Getting a referral for Rockley Farm from vet

This is the hard bit .i agree it's very difficult .
I had a horse with a ligament tear in the foot .
We box rested him for twelve weeks he came sound and we started again from there that was BBF ( before bare foot )
 
I think walking can help provide a more functional repair rather than the formation of hard scar tissue. We were advised to walk out mare in hand from day one of box rest for a suspensory ligament injury for instance. Plenty of athletes would keep going within reason.
 
I did the whole box rest thing with Frank but it didn't help in the slightest and as soon as he was brought back into the smallest bit of work he would go lame again. I went through 18 months of this before I heard about Rockley.

Even for non foot related tendon and ligament injuries, once you are past the initial acute stage, many vets will advocate gentle walking to help the fibres heal in the correct alignment. For feet it has the added benefit that it will strengthen the foot and hopefully get the horse landing correctly.

When deciding who will help you, farrier or trimmer, then you need to find someone who has experience of rehabbing these injuries barefoot. Then hopefully they can support and advise you at each step.
 
criso said:
I did the whole box rest thing with Frank but it didn't help in the slightest and as soon as he was brought back into the smallest bit of work he would go lame again. I went through 18 months of this before I heard about Rockley.

Even for non foot related tendon and ligament injuries, once you are past the initial acute stage, many vets will advocate gentle walking to help the fibres heal in the correct alignment. For feet it has the added benefit that it will strengthen the foot and hopefully get the horse landing correctly.

When deciding who will help you, farrier or trimmer, then you need to find someone who has experience of rehabbing these injuries barefoot. Then hopefully they can support and advise you at each step.
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Was he barefoot when he was lame for 18 months??
Eek!
 
criso said:
No shod by one of the best remedial farriers around and following vets advice to the letter.

If you read the stories on the blog, this story is very typical of many of the horses that go there.
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Okay, good to know. My farrier is so open to the idea he's fab.
 
Michen said:
Okay, good to know. My farrier is so open to the idea he's fab.
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He might be but unless he has experience of rehabbing horses with these of injuries barefoot, he may not be the best person to help you.

When Frankie came back from Rockley, I went through 3 farriers who overtrimmed leaving him sore before I found my current trimmer.
 
Michen said:
Okay, good to know. My farrier is so open to the idea he's fab.
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Open to the idea is great, don't get me wrong, but farriers don't cover working barefoot feet or rehab in their training, nor any of the diet stuff. I'm not farrier bashing at all but to rehab a horse you need an experienced trimmer, someone who has specific training and knowledge in that area IMO. You'll find that most of the owners on here with rehab cases will have had to swap from farrier to trimmer, I know I certainly did.
 
criso said:
No shod by one of the best remedial farriers around and following vets advice to the letter.

If you read the stories on the blog, this story is very typical of many of the horses that go there.
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Scarlett said:
Open to the idea is great, don't get me wrong, but farriers don't cover working barefoot feet or rehab in their training, nor any of the diet stuff. I'm not farrier bashing at all but to rehab a horse you need an experienced trimmer, someone who has specific training and knowledge in that area IMO. You'll find that most of the owners on here with rehab cases will have had to swap from farrier to trimmer, I know I certainly did.
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I completely get this and it may well be that I get an EP in alongside. However a very knowledgable EP on here advised me to not have his feet trimmed for six weeks anyway. If my farrier is open to learning I'm certainly not going to stop him, and I do still value his opinion as he has 20 years of experience under his belt and trims plenty of horses without shoes. That's not so say I won't be taking advice everywhere I can get it, I just won't be booted him off the case on the basis that he has never rehabbed a barefoot horse before. Everyone has to start somewhere and if I feel like I need the help of someone else I'll be picking up the phone.
 
I'm not sure I'd want him learning on my horse though given that he does have other options as a farrier for training.

Mine admitted he hadn't done it before and was perfectly happy that I went elsewhere. Mostly I wanted the extra support that wouldn't just suggest shoes when the horse went sore/could advise on boots (we still have our originals 4 years on) and diet input. Ditto it is best not to trim for a bit once shoes are off anyway.
 
ester said:
I'm not sure I'd want him learning on my horse though given that he does have other options as a farrier for training.

Mine admitted he hadn't done it before and was perfectly happy that I went elsewhere. Mostly I wanted the extra support that wouldn't just suggest shoes when the horse went sore/could advise on boots (we still have our originals 4 years on) and diet input. Ditto it is best not to trim for a bit once shoes are off anyway.
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I agree. If I was in this position I would be looking at references from farriers or trimmers as to how many similar horses they had rehabbed barefoot successfully. You are looking for experience. There will probably be little trimming. You need someone to help you get the feet working.

It takes a very long time for some horses as they have spent so much time being box rested, lame, undergoing tests etc until the insurance money runs out. It is only at that stage that people have to stop and consider the alternatives. Sadly, for many, getting the horse barefoot at the beginning to start the rehab isn't the first option.
 
paddy555 said:
I agree. If I was in this position I would be looking at references from farriers or trimmers as to how many similar horses they had rehabbed barefoot successfully. You are looking for experience. There will probably be little trimming. You need someone to help you get the feet working.

