11/28/2025
Bob’s rescue / continued from our previous posts …
Usually, we give new residents several days — ideally two weeks — to settle before doing hands-on care. That’s because the first 14 days after travel come with a high risk of bloat in ruminants, and bloat can be fatal.
But waiting two weeks would have prolonged Bob’s suffering.
His hooves and stump weren’t the only issues. His full-body mat of wool and debris was so heavy and tight that it pulled painfully on his skin with every movement.
Even though it was March — still winter here — we sheared Bob. We started by removing the thick outer crust of matted material that encased him. Bob was surprisingly agreeable. Once his underbelly was shorn, he chose to lie down and even fell asleep.
As 16.52 pounds of wool and debris came off, the relief was immediate.
We also removed dozens of ticks from his body — I stopped counting after thirty when I realized that was only the beginning.
He still had a couple of inches of wool left, thin and sparse from being stretched, so we put a miniature horse coat on him to keep him warm through the rest of winter.
In the next Bob post: vet care, recovery, and the long road of hoof rehabilitation.
