I asked J to help me comfort Mag so I could try to get it off, with whatever tool might work. (I don't own nippers.) J said instead I should call a farrier on an emergency basis. No one answered. J was worried I'd hurt Mag but I convinced him there is only one option for such a thing - get it off.
Mag pushed his head against J's chest and stood politely as I took wire cutters to his hoof and snipped off the jagged hoof wall. Then I very carefully rasped it smooth, because the edges of the hole were so jagged they still seemed dangerous. The rasp made such an awful noise going over that hole *shudder* but J kept Mag calm and Mag was polite about giving me his hoof out front of him so I could work on it from above (the hoof on my knee).
The donkey joined us even though I said, "This stall is not a 4-person stall!" She wanted attention too.
All done, Mag has a smooth but open hole at the bottom of his hoof instead of a crack that has been filling with debris all this time.
That he's sound on such a hoof is surprising. Then again it's not dissimilar from a hoof that has lost a shoe and torn off wall up to the nail holes. We'll see what happens.
Somehow that's not ouchy.
It coincides with the event line that I believe is from taking antibiotics in December.
.JPG)
4 comments:
do you not own nippers because you can't buy them in Germany (restricted, perhaps, like wormer, etc) or because you are like me and just haven't gotten 'round to getting any?
I just haven't gotten around to learning to use them, and I rasp regularly enough that I feel I don't need to remove a lot at once. Maybe someday I will learn.
It doesn't look that bad, you did a good job with what you have. Be glad it was the hard hoof that's probly why hes still sound on it and not much more has broken off.
You did a great job! I'm glad it's not painful.
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