Update Jan 26 2010 : Michelle, his new Mom, write us this update:

"You should see him, I turned him out in the arena and for the first time, since he arrived, he wasn't at all lame, he could do an extended, volunteer trot, he decided to trot the poles at high speed, didn' t miss a beat, cantered both leads, with out tripping, might be riding by summer."

So I asked Michelle what has been his treatment plan?

" He needed time off and he needed the correct support to allow his body to heal. He had his hooves trimmed every two to three weeks, to keep his hooves in balance.  This helped the ringbone/calcification's decrease in size, and therefore become less painful. He had multiple chiropractic visits to fix his shoulder injury. He had numerous massages in between his chiro appointments to help keep his shoulder in the correct position.  He needed time for the muscle tear in his hind end, on the right side, to repair.  He lost some weight. He needed time for his hooves to heal from his minor bout of laminitis.  "

Cloud is a very sweet horse. Easy to manage and happy to be alive. Excellent ground manners; relates well to people and other horses. Nothing phases him. He has been ridden hard and now has some navicular in his front feet. He is a gaited Walkaloosa; a champagne color with black underskin, 17 hands. Its hard for him to turn; he is stiff at that.

We will continue to evaluate him and have the farrier out to work with him.