Pimmy’s Ouch!

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Yesterday, the mobile veterinarian, Tyler, at first wondered if laminitis were causing Pimmy’s lameness. On discovering only one front hoof painful, he focused on another possibility.

Pimmy’s hoof bottoms had been too tightly packed for my pitiful strength with a hoof knife. Tyler, digging into the painful hoof, found an embedded rock and infection beneath it.

That probably had been building up and causing pain for a while. Animals are amazing in that they’re stoic, and can “suck it up” long before a human sees anything unusual. That happened with Pimmy. One morning, upon seeing her, boom! She severely was limping with a front hoof too painful for support.

Regardless, Pimmy remained stoic, managing to hobble to the hay doles and eat. She even dodged a little faux kicking by her cool weather-inspired horse buddies.

Pimmy isn’t limping anymore. Tyler has packed her hoof with a “drawing medicine” and bandaged it. I’m instructed to re-medicate and re-bandage on Wednesday and Friday. He said that on Wednesday, the old dressing will come off damp, but by Friday should be dry, indicating a recovered hoof.

For years, Pimmy and my horses have been a tight trio. Pimmy is lovely and the only donkey I’ve known. Tyler at first approached Pimmy gingerly, in case she proved uncooperative and difficult to handle as donkeys often are. He was delighted to find an easy-peasy patient.

Small thanks to me for this donkey’s trusting nature. Instead, many kudos to Pimmy’s first humans, our kind friends in Eugene.