Rockley Farm, anyone got any info please?

Bikerchickone

Bikerchickone

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For those of you who have seen my recent posts I've had MRI Scan results back and it's not looking at all positive for my boy. Diagnosis was Bilateral desmitis of the collateral ligaments of the DIP joint, Bilateral pedal osteitis and Bilateral navicular disease.

Unfortunately the recognised treatment for one of the conditions is the exact opposite to the treatment for another so my vet is not sure as yet about what to do. I was expecting the navicular and was already considering Rockley but now I don't know if they will be able to help. I've sent an email to them but in the meantime wondered if anyone on here could tell me anymore about them, or have any of you sent your horses there?

My boy is suffering and so I'd really appreciate any information/advice you may have.

Lots of thanks, jaffa cakes etc to all.
 
I'm afraid I don't know what that is Maggiesmum?

I've had an answer from Nic though, can't believe she was so quick, was expecting to wait a day or two. Feel a bit better in that one of her rehab horses had a similar diagnosis to my boy and is back in full work. I'm not even remotely worried about back into work I just want him to not be hurting any more so I have a little more hope than I did!
 
This is it bikerchickone http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/forum2.php
Very helpful and supportive place, not to mention a mine of info!

Nic is bloomin' brilliant! We took OH mare down there to get advice and Nic was amazing. I have never met such a knowledgeable person who is so generous with their time and advice. If he heads to Rockley then he will be in extremely good hands.
 
Just be aware-they don't lose anything by saying they will try to fix him-like any commercial operationt hey only gain money.
 
SusieT said:
Just be aware-they don't lose anything by saying they will try to fix him-like any commercial operationt hey only gain money.
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Am suprised you are saying that about Rockley. Far more than any place or person I have ever come across, they are truly there for the best of the horse. If our experience is anything to go by (and I have only come across the warmest of praise for them) then it is utterly a bulls**** free zone and the quality and amount of advice and work put into helping your horse and educating the owner is way more than you will ever pay in financial terms. I wouldn't trust anyone like I trust Nic.
 
ThePony said:
This is it bikerchickone http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/forum2.php
Very helpful and supportive place, not to mention a mine of info!

Nic is bloomin' brilliant! We took OH mare down there to get advice and Nic was amazing. I have never met such a knowledgeable person who is so generous with their time and advice. If he heads to Rockley then he will be in extremely good hands.
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Thank you for that, am just having a look through. I must admit I generally a very cautious person in these situations because it is easy to be led into something you think will fix your much loved animal when it actually isn't possible, but so far I like what I've heard about Rockley and I'm really impressed by Nic's quick response.

Obviously I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my boy right but I'm not stupid and I know nobody can guarantee results. I'm happy to go with a chance for him to be right, given that I am told if it's a good chance or not so good. I have the scans so hopefully that will make it easier to tell. Having also just read the rehab section on the Rockley website I don't think £125 a week is exactly extortionate considering they're rehabilitating a lame horse.

Assuming it's a reasonably positive outlook I'm hoping to travel down there to meet Nic and see the yard before committing and that way at least I will be happier about where he'll be and what will be happening. OH might even be happier about getting a couple of days away especially as he's so far footed all the bills for said horse and had to listen to me fall apart with the stress and upset of it all. Think he'll find anything positive worth whatever price it comes at!
 
Good luck with your visit to Rockley I can't see what you would have to lose.
Perhaps a copy of the book Feet FIrst by NIc Barker and Sarah Braithwaite would help yip think it all through.
Also when The BT get inline later you will get lots of relpys I am sure.
no personal experiance except the book was a great help at my mind round it all whenI was taking my boy barefoot.
There are case study's in the book that should give you hope.
 
SusieT said:
Just be aware-they don't lose anything by saying they will try to fix him-like any commercial operationt hey only gain money.
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Mmmmm. Rockleyfarm c £150 a week for 12 - 16 weeks. Many people pay more than that for full livery and shoeing without a barefoot rehab.

