I’ll start with the good news about Bea. She has been doing well at the animal hospital, and after a close evaluation, it has been determined that no further treatment is needed. 

Merlin typically doesn’t play with Bea the way Kate would, so I’m sure all the downtime has been beneficial for Bea’s shoulder. 

Merlin had imaging and blood work done, and the results are reassuring: no fractures, no infections, and no need for surgery. Phew!

With those out of the way, it was discovered that the claw (toe) I thought looked wonky showed minor structural changes on imaging. As such, he’s been diagnosed with Osteitis (inflamed bone). 

It takes a long time for minor structural changes to show up, and by then, there’s a lot of pain in that spot. Merlin’s past is the reason for his troubles now. The neglect he suffered continues to haunt him despite being in our care for over a year and a half. 

The reason is that when a goat’s hooves are severely neglected, they grow too long and into weird shapes. The weight of the goat then stops being spread evenly across the foot, and certain areas take way more pressure than they’re meant to. The uneven pressure affects the hoof wall but also travels upward straight into the small bones inside the claw.  

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Photos: 2024, Merlin arrived at Lily’s Place in a heartbreaking state

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In other words, because Merlin’s hooves were such a mess when he arrived, he would have walked at odd angles due to how his hooves grew out when they weren’t being trimmed regularly. He then shifted his weight to avoid the pain, which caused an overload on the claw that’s bothering him. When one area (like the claw that’s bothering him now) keeps getting stressed repeatedly, the bone underneath it becomes irritated and inflamed (aka osteitis).

Getting Merlin’s hooves back to a reasonable length, improving his angles, and working on his foot health have been ongoing processes. Unfortunately, inflammation can persist for a long time after the outward (and obvious) parts of the neglect have been addressed (like getting his hooves back to a better length and angles). 

This is especially true for Merlin because he picked up “protective” moments (a habit of compensating) that is now how he walks day-to-day.

Thankfully, his fabulous vet at AVC has a good plan for him, which includes a few extra tests before coming home to check for selenium or vitamin E deficiencies, which could be contributing factors. 

Merlin will also try a new medication that’s better for bone pain. Once home, he’ll stay inside where it’s flat and dry for about a month to rest his claw while the inflammation goes down. Thankfully, our barn is set up to allow Merlin still to have a great view, lots of fresh air and lie in a sunbeam if he so chooses. 

Merlin and Beatrice are cleared to go home, but they’ll stay at the hospital a bit longer while we sort out all the ice on our road! Right now, it’s not safe to take a trailer up or down.