Poor Ole Nuisance

A trip out to the farm to lick my needle poked fingers did me a world of good.  My sweet horses are always ready to come running to greet me and have their "itchy spots" scratched.  Upon arriving at the farm, I noticed my old gelding, Nuisance, (20 years old) standing all by himself.  It was alarming, because he is so clingy to the herd, he's ALWAYS with them.  I noticed him shifting his weight on his back feet.  That has always been the first sign of founder in him.  His front feet show the stress, but his back ones get the most soreness.  His neck just all of a sudden appears cresty and hard.  This isn't the first time I have had to battle this disease in him.  Any time new grass comes on, you can just go ahead and dry lot (put a horse in a pen with no feed except dry hay and water) him, because he will eat and eat and eat until he is nearly dead. 

Our summer was horrifically dry, and NOTHING grew.  In the past month, we've had 9 inches of rain, and the fields are luxurious.  I failed to take the old cahoot out of the pasture thinking the grass was short enough that it wouldn't hurt him.  That's what I get for thinking. 

He's not normally a people horse.  Actually, he downright has no use for people, unless they're bringing something to eat or have a curry comb in their hand.  He isn't naughty enough to run from anyone when he's being caught...  he just makes sure you know he really doesn't like you with the way he holds his nose.  But when he is sick, he's worse than ten husbands with the flu.  He wants to be cuddled, loved, babied.  It truly breaks my heart for him to get this way.  Breaks my heart even more to make him suffer through boring hay whilst watching all the other nags feast on the delectable new sprigs of green.  He is now hating every fiber in me for "starving him to death" making him eat dry hay.  Poor Ole Nuisance is now standing in his own form of "prison" until the grass gets a tad bit more mature.