Conventional rehab with drugs and remedial shoes - you will exhaust your £5,000 limit and still be paying out, probably forever.

So if we are talking about not trusting people on the basis of how much money they might be going to get out of you, I'd trust Nic, who used to earn a damned sight more in her previous career which she gave up to help horses, before I would go to a vet and farrier combination who have only around one quarter of the success rate of people (not just Rockley) returning a horse to full work as a barefoot rehab.



OP I do not know aboutthe pedalosteitis but I do know that if your diagnosis of navicular has been made on the basis of missing bone from the navicular bone, that it bears very little correlation with lameness in the horse. The last navicular diagnosis I was close to was sound in less than 8 weeks at Rockley, in spite of having received an extremely guarded prognosis from a top Veterinary hospital on the strength of his holey navicular bones. The soft tissue damage can usually be fixed, the holey navicular bone is probably irrelevant.
 
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Thank you all for your replies. Now that I've calmed down a little bit and started thinking instead of panicking the report does say mild to moderate navicular so I'm trying to be hopeful that if we can deal with the swelling in the collateral ligaments then maybe, just maybe the rest will fall into place, with the right help.

Definitely going to talk Hubby into a night away at Rockley so we can check it all out. Only difficulty is going to be finding a B&B with rooms because it's going to have to be the night before Valentine's Day that we go, because that's half term and our daughter will be with her Grandparents.

Thank you all for making me feel a bit better. :)
 
Loads of seaside B&Bs on the coast and nearby Rockley, Exmoor is prime holiday country. I hope you can use the trip to have a little holiday.
 
This place is but a stones throw from Rockley http://www.theoldorchardbedandbreakfastbrayford.co.uk/

Mega friendly lady who, despite us having to cancel last minute (huge stress with failing transport!), didn't charge a penny and wished us luck for our Rockley visit.

If you don't mind being further away, then we spent our summer hols here http://www.staghunters.com/Home.htm...k the most relaxing holiday we have ever had!
 
As always, like when PC world recommend I buy insurance for my own benefit, they may be right but is there actually any horses Rockley say they can't help? Which makes me think hmm..all owners want to hear their horses can be helped so its an easy way to draw them in. Half of these horses probably just need given a good sensible routine and diet which I'm guessing is wha rockley do, in addition to the barefoot stuff to help them stay sound-many owners don't provide this!
 
Sorry to hear about your horses diagnosis - my boy was similar - Pedal Osteitis, DDFT, Navicular, collateral ligaments you name it he had it on MRI end of May 2011.

By 17th June he was at Rockley. Go and meet Nic, I too was impressed at her speedy response/liaison with my vet, but I wasn't sending my horse half way across the country without meeting her - no matter how nice she seemed on phone/email!

When I visited any concerns I had were dispelled. Nic is very generous with her time and willingness to share her knowledge and experience and she takes 5* care of the horses. I learnt so much while Dillon was there, not just about hooves but the whole horse. Of course she can't guarantee your horse will come sound -they are horses and she hasn't seen him yet, but she will give it a bloody good go, and in my mind would be the best person for the job.

Dillon came home from Rockley in October and, while we are still being cautious about what we do, he hacks 4-5 times a week and I have just started to introduce a bit of schooling. Whatever level we get to, he has come so far - much better prognosis than pts which aside from 6 months box rest with ridiculous wedged shoes with a pretty poor chance of being a light hack were the options we faced.

As for price - I live in Kent where livery is expensive anyway, so to my mind it wasn't anymore expensive, especially given that it is not only livery but also rehabilitation - and worth every penny.

As for B&B's I can recommend The Old Orchard in Brayford - brilliant, friendly owner and fantastic breakfast.

Wish you luck whatever you decide to do.
 
