a few more... and last one is showing her parrot mouth.. she is a goofy girl..


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

believe it or not, she feels like a normal sized horse when youre on top of her. and her lope is to die for. she also has the smoothest trot i have ever sat in my entire life. shes an amazing horse. it breaks my heart to know what she went through. what hurts the most is that i knew the girl that did this to her. she was a friend of mine. needless to say, i own the horse 100% now and i will never speak to that woman again. she is facing neglect charges.


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

she is a medical disaster... an understatement to say the least lol she has to be power floated every 6 months as well. but i love her. she has a place in my heart. shes not going anywhere. i will vow to care for and love her as long as i am physically able to. and if there comes a time where i cannot, i will find someone as special as her to look after her.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

very nice!


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

What a pretty and sweet looking girl! Sounds like she will have a happy life now. 
I wanted to ask, if you don't mind- how does the surgery work- removing eyelids? Will she not have issues with eyes drying, not sleeping properly, getting stuff in them, etc? I know nothing about it, so I ask out of curiosity. I assume the vet has mentioned a bit to you.
Good luck with her!


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

thank you. she is a very sweet horse. what she has is cancer of the 3rd eyelid. thankfully it is a slow growing cancer and we believe we have caught it in time. they will put her under local anesthetic and carefully remove the inner eyelid. as far as drying out, the vet has told me no ill side effects. she will still be able to close her eyes. here is a link to the surgery and process of removing this kind of tumor: 




if you have a weak stomach, be advised. it could be hard to watch. 

and here are pictures of hers.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

After I posted, I realized it was probably the third eyelid, not an outer, I am not running on full power today, obviously. 
Thanks for finding the link for me too. 
What type of recovery does it have? Will she have to stay out of the sun, or with a flymask for a bit?
I wish her a good surgery, and a healthy and happy recovery.


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

youre welcome! they told me recovery time is rather quick, 4-6 weeks. for the first 72 hours, stall confinement. and she will have to wear a special uv protected fly mask all year round. no exceptions. she will also have to have a vet visit every 6 months to make sure she is and remains cancer free and on the right track  thankfully the surgery is not that pricey. $450 to remove them both. if they come back, unfortunately i will have a tough decision as i cannot afford radiation/chemo. my only other option would be to remove the eyeballs themselves. and then id have to think of quality of life.. but we will not go down that route! like i said, i think we caught it in time.  lets keep our fingers crossed! she deserves some good luck. poor girl.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

I will cross my fingers for you both!
That is a fairly cheap surgery!
My mare got a decent sized bone chip from a kick on the cannon bone from a mare we used to have... Initially I didn't think much of the small cut on the skin, but 6 weeks later when she went in for teeth float, I asked the vet to check it out. A bit over $1000 later, she appears to 100% back to normal! 
Fingers, toes, and hooves crossed for you!


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## FeatheredFeet (Jan 27, 2010)

Her feet are already looking so much better. Is it not unusual, to have a cancer in both eyes or am I just not understanding this properly? Regardless, I hope the surgery goes well for her - and you. Don't know where you live, but I'd think here in S. California, the cost would be three times at least, that much.

Lizzie


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

thank you. we are trying. unfortunately because she went so long without proper hoof care, her feet will never be 100%. we are trying to trim them in a way where they will start to grow downwards again, instead of growing to the sides. it has had some effect. but we believe this is as good as it is going to get. though we are going to keep up with her constant and frequent farrier work, and only time will tell! she deserves that and much more. my farrier believes even with her feet in the condition they are currently in, it will not lead to further lameness as long as we stay consistent with it. he told me she should have no issues going over small x-rails and trail riding for hours on end. though i do not jump and would much prefer staying on the ground... lol 

usually with these types of tumors, they only effect one eye. when we first noticed the "fatty deposit", her other eye was fine. it wasnt until 3 weeks ago when i noticed she was developing a growth on her opposite eye as well. that is when i put a call into the vet and told him to schedule me an appointment to remove them both. it has taken me some time to raise the funds to have the surgery as i have 2 other horses to care for. she is how they say "breaking the bank". but i am doing everything i can for the horse and i just hope shes as much of a fighter as i am! 

i am in tennessee.  the cost of removal per eyelid is $150 x2 and the anesthesia is $150!


