Hoofprints in the Sand

Hoofprints in the Sand is raising money for Deetz’s medical care.

This is his story ❤️



Deetz is a 22 year old American Quarter Horse who has resided at Hoofprints in the Sand Rescue since 2019. At the time of surrender he was a retired rodeo pickup horse who was suffering from arthritis and a painful hoof condition called ringbone. Both of these conditions were a direct result of the time he spent doing rodeo. Deetz became a sanctuary horse at Hoofprints and with proper pain management, rest and TLC, his ringbone had calcified and he was doing amazingly well. He even participated in Newberg’s Old Fashioned Festival Parade in 2024, with his favorite little girl riding him.

But on June 10th, 2025 after doing so well, Deetz suddenly went completely lame. Unable to walk at all and in a tremendous amount of pain. After X-rays and blood work it was determined that Deetz had multiple issues that were all working against him. For starters, Deetz had Cushing disease. This adrenal disease causes hormonal imbalances causing his body to produce too much cortisol and interferes with his body’s ability to regulate blood sugar. Since his Cushings wasn’t being managed the excess cortisol was stimulating his liver to produce too glucose which also resulted in Deetz becoming insulin resistant. Now here is where the perfect storm was created for Deetz to go lame. The elevated blood sugar and high levels of insulin resulted in decreased blood supply to his hooves as well as inflammation and separation of the sensitive tissue that attach the hoof wall to the coffin bone. This process is called laminitis. Not only did he have laminitis but his coffin bone started to rotate, which means the tip of his bone is pointing down towards the sole of his hoof instead of pointing straight out in front of him. This is extremely painful and why Deetz was reluctant to take any steps.

For the past couple months Deetz has been undergoing treatment for all of these ailments. He has experienced several setbacks along the way as we tried to find the best course of care for him. But even though there were setbacks, Deetz has bounced back every single time and showed us his true spirit and that he is a fighter! Deetz has been having many good days recently and is on a good path to recovery. This will be a very long process for him, as it takes a lot of time to heal the damage that was caused. Deetz is currently still on stall rest, he sports specialty boots on his front hooves, he’s on a very strict diet and many, many medications. He is in need of updated X-rays to check his progress and so our farrier can give him a corrective trim that we are hopeful will help him even more. Deetz will also need updated blood work to check his insulin and sugar levels and he is also in need of new pair of boots to fit his back hooves properly.

Every contribution, big or small, makes a real impact. Even just a few dollars can help.

If you can’t donate right now, sharing this fundraiser is also incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. It means the world to us.