R.E.A.S.O.N. - The Retired Equine Adoption Society Of the Northeast

Meet Man Of Leisure

Man Before

After running the race of his life in August, Man foundered in all four feet due to an allergic reaction he had. His owners took him to NY for treatment and then brought him home to their farm for recovery. They were unable to find a farrier who was experienced enough to correctively shoe him. Man's coffin bone had rotated through his sole in his one back foot. R.E.A.S.O.N heard about Man from our Vet. and agreed to try to save his life.

When we went to pick him up along with our farrier we found this huge black horse laying down because it was too painful for him to stand. We sat in the stall with him and he laid his head in our laps while our farrier applied Styrofoam blocks for the trip back to REASON. Man was very thin and he had open pressure sores from laying down so much.

A few days after arriving at REASON, our wonderful farrier correctively shoed Man, and we were shocked to learn his coffin bone had penetrated through the sole of one of his feet. The shoeing took 5 hours. When the pain got too much for Man to bear he would bury his head in my husband's chest and moan. He knew we were trying to help him.

Even though standing was painful and walking was almost impossible Man showed us his will to live. He was on complete stall rest. When he would lie down he liked us to sit and stroke his head. He would actually fall asleep with his head on our laps. Our goal was to have Man lightly trail riding in a year. The cost of his care has been astronomical with shoeing, medications, and supplements.

In Mid-November, Man started coming out of his constant stall rest with short walks on the lawn. At first, man would take just baby steps. You would have to wait for him to catch up to you. We would let him off his lead to wander the yard on his own, at his own pace. He would stay close on the front lawn never going too far.

Slowly he would get a little bolder with his pace. On the morning of Thanksgiving, we found him trying to walk up the driveway.

One day in early December upon taking him out of his stall we noticed he was walking with us. No more baby steps. He would still walk around the yard on his own but now we would always stand close by.

One day later in December, something spooked him and Man then ran across the lawn. We were all astonished. To be sure we saw what we saw, we got him to trot. He did great. Man started getting turned out in February. First by himself and as he grew stronger we felt comfortable putting him out with other horses.

Man Now

UPDATE- 12/15/03 Man has received his second reset on his fancy shoes and is walking so much better. He is definitely more comfortable and has even gained a little weight. He has also had an acupuncture treatment and has only received pain medication once in the last 3 weeks. A long road is ahead but we are still praying for his recovery!!! Please keep him in your prayers!!!!

UPDATE-4/8/04 Man has been doing exceptionally well. Man now gets turned out every day and has even made friends. He walks great and even trots. You can see how well he is doing by checking out the new picture of him. He has a lot of spirit to him and is very happy and active. Though he still has a bit to go at the rate he is going, we expect to begin him under saddle later this summer.

UPDATE-5/8/04 Man's been adopted!! Man will stay on at R.E.A.S.O.N but has been adopted by one of R.E.A.S.O.N's volunteers. After spending so much time with this wonderful horse she just hated to see him go anywhere else.

UPDATE-6/23/04 Man is still doing very well. The only problem he seems to have is keeping shoes on now since he is still growing his hooves back. We plan on getting him these special Sabre Sneakers to wear while he grows more hoof wall for shoes.

UPDATE - 7/3/04 Man has his sneakers! He got his first pair of Sabre Sneakers which were actually a little hard to get. It seems they are in high demand. We lucked out and found one pair left for his front feet. We put them right on and noticed an immediate difference in his walk. It was exactly what he needed. These sneakers will help Man walk comfortably (run too since he likes to do that as well) and keep him a lot more sound as he grows his hooves back. We can always tell when Man is feeling good because he has this very stubborn and willful streak that comes through. The past few days, he's been quite willful.

UPDATE - 9/5/04 - Here's a funny story about Man being Man. Man has a new next store neighbor... a pot bellied pig named Miss Teresa. The morning after Miss Teresa's arrival, I walked into the stall with Man and found a very nervous, jumpy and snorting horse. Something was bothering him. Knowing that Man is weird about noises with things he can't see we decided to introduce him to the pig. He was very cautious to approach, I had to coax him down a small hill and he stood very nervous outside the pig pen. It seemed to work and he settled down. He's a very quirky but fun horse to have.

UPDATE - 11/7/04 - Man is doing absolutely wonderful. It was R.E.A.S.O.N's hopes to have Man doing some light trail riding within a year. It happened. Man has become a riding horse. For the first time, Man was saddled and ridden and did great! He took to it well and should become a great trail horse and just a wonderful horse to have around for many years to come!

UPDATE - 11/21/04 - Found out today that Man likes coffee. He's becoming more and more spoiled and his tastes for treats are expanding outside of carrots and apples.

UPDATE - 2/15/05 - Man is having a great winter. He has his own herd he goes out with which makes him think he is king! Man's been holding his shoes just like any normal horse which is a wonderful thing since he loves to run around, buck and rear when he gets turned out. (I think he shows off for his ladies). He received lots of presents for the holidays including a beautiful red halter that "Nan" and "Grandpa" got him. He has been riding very well and is expected to go on his very first trail ride soon as long as the weather cooperates.

UPDATE - 6/25/05 - Man went to a problem horse clinic today to help work through some of his spookiness and his not wanting to move forward. He is still very sound and rides well otherwise.

As you can see from the pictures below. Man is doing wonderful. He loves to be with other horses, loves to run and especially loves to roll and get muddy!