It takes a very long time for some horses as they have spent so much time being box rested, lame, undergoing tests etc until the insurance money runs out. It is only at that stage that people have to stop and consider the alternatives. Sadly, for many, getting the horse barefoot at the beginning to start the rehab isn't the first option.
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Well mine has been in remedial shoes for three weeks and I'm already likely taking the barefoot route :) we shall see what the MRI reveals tomorrow, he's at the vets now.
 
Have seen it and DEFINITELY will be applying, although it doesn't start until 1st June and I will likely be barefooting him from this week if he comes back from the vet...
 
OP I'm not sure you would get that much opposition from your vet - after all it costs them nothing to refer you. Mine was sceptical but agreed when I asked. It's not like he has to fund it like, say the NHS. Or it may be that my vet couldn't actually care less and was just happy I would stop bugging him (:)) for a while. Whatever, best of luck with it.
 
ITPersonnage said:
OP I'm not sure you would get that much opposition from your vet - after all it costs them nothing to refer you. Mine was sceptical but agreed when I asked. It's not like he has to fund it like, say the NHS. Or it may be that my vet couldn't actually care less and was just happy I would stop bugging him (:)) for a while. Whatever, best of luck with it.
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Hey all. So after 12 nerve blocks it would appear he is lame in all four feet. We took the shoes off this afternoon ready for MRI tomorrow as we thought maybe he had some thrush under there causing discomfort. No thrush but he can barely stand on a deep shavings bed, he was literally hobbling around totally crippled

Feeling pretty blue. Even if the MRI doesn't show anything too tragic, how on earth could I even begin to rehab this horse barefoot when he's like that on shavings? Surely it would be completely impossible. Trying really hard to keep positive but the vet said I need to fully prepare myself for the likelihood of putting him down tomorrow.
 
Sending you a hug - don't give up hope just yet - I am sure you will do what is best for him - fingers crossed that the MRI results are positive :)
 
Michen said:
Hey all. So after 12 nerve blocks it would appear he is lame in all four feet. We took the shoes off this afternoon ready for MRI tomorrow as we thought maybe he had some thrush under there causing discomfort. No thrush but he can barely stand on a deep shavings bed, he was literally hobbling around totally crippled

Feeling pretty blue. Even if the MRI doesn't show anything too tragic, how on earth could I even begin to rehab this horse barefoot when he's like that on shavings? Surely it would be completely impossible. Trying really hard to keep positive but the vet said I need to fully prepare myself for the likelihood of putting him down tomorrow.
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Bute, boots and specially made pads, 24/7 if needs be. And get him on the best spec mineral balancer you can find. Equivita/forageplus/progressive earth all do good ones.
 
I'm so very sorry to read this. :(

I agree with FCob's suggestion of bute, boots and pads. I really hope that you are able to get him comfortable, poor chap.
 
Thats not completely surprising. I had to take Frankie's shoes off before he was taken for the MRI, as the farrier came weekly on a monday and the MRI was towards the end of the week he was without shoes a few days. I bought hoof boots for him and he wore those. By the time it came to the MRI he was already coping better. At that point I hadn't heard of Rockley so I followed vet's advice of box rest and remedial farriery so the shoes went back on a week later.
 
Bonkers2 said:
This is bad news, maybe he will be better tomorrow, is he on bute for a few days?
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Faracat said:
I'm so very sorry to read this. :(

I agree with FCob's suggestion of bute, boots and pads. I really hope that you are able to get him comfortable, poor chap.
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It is beyond heartbreaking. And it makes me so so cross. Poor ****** was still running in races at the beginning of November. The MRI will reveal more... But I'm not optimistic. However, I will not be making any decisions (unless it's very obvious he will never come sound) until I've spoken to rockley.
 
If you buy boots you can pad out he will be as if not more comfortable than he is in shoes.

You can sell these boots on if you no longer need them.

From what I've learned on here that horse would be coming home and I'd be giving it a shot at low cost homemade rehab whatever the vet says tomorrow.

I'd follow the Rockley process as closely as possible (note they don't trim them...!) and see if he improves. If not you won't be wondering if there was something else you could have tried. There's a poster on this forum who lost two horses to navicular and regrets not knowing then what she knows now about barefoot rehab everyday, from what she told me.
 
My heart broke over my boy, to the point where my work was suffering as I was soo bloody stressed about it! Hes out on loan now and sound over all surfaces boot free :) I keep saying it, and dont know if you have seen, but diet was key for mine. I have another horse, rock crunching sound even when suffering border line neglect, fat as a pig and full of thrush. Not on my watch when he was on loan, but he was still rock crunching! But the big cob CANNOT cope without supplements. He really, really cant! I know a lot of people feed a lot of stuff for seemingly no reason, but I cannot empasise enough how important diet is!

Cleantrax his feet, it costs £15 and will be worth it! Change his diet, no alfaalfa, a GOOD mineral balancer with high copper and zinc and NO iron, and get him pads made for him, not generic ones. And then get those boots and pads on and walk him. As many miles as you can manage! he can probably manage the boots and pads 24/7 at least for a little while, and if not, put them on for turnout and get him in during the day in a deep bed.

He can be fixed, honestly!
 
Mine ended up with an inpatient stay at horsepital, cost over a grand for 3 days! The only reason it didnt cost more is they sent him home as he had sweetitch and within 48 hours of being there he was ripping himself to shreds, and I didnt want to go down the route of MRIs etc. For me there was no point. I knew he was lame in all 4 feet, so an MRI wouldnt have done anything other than give me concrete things to cry about!
 
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