April 26 th 2004

My clients, Bob and Marilyn Hyde, came in for their tax appointment on March 24th 2004 with a question about the tax liability on the sale of their registered Dorsett breeding herd. When I questioned them about the reason of the sale they told me that their neighbor had fallen sick and needed help in lambing out his flock so the Hyde's agreed to let the neighbor's flock come to their farm. After the lambing process, the ewes and lambs of both flocks were allowed to go in and out of a barn to graze on early pasture and were fed in feed troughs outside. The Hyde's noticed that many of their sheep started limping while eating at the troughs. The ewes would alternate holding up one of their feet out of the mud. Their foot & hoof region was very tender to the touch and certainly showed the symptoms of "foot rot."

When I analyzed the taxation of this loss I knew it would be large because the average cost of these ewes was between $600.00 and $800.00 per head and furthermore they explained that 200-pound ewes with these foot symptoms were worth a cull price of $0.17 per pound. A huge economic and tax loss!

I informed the Hyde's that I knew of a product they should try before they culled their herd. On Saturday March 27th 2004 I took 25 lbs. of On Guard to them and they used the product as needed according to the directions. With the help of a trimming table, they trimmed the hooves and then patted the product around and in between the hooves. The herd was then allowed to continue the same routine of going from barn to pasture and feeding at the same troughs.

On Saturday April 3rd 2004 I called the Hyde's to see how their ewes were responding to the treatment. Marilyn informed me that in two days after the treatment the ewes quit limping and holding up their sore feet as they ate. The ewes in general were doing fine. A phone conversation three weeks later with Marilyn also told the same story; the ewes were doing fine without any further treatment.

Needless to say the Hyde's are very grateful for the results of this treatment and their ability to keep their breeding flock intact. Moreover, they haven't gone without the presence of On Guard in their facilities since the incident because of their successful experience. In the end, selling their flock wasn't their only option.

Rodney Heimer