Am thrilled that after almost two weeks of rest and dressing changes, Jill is walking with barely a limp! She gave us quite a scare two weeks ago when we found her “down” not wanting to walk or bear weight on her right front hoof. After an emergency appointment with our vet, Jill is on the mend.

Jill’s diagnosis was thought to be an abscess in her right front hoof. Although hoof-picked regularly, we did pull out two large stones embedded in her hoof. These stones most likely were the cause of her problem and stoically, she didn’t appear to have a problem until… She had a problem!

The vet showed us how to apply a substance to draw out the abscess. After packing her foot with the dressing and wrapping it to keep the area clean, Jill has been wearing boots on her front feet to cushion her hooves when walking. We continued the process of changing her dressing every three days and will continue until she is no longer limping at all.

First, supplies are assembled. A nearby chair is used to keep those supplies clean and off the ground.

After the boot and old dressing is removed, we soaked her foot in Epsom salt to clean the hoof and to help draw out the abscess.

The hoof is then picked and brushed to further clean it and to make sure nothing else is caught in her hoof.

The new dressing with Mag 60 is applied then wrapped.

A clean boot is put on her to cushion the hoof.

Lastly, she is fly-sprayed which she tolerates very well. The flies are horrible at this time of the year and annoy Jill greatly if not sprayed.

Watching Jill walk with barely a limp is a HUGE improvement from two weeks ago! I’m off to let the vet know of Jill’s improvement and that her diagnosis proved correct. I hate that my sweet donkey went through this but am glad, with treatment, she is back on her feet again!