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## FeatheredFeet (Jan 27, 2010)

Lucky you. I also lived in Tennessee for a year, when on location. Loved it. We were in Kingsport. 

Many breeds of dogs have third eyelid problems, which have to be removed. Not heard of any being cancerous, however. I do know it is not a terrible operation and most vets have seen it many times. I'm sure your handsome girl will come through with flying colours.

Lizzie


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

here is a video of her under saddle, with my friend riding. how is her movement? she is one smooth ride, thats for sure.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

did you have a biopsy done to verify squamous cell carcinoma? Our perch x gelding had eye issues , thought it was cancer, ended up being habronema from flies.. a few gallons of eye ointment and fly mask and he is fine. The option with cancer was to remove the eye and in Calif , that cost me about 800 . make sure to have the biopsy ..


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

yes, we were thinking it was just an infection. but i did have it biopsied. it was positive for squamous cell unfortunately. it has not spread to the actual eye/the corneal as of yet. which is why they are going to go ahead and remove the eyelid. hoping that gets rid of it all together.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

oh, hopefully it wont come back. My horse had the bumps on the sclera of his eye. Freaked me out. We had to put ointment in his eyes for over a month, and it got to be so difficult. So kind of you take her in. she looks super sweet and she is pretty cute, parrot mouth and all. ;> and on the draft mixes, it does not take long for thier feet to get wonky . Miss one trim and they can look like nothings been done for ages.. must be all those pounds they carry.


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

thank you!! she definitely has a cute personality. such a sweet horse. when you get on her, you get this feeling.. you just know she's safe. never felt that on any other horse before. not a care in the world. and that tongue. oh my.. lol galloping through the field with her tongue flapping in the wind.. its enough to turn any bad day into a good one. you know how some horses have "itchy spots"? floocie's 'itchy spot' is inside her mouth. she loves you to scratch her tongue. weird as can be. that horse is something. lol im just glad she is finally on the road to recovery. shes only 9! so hopefully this works and we can have many more laughs and maybe more years together.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Have you thought of doing some dressage with this horse? She is nicely balanced when working and while she might not be a world class horse I think she might do quite well. 

Best wishes on the cancer and it not coming back. In other animals that sort of cancer is usually not fast growing, so hopefully this surgery will get it all and she will live a fine long life.


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## mlouati1389 (Jan 21, 2012)

Apparently, according to the woman that bred and raised her, she was put through dressage training from age 3 to 7. She was up to training level 3. But then she was sold and passed around so her training ceased. I use her as a trail horse. I have thought about maybe doing a little with her. But I would need to find a decent priced and PATIENT trainer as I have not the best English posture and I have an issue with my heels. I don't stick them down enough. Horrible and hard habit to break. Id have to have as much training as she would need in fine tuning/refreshing...  Maybe that's something I should look into. It could be a goal for us.


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

Oh my goodness, I am in love with this horse! She is just my style. BIG and BAY  I really, really like her. Better be glad you aren't in KY! Heheh  I've always wanted a TB/draft cross.


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

Bay? I don't see that at all. 

Good luck on the surgery-hope that takes care of the problem & there is no recurrence. So nice to have a horse you feel safe on.


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

Cacowgirl said:


> Bay? I don't see that at all.
> 
> Good luck on the surgery-hope that takes care of the problem & there is no recurrence. So nice to have a horse you feel safe on.


Haha, you're so right. I was looking on my phone and could have sworn she was a wild-bay.

On that note, I don't like her as much anymore.


 Totally kidding.


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## ImpulsiveLucy (Oct 8, 2012)

She has a nice Lonngggg shoulder! Though it could be more sloped. And her croup is lacking in length, though it's sloped well. And she has a thick throat latch. But a strong underline, and looks happy and peaceful!! Good luck with her!


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