She looks so relieved 
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Her eyes say Thank you.
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Everyone’s already said it, but I have to say she looks like she’s got a new lease on life in the after bath photos. This is wonderful.
Thank you for bringing us along on this ‘ride’ 
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Matilda is going to be lovely after a month or two in your care! And she looks like she already knows it.
And between reading about her and my other two feel-good-favorite upgrade threads (Bo and Henry the Handyman), I’ve had my faith in humanity restored a little bit, lol! 
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They’re like Batgirl ears! 
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Did your vet recommend any alfalfa for her? I know that’s pretty standard for most starvation/refeeding programs. You could give her several flakes throughout the day.
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Nope. I asked about it, but she said to stick with grass hay because there were some questionable rings on Matilda’s feet. She may have suffered from mild laminitis in the past. Hard to tell. Poor health for awhile can cause a lot of susceptibility to other infections.
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Looking forward to her progress pictures, I’m sure she’ll look like a different animal soon!
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Alfalfa is actually usually low in sugars and is OK with laminitic horses. As long as they are not overweight to begin with - which she is not. I wouldn’t put her on free choice alfalfa but a little everyday would add in amino acids she probably needs for healthier skin and coat.
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I’ll ask the vet when she comes out Friday. I thought she said no to the hay because of her feet, but it might be because she can’t do the sedation to float her teeth until next month (waiting until she’s healthier to tranq her or give her vaccines). That must have been why because she’s on alfalfa pellets mixed with senior feed right now. Sorry.
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Terrifying on a lot of levels
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I wonder if she’d eat the feed wet or soaked.
So many horses benefit from the added hydration of soaked feed, if they’ll eat it.
And alfalfa is beneficial in so many ways.
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If her liver enzyme levels are off, your vet may not want her on too much alfalfa because of the chance she may get burned, more apt to end up with peeling skin from the sun.
From the Veterinary Merc manual:
—“Liver disease can cause photosensitization , a condition in which the skin is unusually sensitive to ultraviolet sunlight. This disorder is caused by increased levels of a light-reactive chemical called phylloerythrin circulating in the bloodstream. Signs can include itching, mild to severe skin disease with reddened skin, extensive fluid accumulation (edema) beneath the skin, skin ulceration and peeling, eye inflammation and tearing, aversion to light, and cloudiness of the cornea. Skin inflammation and edema are particularly evident on nonpigmented, light-colored or hairless areas of the body (such as the lips and white markings on the face or legs) that are exposed to sun. Uncommonly, the underside of the tongue may be affected. Blindness, skin abnormalities, loss of condition, and occasionally death can result.”—
With her being white skinned, that could be a concern of your vet also.
On otherwise healthy horses, alfalfa is what the U of San Diego I think re-feeding protocol indicates is best.
Some medicine hat paints are deaf, can she hear fine?
Even if deaf, horses do well anyway, in fact, there is some deafness in reining horses and trainers say they train and compete better than those that hear.
Matilda is a great name for such a nice mare.
As others have mentioned already, she will look pretty with a bit more weight on her, nice mare you are giving another chance to. 
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She yells for us before she sees us, so no issues with her hearing! 
I didn’t know that about her coloration and deafness.
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That’s really interesting. Our vet is very sharp, so I wouldn’t be surprised. She tells us to do something, it’s a “yes, ma’am”.
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There is deafness associated with one of the Splash White patterns (I think it’s Splash 2) that if the white goes into the inner ear, causes deafness. There is a line of reining horses that have this. Many good ones, regardless of the lack of hearing.
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The congenital deafness in Paints can be found also in splashed white and frame overo color patterns. In fact, two horses I show with regularly are mostly solid colored (one is jet black) except they have some white stockings and a bald or apron white face. The ears are dark, but the skin around the eyes is pink and the eyes are light colored. Both horses still prick their ears, and I honestly didn’t even realize the black horse was deaf until my horse was stabled next to him at the last show. Calling his name or loud noises in general just didn’t affect him in “normal” ways. Otherwise he seemed like a regular horse.
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She will be gorgeous soon enough
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You’re right except for your reference to Frame. Frame doesn’t have anything to do with deafness, it’s the splash. Sorry, spending too much time on the color genetics groups has taught me more than I can remember! LOL
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I love Medicine Hat horses. Bless you OP for finding this girl. She looks like she’s going to be a stunner.
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