Anxiously waiting to hear back!

ycbm said:
She's very well bred! Daddy won a lot of money, nearly 2 million.

New Approach is by Galileo. If I'm not mistaken @nikkimariet 's Fig was by him and he was as tough as old boots and talented at dressage on top and retired from racing at the same age.
.
Click to expand...
I wonder if Galileo puts some toughness into them. We have a 13 year old who’s grandsire is Galileo and he is hard as nails!
 
nutjob said:
If you put shoes on and she's still lame then time for a rethink.

Can you get her previous vet history and / or contact the trainer to see if she has any prior accident or injury?
Click to expand...

Would you stick a full set on? I mean I was wanting to try her barefoot but I guess to make a proper assessment she probably needs to be shod..

As she came direct from the trainer, they said she’s not had any lameness or any vet history apart from jabs etc.

I did see 3 races from last in 2024 she didn’t race due to ‘knocked joint’ but she raced 3 times after and finished.
 
Hormonal Filly said:
Would you stick a full set on? I mean I was wanting to try her barefoot but I guess to make a proper assessment she probably needs to be shod..

As she came direct from the trainer, they said she’s not had any lameness or any vet history apart from jabs etc.

I did see 3 races from last in 2024 she didn’t race due to ‘knocked joint’ but she raced 3 times after and finished.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t rush to put shoes on if the feet look a good shape and in good condition. So long as you assess her on a sensible surface it shouldn’t matter.
 
I can't see any reason to put shoes on to assess lameness. Flat smooth concrete surfaces and or arena surfaces shouldn't affect a horse that's already had the shoes off for 6 months, even a TB.

I'd also flex before shoeing because if flexing makes it worse, it's not the lack of shoes causing it.
.
 
Last edited:
So she had an injury, then raced 3 more times where she didn't perform well(?) Then they retired her, without finding out why?

I'm cynical I'm afraid because this is such a common story. "They lost the love for the game." "They never performed to the expected level". But nobody tries to find out why, they just retire them.

The first was said about my last TB, who I found to have a many years old sesamoid fracture with extensive fetlock arthritis.

The second about the one before that, who had extensive arthritis in C4/5, C5/6 and C6/7 (and scars that had been hidden under a winter coat from a head to tail fight with wire, by the look of it.)

I hope you can get a quick confirmation that she's lame and send her back before she takes a grip on your heart. Or that she's just a bit footsore but definitely sound. And nothing in between!
.
 
But also keep in mind she has been galloping down stony tracks, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume she has some foot bruising going on in addition to whatever she may/may not have arrived with.

You have taken on a freebie that has raced for a number of years. You need to go into this expecting to spend some time and money getting her right. If you aren’t prepared for that then send her back and apologise to the people who have given you a free trial.
 
Stony, and even firm ground on a horse with soft or thin soles can and will absolutely cripple some horses. I have one. I really don't subscribe to the theory that every horse should or will be sound without shoes if they've always been in them - I walk very differently on stones and hard ground if I'm barefoot!
 
maya2008 said:
In an arena/on a flat grassy surface you should be fine to trot up without shoes. I would do that asap to see what is going on.
Click to expand...

I’ve asked my vet if she can come out in the next week, possibly Thursday as she’s on the yard then.

ihatework said:
But also keep in mind she has been galloping down stony tracks, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume she has some foot bruising going on in addition to whatever she may/may not have arrived with.

You have taken on a freebie that has raced for a number of years. You need to go into this expecting to spend some time and money getting her right. If you aren’t prepared for that then send her back and apologise to the people who have given you a free trial.
Click to expand...

Definitely.. I don’t mind spending time and money getting her right, I really want this to work out! I already feel attached to her.. she is a really gentle sweet mare. I’ve booked the saddle fitter and oestopath, but if she is lame after over 6 months in the field surely that’s not right?

These videos the vet seen were taken prior to she move and the escape happened.
 
Last edited:
Jenko109 said:
Can we see the videos?

Understand if you don't want to share, I just enjoy a game of lame or no lame.
Click to expand...

I’ve just uploaded the videos to YouTube. Don’t really want to post on the public forum but happy to send the link to anyone who would like to see.

I’ll send them to you now Jenko.
 
You can replicate the vetting tests yourself including the small circles on hard and soft and video them whilst she's unshod. Watching in slow motion can also tell you a lot. If she's lame even on a soft surface then she's lame. If only on a hard surface I would try her with shoes and repeat this. If she's sound in shoes, get the vet to do a thorough exam with xrays / ultrasound of anything suspect.

Personally, I wouldn't get the vet out until I'd done this, but on the other hand, if the vet is on the yard then they could pick up something on exam which is a deal breaker and you can send her back before spending too much more money.

I had one who had shoes off over the winter and was never 100% hacking on roads without boots. Another has had to have front shoes on as I don't hack him regularly now and his flat feet have got thinner soles as a result, that's after years of being barefoot.

I'd like to see the video if you don't mind sending me the link.
 
I'm no good at spotting lameness. Was more for learning for me.

Be interesting to see what others say, so then I can try and see what they see, although hopefully there is nothing to be seen!
 
I can't see a front leg lameness myself but I do think there's something going on with the hindquarters which isn't from being footsore.
 