SusieT said:
As always, like when PC world recommend I buy insurance for my own benefit, they may be right but is there actually any horses Rockley say they can't help? Which makes me think hmm..all owners want to hear their horses can be helped so its an easy way to draw them in. Half of these horses probably just need given a good sensible routine and diet which I'm guessing is wha rockley do, in addition to the barefoot stuff to help them stay sound-many owners don't provide this!
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Rockley don't deal with horses who have metabolic issues, the horses they rehab are generally horses that usually have 'structural' and balance issues with their feet. This is remedied by removing shoes and providing a conforming and abrasive surface for the horse to find comfort on and stimulate better quality horn growth. Long story short - this then brings the horse sound and puts it on a positive circle of improvement. The horse is capable of correct and comfortable movement which then in turn encorages their feet to grow correctly ... and so on!

It is possible to do this yourself, and Nic offers help with this too, and you can follow her blog. It can be difficult though, especially for most owners who are on livery yards and so simply don't have the freedom to chuck down tonnes of pea gravel. Alot of owners have also been to hell and back watching many treatments fail to help their horse, Rockley is their last chance saloon. Thank god it works.

Take a look at the project dexter results - outcomes graded by the original referring vet. That way you can make your own mind up and see the facts rather than offering supposition on a website! http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/p/research-results.html
 
nic83 said:
Sorry to hear about your horses diagnosis - my boy was similar - Pedal Osteitis, DDFT, Navicular, collateral ligaments you name it he had it on MRI end of May 2011.

By 17th June he was at Rockley. Go and meet Nic, I too was impressed at her speedy response/liaison with my vet, but I wasn't sending my horse half way across the country without meeting her - no matter how nice she seemed on phone/email!

When I visited any concerns I had were dispelled. Nic is very generous with her time and willingness to share her knowledge and experience and she takes 5* care of the horses. I learnt so much while Dillon was there, not just about hooves but the whole horse. Of course she can't guarantee your horse will come sound -they are horses and she hasn't seen him yet, but she will give it a bloody good go, and in my mind would be the best person for the job.

Dillon came home from Rockley in October and, while we are still being cautious about what we do, he hacks 4-5 times a week and I have just started to introduce a bit of schooling. Whatever level we get to, he has come so far - much better prognosis than pts which aside from 6 months box rest with ridiculous wedged shoes with a pretty poor chance of being a light hack were the options we faced.

As for price - I live in Kent where livery is expensive anyway, so to my mind it wasn't anymore expensive, especially given that it is not only livery but also rehabilitation - and worth every penny.

As for B&B's I can recommend The Old Orchard in Brayford - brilliant, friendly owner and fantastic breakfast.

Wish you luck whatever you decide to do.
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Are you 'Dillon with the wedges'? Wow, you are practically famous!! Followed Dillons progress on the blog, so pleased to hear he is improving!
 
ThePony - Yes Dillon with the wedges! - but I don't tell him he's famous as he is spoilt enough as it is!!!!

If only I knew then what I know now! Still, fortunately I got him to Rockley pretty quick and we are doing alright now.
 
nic83 said:
Sorry to hear about your horses diagnosis - my boy was similar - Pedal Osteitis, DDFT, Navicular, collateral ligaments you name it he had it on MRI end of May 2011.

By 17th June he was at Rockley. Go and meet Nic, I too was impressed at her speedy response/liaison with my vet, but I wasn't sending my horse half way across the country without meeting her - no matter how nice she seemed on phone/email!

When I visited any concerns I had were dispelled. Nic is very generous with her time and willingness to share her knowledge and experience and she takes 5* care of the horses. I learnt so much while Dillon was there, not just about hooves but the whole horse. Of course she can't guarantee your horse will come sound -they are horses and she hasn't seen him yet, but she will give it a bloody good go, and in my mind would be the best person for the job.

