Scott Smith
This is the story of Brumby, a medium cob/welsh pony who was rescued by a kind, wonderful woman from a kill pen in Eugene, Oregon, and taken to Equine Outreach Rescue Incorporated in Bend, Oregon. When Brumby arrived she could hardly walk because she had foundered on all four feet. While there for about one year, she received veterinary care and farrier trims.
Our only child, Kate, and son-in-law had moved to Bend almost 20 years ago, and when it came time for my husband to retire we decided to move to Bend to be closer to them. (Yes, they wanted us there — even the son-in-law!) Kate had been volunteering at Equine Outreach Rescue for a year or so, and I happily went along with her to visit the horses. The minute I locked eyes on Brumby I knew she had to be mine. We spent a few months building fences, buying water/feed buckets, enclosing an overhang to create a cozy stall, etc., at Kate's farm. We adopted Brumby and she came home on July 31, 2014.
We had no real experience with farriers in the area, so the first few we tried didn't work out very well. Brumby was still very lame, and it was breaking my heart. Then our trusted vet, Dr. Paul Edmunds of Cinder Rock Vet Clinic in Redmond, Oregon, suggested we call Scott Smith, a local farrier from Bend whom he trusted very highly.
Scott arrived and did a lot of trimming on that first visit, lowering Brumby's heels. We saw immediate improvement, and the X-rays Dr. Edmunds took a month afterwards showed dramatic changes in the way her bones were more upright. Brumby was feeling better day-by-day. Scott next glued heart-bar shoes on Brumby's hooves, resulting in even more improvement. Several trimmings later, Scott removed the shoes to allow her to go barefoot.
Brumby can now walk, at a decent pace, without bobbing her head and not wanting to stop every 20 feet because she is hurting. It is truly a miracle what Scott has done for her. Just three months before, my daughter and I had had a discussion about putting her down because she seemed to be in so much pain. Scott literally saved my pony!
I wanted a horse badly when I was young, but my parents wouldn't hear of it. So, at the age of 67, I fell in love with a lovely pony, adopted her and will hopefully have her for a very long time. And with Scott's help and expertise, I think I will!
—Judy Churchfield (Bend, Ore.)
The following two videos are brief clips of Brumby's state before and after Scott's intervention.
