Don’t Keep Time, more lovingly called Barklee, was found through a Facebook ad seeking a new home for him. When I contacted his owner I found out they needed to relocate him quickly. I made the 5 hour drive and found him alone, underweight, with 5 month old front shoes in a muddy barbed-wire pasture with no shelter. He had odd scar tissue on a knee that concerned me when I left for home, but I could not find a local vet who would do mobile x-rays. Running out of time, I decided to bite the bullet and just work off of my initial assessment of him as a re-sale prospect instead of seeing him go to a buyer that would likely send him to slaughter.
He had a promising start. I addressed his dreadful body and hoof condition, and slowly started him in a light work program. After about 3 months I noticed that a mild lameness began to present. After a veterinary exam and x-rays it was confirmed that he had an old chip in his knee that had caused significant arthritis. A specialist review confirmed he was not a candidate for surgery. I wasn’t ready to quit right then; I put him on an anti-inflammatory and tried to moderate his work for the next six months.
Unfortunately, his personality required more work than the medication could help with. Barklee’s attempt for a second career was becoming unfair to him and I knew it was time to face facts: he needed to be retired. He had given all he could, and while he couldn’t stay sound to ride, he is sound for pasture at this time. The arthritis will eventually take him to a point of no return, but until then he is enjoying the free-rein herd life at Six Springs Ranch.