JULY 2026:
Shipley is an unraced Thoroughbred gelding, who joined us for training in May of 2025. Though only 12 years old, he was in rough shape both physically and mentally. We learned almost immediately that somewhere in Shipley’s past, he had suffered from Pedal Osteitis, an extremely painful infection of the bones in the foot. If left untreated this condition can lead to severe damage to those bones. Though the condition was no longer acute, the damage had been done and the evidence of his past neglect was right there in black and white on the X-rays. Every horse that comes through our doors gets the same chance as the next one despite their past, and Shipley was no exception.
Over the course of the next year we worked closely with our vet and farrier to provide therapeutic shoeing. We provided nutrition and medication to help get his body back to where it needed to be. We worked hard to help him build proper muscling, and let go of the tension that he carried in both his mind and body. Shipley was the epitome of a team effort and there is not one person on our team who wasn’t involved in his rehabilitation.
In spite of all of his physical challenges he was kind, honest, and had a deep desire to connect with his humans. There was a few month period of time this Spring that we thought Shipley would be able to find his very own special person to spend the rest of his days with as a companion.
Sadly, about 8 weeks ago Shipley’s comfort level started to decline. He was experiencing repeat abscesses in his left hind hoof and in spite of our best efforts we just couldn’t clear it up, which made us suspect something more serious was going on. X-rays confirmed our suspicions and showed severe arthritis of the left hind fetlock joint along with a suspected keratoma in the hoof capsule itself. On top of this, x-rays of his other feet revealed further deterioration of the bones in spite of all of our efforts to stabilize them.
It was clear that Shipley would never be able to live pain free. Given this information and the signs that he was giving us that he was uncomfortable just in daily life, we made the very difficult decision to lay him to rest. It was a warm, sunny day and you could feel the wave of relief wash over Shipley as he gently laid down in the soft grass.
We will miss you buddy, but have found comfort knowing that you will never again know fear or pain. We only hope that we have returned a portion of the gift you have given us over the last 14 months