I’m not going to look at the videos.

The reason being, that in this situation it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the horse was mildly off (and I say mildly because she clearly wasn’t sufficiently for you to see it when you viewed her).

It will be almost impossible to give an opinion on a horse that has had 6 months off following a long racing career (that sounds like there was some loss of performance leading to retirement)

This is what hand on orthopaedic vet assessments are for and in this sort of situation would be the first thing to do before spending money on saddlers and osteopaths, that is a waste of money until you get any underlying wonkiness straightened out.

And given she has now been galloping over stony tracks I’d wait until you think she is reasonably ok on smooth tarmac and school surface before assessing fully.
 
ihatework said:
This is what hand on orthopaedic vet assessments are for and in this sort of situation would be the first thing to do before spending money on saddlers and osteopaths, that is a waste of money until you get any underlying wonkiness straightened out.

And given she has now been galloping over stony tracks I’d wait until you think she is reasonably ok on smooth tarmac and school surface before assessing fully.
Click to expand...

I will of course cancel the saddler and oestopath, but because I really couldn’t see any lameness when I viewed her I thought I could book the saddler so I had something I could start to use in a few weeks after some groundwork. I guess I got excited and carried away!

I haven't got around to insuring her yet, but have the funds I was going to spend on a horse that I'm more than happy to spend on her if needed. If something needs medicating, happy to do that.

The vet is at our yard on Thursday looking at two others and has said she can fit me in after, although keeping in mind what happened Sunday, but I think its worth her having a look/feel. Could always review in a few weeks again.

She always stands square and she lifts her feet up to be picked out, although did notice her back end clicks a lot.
 
Last edited:
ycbm said:
So she had an injury, then raced 3 more times where she didn't perform well(?) Then they retired her, without finding out why?

I'm cynical I'm afraid because this is such a common story. "They lost the love for the game." "They never performed to the expected level". But nobody tries to find out why, they just retire them.

The first was said about my last TB, who I found to have a many years old sesamoid fracture with extensive fetlock arthritis.

The second about the one before that, who had extensive arthritis in C4/5, C5/6 and C6/7 (and scars that had been hidden under a winter coat from a head to tail fight with wire, by the look of it.)

I hope you can get a quick confirmation that she's lame and send her back before she takes a grip on your heart. Or that she's just a bit footsore but definitely sound. And nothing in between!
.
Click to expand...

Same with my boy, won twice I think then jacked it in. He had horrific foot pain, which was fixable and he came sound and stayed sound. But he was retired as he "didn't want to do it". Nope, he didn't as his feet were so sore. But it doesn't always have to be something catastrophic so Ive got everything crossed!
 
9tails said:
Insure her now, before the vet visit. Whatever she finds won't be covered if you insure after.
Click to expand...


It's not insurable now. The vet has said the horse is lame. That would be insurance fraud. Also it wouldn't be covered unless they wait 14 days to investigate and that would be both unethical and not a good move for a horse on loan.
 
ycbm said:
It's not insured now. The vet has said the horse is lame. That would be insurance fraud. Also it wouldn't be covered unless they wait 14 days to investigate and that would be both unethical and not a good move for a horse on loan.
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking.

I'm waiting for SEIB to email me with some quotes but I wouldn't be able to claim for this.
 
Hope all turns out ok, at least you have a trial to test her out. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is footsore if shoes have been taken off and she isn’t on the right diet for her feet and she was being run up on gravel
 
splashgirl45 said:
Hope all turns out ok, at least you have a trial to test her out. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is footsore if shoes have been taken off and she isn’t on the right diet for her feet and she was being run up on gravel
Click to expand...

I really hope so too.. 🙁 she was still being fed racehorse cubes.

I did take some front feet pictures this morning. I can see she’s long in the toe but not the best with feet.

IMG_3558.jpeg


IMG_3561.jpeg
 
ooh I wouldnt expect those feet to be sound trotting up on a rough surface. long toe, no heel and I bet the underneath, ie sole shot would show some not nice stuff. The angles weird and my head doesn't like trying to mentally straighten things, but it looks like there's no real digital cushion and there will be caudal heel pain. They look like my boys when I got him. They did some right but it took boots and pads and a lot of very careful trimming every few days for ages. Oh and a major diet overhaul.
 
I'm Dun said:
ooh I wouldnt expect those feet to be sound trotting up on a rough surface. long toe, no heel and I bet the underneath, ie sole shot would show some not nice stuff. The angles weird and my head doesn't like trying to mentally straighten things, but it looks like there's no real digital cushion and there will be caudal heel pain. They look like my boys when I got him. They did some right but it took boots and pads and a lot of very careful trimming every few days for ages. Oh and a major diet overhaul.
Click to expand...


Agree, also one foot run forwards and the other much less and vastly different heel heights. I wouldn't expect her to be level, but for free and with her history I'd expect to be able to fix her with a barefoot rehab, but she is a rehab.
.
 
They're way, way better than my mare's were when she arrived. She wouldn't have handled walking over gravel when her shoes were first off, but now I might be able to get away with only booting in front. It's taken about a year, but she has been loafing around in the field since September, when I took the fronts off.

I think those feet will come right with a bit of effort.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top