gccalacey1

    Jayne felt she needed to do something for this sweet natured filly, so she developed a plan for Lacey’s benefit. As owner of Rancho del Rio Stables in Anaheim, she knew she could provide a home for Lacey, and could pay for her surgery, but she couldn’t provide for the filly’s recuperation. Once the extra hoof was removed, Lacey would require daily hand-walking, periodic bandage changes, and even medications. Jayne would not be able to do this every day. But she knew someone who could.
     Rancho del Rio Stables has a nonprofit organization on the premises called Earth Connections. Headquartered in Gold Point, Nevada, this group’s mission is to conserve wildlife and other natural resources, and to preserve the history of the Old West. Contacting Ava Roberts, their horse care program facilitator, Jayne explained Lacey’s situation and asked for help. Ava offered to provide volunteers who would care for Lacey after surgery as part of their program.
     Once all of the arrangements for Lacey had been made, Jayne approached her owners. She offered to pay for Lacey’s surgery if the owners would give her to Jayne. Soon Lacey was in a trailer, bound for Anaheim.

   Sometimes evolution forgets to move forward and takes a step backward instead. Such was the case with a little paint filly who was born two summers ago in Lancaster, California. Little Lacey’s right front leg had decided that it needed to return to the days when horses had multiple digits. So it grew an extra hoof off of the cannon bone, on the inside of the leg.
     When Jayne Jones met Lacey two years ago, her owners were pointing out the foal’s unusual right leg. But what Jayne saw was a pretty filly with a sparkle in her eye. She never forgot the little paint with the big attitude, and would ask about her periodically. She felt that Lacey had the temperament and the build to make a good show horse, if only she didn’t have that extra hoof.
     Hearing two years later that the hoof had never been removed, Jayne became concerned. Although a fifth hoof is not life threatening, it can undermine a horse’s quality of life. For most of them, it is an annoyance that is constantly rubbed and kicked when the horse moves. For a horse like Lacey, it was a roadblock that prevented her from fulfilling her potential.

Lacey's foot before surgery.

   Surgical Star
      Lacey was first evaluated by Dr. David Tresser of Equine Veterinary Associates. The x-rays showed the extra hoof to be fully formed, including the coffin bone. Lacey’s evaluation, along with the x-rays, were then sent to Dr. Ted Fisher of the Chino Valley Equine Hospital, who recommended surgery after reviewing all of the evidence.
     On October 11th, Lacey made the trip to the hospital, accompanied by Jayne, Ava, trainer Denise Schreyer and Lacey’s best pasture friend, Dancer. Some of the students from the stable also went to the hospital to offer their support, and the procedure was witnessed by some of the veterinary students at Chino Valley Equine.