Approaching this painful anniversary of a year since my horse foundered. I find that I am growing apprehensive with each passing day. In the morning when I go out to feed, my breath catches in my throat until I see Racer moving across the field, then I can breathe again.

There is a large gap in my journal, where, as he began to really respond to treatment, my life again resumed its normal hectic pace. I found that I was no longer running outside to check on him, and he and Traveler play together now, run together and he has survived.

October 19, 2004-

Soon it will be a year since Racer foundered. It took weeks to get him to accept someone touching his feet again. I worked with a small hammer, and old horseshoe and lots of patience. I would ask him to bring his foot up, then once he did, I placed the horseshoe on his shoe he was wearing, and gently tapped away. Thirty days later, Clint came over and pulled off his shoes, making him barefoot once again. He has not had shoes on since.

We did daily hot water and Epsom Salt soaks as he was blowing abscesses right and left. I cut down the amount of hay I had been giving him, took him off of all grain products and put him on Equi-Immune by Chilton Herbs. He stands quiet for trims now.  He moves freely around the pasture with his buddy Trav, and I have recently started working him again from the ground.

I see small signs that he is still not 100%. He doesn’t run in from the pasture like Trav in the mornings. He just steadily walks in. He lays down more and when I am out in the pasture working, sometimes he doesn’t follow me around.  I still am feeding him the holistic mixture  but he has been off of Bute for a very long time, for which I am grateful.

No one can tell me why he foundered. Whether something in his system just went out of wack and the herbs and oils made it right, or as my skeptical vet says, it wasn’t the holistic measures that worked at all, it was my excellent care and just time that mattered. I guess his scientific mind can’t grasp the concept that nature too can heal.

As I near his year from his Founder incident, I find myself growing concerned. Always in his history with me, when he has fallen ill it has been in the month of November. I find myself waiting, and hoping that this November will pass without incident. I suppose, to coin my vet’s saying- “Time will tell…” I'm still waiting, and in the meantime, he continues to improve.....

For those of you who actually waded through all this journaling, you deserve an award. I hope you read this out of curiousity only, and not out of neccessity. If your horse is suffering from laminitis or founder, the best thing you can do is let the professionals guide you correctly but remember to listen to your horse. Sometimes the other voices in your life can drown his out.