Off to Rockley Farm (hopefully)

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DGIN

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Hi!

Well if you have read my other posts you will know that my horse has Navicular, anyway after 10 months of trying heart bars etc and him never been 100% on a circle I have decided to take him to Rockley Farm (if all goes to plan) as I have heard great reviews about it. The vet is coming out to him next Wednesday to assess him so that that the vet and Rockley Farm can speak about ginge, then hopefully he will be on his way asap.

:-)

I know many of you said in the first place barefoot is the way forward but I didn’t believe it! After persevering with heart bars etc i’m going to give it a go as I don’t believe he can never be sound on a circle ever again ( as the old vet said)!! x
 
Can't remember how yours was diagnosed (xrays, nerve blocks, MRI) but hopefully he is a suitable candidate and Rockley helps as much as it did me and Frankie.

I never thought I'd do anything more that gentle hacking in walk if I was lucky this time last year, but in the last 2 weeks we have been out to another dressage competition and had a jumping lesson as well as his long hacks and schooling sessions.
 
Wow thats good to know that there is hope!

He had X-rays and nerve blocks, I am looking forward to it all as I would love to even just be able to do a dressage test again, in shoes it was going to be a lifetime of straight lines which wouldn’t be easy in a dressage test! Do you have any picture of his feet before and after? How long was Frankie at Rockley Farm for? Was he completely sound when he was ready to come home? I have so many questions sorry! x
 
There's lots about us on the website if you do a search but here's a couple showing his feet changes

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-difference.html

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/10/tracking-changes.html

He was there 4 months and when I brought him back he was assessed as sound on a 20m circle on concrete by my vet.

He was already in quite a bit of work when I got him home and I've built on that and waited till he had grown a whole new hoof before I started jumping and dressage in the school.

Frankie had an MRI which showed soft tissue damage and had been lame for 18 months when he went to Rockley, I hope the discussions with the vet and Nic go well and they decide it will help yours.
 
Thanks for that, the difference is amazing and to think that you are able to jump etc now! My vet which I previously had was a bit backwards at coming forward, she was very much heart bars and that’s it. I have now just changed vets which is bad timing which is why they are coming out to asses him as they haven’t seen him before. Anyway I really hope it all works out and will keep updating on here as I love reading how other people get on so I hope people will find it interesting to see how I get on! If ginge goes it will be a case of dropping him off and leaving him as it will be a 5 hour drive so I will miss him:-( but it’s for the best! Fingers crossed x
 
I used to travel down by train every few weeks and stay overnight at a B & B, ride Sun am and get a train home.

Cost me a fortune in train fares, taxis and the B & B but I was saving money on livery.
 
My rehab didn't go to Rockley but I learnt about them direct from Nic and he is out hacking, jumping and regularly competing at dressage. I'll hope you'll be joining the gang soon, there are plenty of us!
 
Fantastic news, my boy Bailey W has just come back from Rockley, i have posted a few days back, with pics of him cantereing ont he beach. Our final day at Rockley was out hunting on Exmoor. Bailey has gone from strength to strength and i was also told that he would never be sound and to pts!!!!!!!!!!!!! well he is now sound on the straight and a circle and he will be jumping next year. Nic is brilliant and will do everything in her power to help you and your horse. Take a look at her blog my horse is BaileyW, for me it's a dream come true as he was lame for 2 years! and no vet could fix him!

Lx
 
DGIN said:
Hi!

Well if you have read my other posts you will know that my horse has Navicular, anyway after 10 months of trying heart bars etc and him never been 100% on a circle I have decided to take him to Rockley Farm (if all goes to plan) as I have heard great reviews about it. The vet is coming out to him next Wednesday to assess him so that that the vet and Rockley Farm can speak about ginge, then hopefully he will be on his way asap.

:-)

I know many of you said in the first place barefoot is the way forward but I didn’t believe it! After persevering with heart bars etc i’m going to give it a go as I don’t believe he can never be sound on a circle ever again ( as the old vet said)!! x
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If it wasn't out of order, I would be a little smug as I called it from the beginning. I knew you'd be back;)

I'm so pleased you're going to try barefoot.

