Rehabilitation Boarding at Butterfield Farm

Now offering limited (May-November) on-farm care for horses suffering acute and chronic pathologies, such as laminitis/founder or white line disease, or for horses requiring specialized care following a medical procedure.

Rehabilitating damaged hoof often requires careful husbandry- intensive farrier care, bedding and surfaces that promote movement while maximizing comfort to sore limbs, and a dedicated nutritional program.

Enrolled in rehabilitation board, your horse will receive the following benefits:

• Timely hoof care, often weekly trims for laminitic horses, or shoeing packages updated as needed based on individual needs. Treating the acutely foundered horse is often a trial-and-error process that involves supporting the foot using a variety of barefoot trimming, therapeutic booting and shoeing methods.

• 24-7 monitoring for acute changes in comfort level and timely treatment of abscesses. Infrared wireless cameras in each stall provide live-feed video of horses to facilitate night-time monitoring.

• Controlled environment: our rubber-matted stalls and adjoining crushed stone paddock provide clean, adjustable footing for a horse recovering from founder, laminitis or white-line disease.

• Nutrition: Rehab horses are fed individually, insuring an individualized nutritional program to optimize health and recovery.

Starting at $400/month or $150/wk

(price varies according to individual needs)

Example Rehabilitation Board Case- Foundered Pony 2016

Stormy was purchased from a kill pen in 2014. He foundered on all four hooves, likely due to a combination of white line disease in his hind hooves and free choice access to a mineral block that contained high concentrations of molasses.

We tried for 6 months to treat him at his home, but his habitat situation prevented adequate recovery. He was in a herd setting with 7 other horses, making it difficult to control his footing and dietary requirements. Also, the client lived over 2 hours from me, making frequent trimming and shoeing modifications difficult.

In rehabilitation, Stormy enjoyed (endured) a strict dietary plan and was provided with varied footing alternating from extra soft dry shavings on rubber mats to firm, dry crushed stone turnout. He was trimmed every 2 weeks, and we used a combination of hoof boots and clog shoes to facilitate his recovery until he was comfortable enough to go barefoot.

Stormy returned home in November after 6 months of rehabilitation, and was last seen cantering out with his old herd.