Severely foundered horse

["Rachel Ward" <rward@peppersnet.com>]

Hi all,

I have the opportunity to adopt a horse, who is severely foundered.  He is around 12 years old and has been turned out for the past 4 years.  (since foundering)  He is extremely lame at the moment and thrushes constantly, also, it seems that his "bad" foot doesn't grow very much at all.  The other foot is fairly sound.  I don't know what the rotation in his hoof is like, but it's got to be pretty darn bad.  My question is, can anything be done for him at this stage of the game?  I feel really sorry for him and if I could help him at least enough so that he was comfortable and able to be ridden for short periods of time, I would give him a home.  He hasn't had any special shoeing or anything and he is very thin right now.  That is another concern, what can I feed him to fatten him up without re-foundering him?  I am sure he would never be an endurance horse but I might be able to do something else with him.  BTW, he foundered as the result of being accidentally given an intravaneous shot of  a drug which was being given to him to treat a bad gash on one of his feet. 

If I don't take him he'll probably just languish in a pasture for the rest of his life and he used to be a real neat riding horse.  Thanks in advance.

Rachael & Cien & one more?