I am sure you'll be amazed and delighted and enjoying yourselves in no time:)
 
Ha-ha well you can be as smug as you like!! I have had ging for 9 years and he has always has shoes on, so for me to take them off was a hard decision and at the beginning I didn’t understand why it would be better, as I suppose all people are who don’t know much about Navicular probably think. I thought people would laugh at him going barefoot as people think - it’s only for natives etc but after seeing the blogs at Rockley it has totally changed my mind and helped me understand that it can be done and who cares if anyone laughs as a TB going barefoot, it’s their problem as they obviously don’t understand!! I hope that I have as much success as Frankie & Bailey! I have taken some pictures of his feet this morning and they aren't looking good so I wish the whole process would hurry up!! x
 
Well I first posted 2 years ago when we did the MRI and someone suggested barefoot and I looked at Frankie's feet and thought no way - after all this was the horse who had to wear hoofboots just to transport him to the MRI.
I followed the traditional advice and a year later he wasn't staying sound when I brought him back into work.
I heard about Rockley about a year ago and contacted Nic then, iif it was closer I would have signed him up then but it took till after christmas to make my mind up and he went in Feb.

It might have taken us a while to get there but we got there in the end.
 
It's why barefooters get such a reputation for being cultish and over zealous. They KNOW it is worth a shot and they really believe it will help the horse so they bang the drum. But everyone has THAT horse the could NEVER go without shoes. And then the argument starts.....:)

After 6 years of being barefoot and being regarded with suspicion, I now just keep my mouth shut. People come to the decision when they are ready. No-one is going to go against the vet and farrier they trust on the word of a rasp waving weirdo like me.

Now you've made the decision, you'll be so impatient to get it all in motion;)

There is no if - Nic WILL fix him and you'll be back to normal in no time. Start planning next summer's shows;)
 
Thanks for that, just looked into my insurance and he is only covered for Accidental injury (veteran cover with NFU :-S) so it looks like ill be saving all my pennies for ginger!! He is worth it though but will have to be a bit more carfull with what i spend. I am getting quite excited really looking foward to the whiole process!! x
 
anyway after 10 months of trying heart bars etc and him never been 100%
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Well, I wish that I had a Rockley farm up here for my ginger boy - I've had to fix him on my own.

Being bare is the way to go - if all man's efforts fail, then let nature have a go herself - she knows what she is doing :)

Nic is amazing, and you'll find it a real experience, but she ain't doing anything black magic or way out there - She gets the environment, movement, diet and trim right and all the other pieces fall into place - create the circumstances that let healing take place.

I really hope it works out well for you and your boy. I have seen a huge transformation in my chap since going barefoot. In all sorts of ways - not just his feet.
 
Another Rockley rehab. here - just completed a week's horsemanship course including riding every day for five days with Storm seven months after being given a "poor" prognosis and advised to have him put down by the vets. He came back from Rockley sound in walk, trot and canter, and we've been hacking between 9 and 20 miles a week over varied terrain for the last three months. Still plenty of work to do to get those hooves completely healthy and rock-crunching in our home environment, but without Rockley Farm and Nic he wouldn't be doing anything at all. It took me almost a year of dealing with several vets (we're almost double figures now) before I could even get an MRI, so in that time his condition had deteriorated further. Listen to your new vet, and persist in what you want. My insurance had more or less run out by the time I got the go ahead, but Rockley is the only "treatment" Storm had which actually helped him back to soundness! Big leap of faith, I know.
 
Hi,
My boy is currently rehabbing at Rockley :)
When I sent him down there, there was a lot of scepitism from both my vet and farrier (plus a lot of other horsey people I know!!) but he has been there 2 months now and is doing really well :) I was told he wouldnt make it through the summer so this is a huge achievement already for him :)
It takes me just over 4 hours to get there and costs me a fortune too in petrol, food and B&Bs but it is definately worth it!! I might see Ginge down there as am seeing Soli in a couple of weeks :D providing the snow doesnt block us out!!
 
Yes hopefully you will see Ging there!! I will be going down a few times but its costing me a fortune already so it will have to be a few even though is like to be there every weekend! Vet here Wednesday so i will know for def then when he can go :-) x Got a quote of £300 to take him down which isn't too bad, well a lot of money on top tho! x
 
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