On July 22, our dedicated farrier Nick DiFranco came to replace Micah's custom shoe.  When he removed the old shoe, we saw that Micah's hoof had separated from his sole.  Micah's Vet was summoned, and arrived shortly thereafter.  She confirmed our worst fears.  Micah had no chance at survival, and despite looking rather comfortable, he was dangerously close to have a catastrophic failure of his hoof.  Rather than risk an excruciating avulsion of his hoof, we opted to euthanize him.  Micah's companion was Lance, and they were best friends.  Lance also had an incurable injury, and they spent their days together with restricted activity.  Lance had no ability to function in a larger herd turnout.  One good canter, and he would destroy his leg.  Rather than force him to live in confined solitude, we made the difficult choice to allow the horses to pass together.  Both horses were allowed to graze for some time side by side.  Dr. Luhn sedated them both until they were calm and comfortable, and then euthanized them.  They passed within seconds of one another, and fell side by side.  We hope all of Micah and Lances supporters and fans can understand our choices, difficult as they were.  Both horses were deeply loved and appreciated for the individuals they were, and they will be greatly missed.

Micah, 14 year old Percheron Gelding Micah is a 14 year old Percheron Gelding, all white with gold flecks throught his coat.  Micah arrived to Gentle Giants in June of 2007 from New Holland, where another rescue saw Micah be sold to the meat man.  They let us know he was in danger and needed rescue. We made arrangments over the phone and purchased Micah from the meat buyer, and we picked him up the next day. Micah is sound, gentle, very quiet, and rides well.  But... he has Canker in his rear feet.  After our experience with Gin (see "In Memory of Gin" page for his story), we had decided we would never again rescue a Canker horse.  But alas, Micah is here, and he is happy and has no idea he's sick.  We are bound by duty to provide him with the care he has been deprived of for so long.

Micah moved in and quickly won every one of us over with his big heart and lovey personality.  Only 67 days and several baths after being rescued from slaughter, he competed against breeders from as far away as Kentucky and Ohio at the Howard County Draft Horse Show, and he placed Fourth Place in the Percheron Gelding Division.  He LOVED the spotlight, and lives to be the center of attention.  Micah has every intention of returning to the Fair this year, and now that we know how to properly braid a draft for show, I'm sure he'll do much better than fourth!

Micah's hoof on arrival, August 2007 Canker is a rare disease of unknown origin that can occur in any breed of horse, but is seen most frequently in draft breeds.  Many Vets have never seen or treated Canker.  Canker causes a prolific growth of abnormal tissue from inside the horses hoof that eventually breaks through the hoof to the outside.  The tissue is easily identified, as it is a pearly white with an oily texture, and has a distinctive foul odor and gives off a large amount of purulent discharge.  Micah arrived with Canker in three feet: his front right and both rear.  Through the dedicated care of his Farrier, Vets, and his crew of admiring volunteers, we have beaten the Canker in two feet.  This is a near miracle, as Micah has the worst Cankers I have ever seen documented.

Micahs case is like no other Gentle Giants or our Vets have ever seen.  The preferred methods to treat Canker fail on him, and actually cause the tissue to grow faster.  We have found that dedication to cleaning, dressing, and wrapping his hooves daily has been the key for him.  With this method, we have had complete resolution in two of the three hooves.  From the condition Micahs hooves were in with the advanced state of his Canker, we were given a 5% chance of success.  Micah has proven everyone wrong, and his will to live and thrive is unstoppable.  Throughout everything, he has never taken a lame step or had an off day.  He remains an enigma to his Vet, and an inspiration to us all.

Micah's Hoof Before Surgery Micah has had a sudden complication recently in his left rear hoof.  The Canker has broken through the SIDE of the hoof wall (normally it breaks through the bottom) and in order to treat it, we need to resect the side of the hoof wall away from the Canker.  This will required our skilled Farrier, Nick DiFranco, and our team of vets from Walkersville Animal Hospital to work in tandem with Micah under sedation.  Funds for Micah's care were quickly donated by his adoring supporters and the Friends of Barbaro.

Farrier Nick DiFranco Resects the Hoof
	Our skilled Farrier, Nick DiFranco, begins the resection with the assistance of Dr. Amanda Luhn of Walkersville Animal Hospital.  At this point Micah was deeply sedated, his leg had a nerve block, and he had a tourniquet applied to control bleeding.  Nick removed the damaged side of the hoof wall, and Dr. Luhn cut back the Canker tissue.

Micah Gets a Custom Shoe!

The destruction of healthy hoof wall forced us to remove more than was originally planned, and Micah was left at severe risk for Foundering on his unstable hoof.  Nick hand-created a custom shoe that would be able to support Micahs weight and prevent a fatal shift of inner hoof structures.  This hoof is cleaned, flushed,  medicated, and re-bandaged daily.  Micah is back to limited turn out in the arena during this time.  He can not get that hoof dirty!

Our Thanks go to those who have supported Micah through all phases of his treatment and this undertaking. Thank you for making his care possible. S. Zeigler, Micah's Sponsor L. Perron B. Bell J. Lacetera L. Yeske Baltimore Pet Pals/ C. Smith L. Morrison D. Pfau S. Puleo J. Bartsch M. Hafer C. Edwards C. Patterson G. Mesard J. and A. Stein New England Equine Rescue THANK YOU ALL!!!!