Trooper is exactly as his name suggests, he is a Trooper thru and thru. We heard about a horse whose owner had moved away and had a horse to “get rid of”. All we knew is that he is an old gaited horse and “lived alone”.

Horses are herd animals and to hear that he was by himself was heartbreaking. We were told he was a trail horse and was taken all over the west. After meeting Trooper, we knew that we had to help him. His legs were very stiff and it was clear that he was in some serious pain.

Our vet did a full analysis with x-rays and we were able to see that Trooper has severe ringbone in both of his front hooves. Ringbone is a very advanced arthritis and it is extremely painful. On top of that, he hadn’t had a vet or farrier visit in at least 2 years.

Our vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug and suggested getting him on a joint supplement. She did also mention that he has the start of EMS (Equine metabolic syndrome). The surprising news - Trooper is only in his mid teens!! This means that he has a long life ahead of him and we are determined to help that be his best life.