|
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Note: Some headers in the Nav Bar above have sub-menus which will appear when you hold your cursor over the header title. |
SIERRA'S STORY
Dream Catcher Sierra Sun is a 2004 chestnut mare that had been with us since she was three. After two tramatic events including being bitten by a diamondback rattlesnake and later having a nail all the way through her hoof from sole to heal bulb, she came down with an immune system disorder called pemphigus foliaceus. This is an extremely rare disorder in horses, usually caused by some kind of severe trauma, that causes the skin to errupt in blister type sores over their body and swelling in the legs. Most horses contracting it are put down within the first year and few vets have ever seen it or know how to deal with it; steroids were the only known treatment at the time, and that has side effects that present their own long term problems. Letha fought hard to save her and started a Yahoo group on pemphigus that was joined by people from around the world. A vet in Florida who had invented a treatment called Transfactor heard of the group and Sierra; he had previously had some success treating and saving less severe cases than Sierra and wanted to try and save her as a test of his Transfactor treatment. The treatment was a success and we gave Sierra a year off on a vet friend's ranch in north central Arizona to make a full recovery. She returned to us in good health and in 2012 I rode her in Monument Valley as seen in the picture above. In early 2013 she had a bit of a relapse, but the transfactor again successfully controled it. We elected to offer her to Dr. Tesky, the vet friend who had her on his ranch previously. He had been very impressed with her (his only Morgan experience) and her story fighting to survive this horrible disorder. He is a big proponent of barefooting horses and holds clinics on it which we have attended. He wanted to add Sierra's story, which has helped save numerous horses around the world to his curriculum and help spread the word of an alternative to putting down horses with this disorder as is most commonly done now. So, Sierra is now the poster child of the fight against pemphigus foliaceus, and meanwhile doing what Morgans do best with Dr. Tesky and his kids on his ranch; being a wonderful horse! Update: August 10, 2014 We were heartbroken to learn a few days ago that Sierra had a severe relapse of the pemphigus a few months ago and despite Dr. Tesky's best efforts he was unable to control it. Sierra was rapidly losing weight and suffering. With great regret he put her down on a hill on his ranch overlooking Ash Canyon. She was a wonderful horse and she will be missed. Dream Catcher Sierra Sun 2004 Chestnut Mare (The Scandinavian X S A Danielle)
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
.jpg)