Dillon came home from Rockley in October and, while we are still being cautious about what we do, he hacks 4-5 times a week and I have just started to introduce a bit of schooling. Whatever level we get to, he has come so far - much better prognosis than pts which aside from 6 months box rest with ridiculous wedged shoes with a pretty poor chance of being a light hack were the options we faced.

As for price - I live in Kent where livery is expensive anyway, so to my mind it wasn't anymore expensive, especially given that it is not only livery but also rehabilitation - and worth every penny.

As for B&B's I can recommend The Old Orchard in Brayford - brilliant, friendly owner and fantastic breakfast.

Wish you luck whatever you decide to do.
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Thank you Nic! That was exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. We're in West Sussex and livery here is more expensive than Kent (we come from Meopham) so tbh the price isn't the big deal here. The fact that I'd have to keep my box on down here might be an interesting point but daren't let it go as yard has major waiting lists and my other horse is there.

How did you cope with Dillon being so far away as I'm not sure I'll like this part much! Do you have any pictures you wouldn't mind showing me please?

If I could get him to the point where he'd hack out again that would be worth untold funds to me, since I'm thinking at the moment that I'd be happy with him just being comfortable enough to be retired, even though this would be a real waste of a really lovely horse.

Just waiting to hear back from Nic again and talk to Hubby about the night away.
 
SusieT said:
As always, like when PC world recommend I buy insurance for my own benefit, they may be right but is there actually any horses Rockley say they can't help? Which makes me think hmm..all owners want to hear their horses can be helped so its an easy way to draw them in. Half of these horses probably just need given a good sensible routine and diet which I'm guessing is wha rockley do, in addition to the barefoot stuff to help them stay sound-many owners don't provide this!
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Susie, Nic does not need to "draw anyone in", she has a waiting list. The term seems to suggest something underhand and marketing led in all this and if you mean it that way you could not be more mistaken. For example, Nic does not post on here or any other forum trying to drum up trade, or advertise. She has no need, it is all word of mouth from people who are amazed to be riding horses that vets and farriers told them should either be put down or become paddock ornaments.

I really don't think that there are many horses recommended to be put to sleep by vets who are simply in need of a "good sensible routine and diet" and most of the horses Rockley takes are either at or very near that point.

We need a rehab yard like it in the South East, North West, Far North/Scotland and the East Midlands. Offers anyone?
 
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My horse went there almost 2 years ago now, he is Frankie if you want to search for him.
Please feel free to pm if you have any questions.

Vets, farriers everyone tried to help him, I don't want to mention names as everyone did their best but he had the farrier that other farriers look to for guidance, every aspect of his care and routine was looked and addressed but his feet actually got worse and worse and we got to the point that he could not even stay field sound so it was our last chance.

Nic looks after and cares about all these horses like her own, she is not in it to make a fast buck. I wouldn't get 7 day full livery inc exercise in Herts for £125 a week!

B and B's I didn't know about the old orchard when I was visiting but if you can't get in there, I stayed at a b and b in Challacombe nearby which is a short stagger from the Black Venus pub.
 
Have had another email from Nic and really feeling almost positive about it all now. Good thing I don't have a horsebox really as I think I'd have bundled him into it tonight and set him to screaming on Nic's front garden until she let him in! :eek:

I've just read some of the posts about Dillon and seen his wedges, I don't know what to say. Hard to believe he went from that to hacking 5 times a week. I'll be over the moon if my boy can do that after 12 weeks.

Anybody know anywhere that hires 3.5t lorries for self drive purposes? I don't mean for tonight in case you were wondering!;)
 
Bikerchickone - Small world, Dillon lives in Meopham -well half a mile away! I paid a holding fee for his box as like you I didn't want to risk loosing it. I was also lucky that my insurance paid out as well - but as you say it isn't about the money, the fact that he is still here, ridden and happy to me is priceless.

It was easier him being away than I expected (he used to be on DIY) as soon as I saw how settled he was there I didn't worry at all. I did visit every 3 weeks (and had some lovely rides on exmoor) I got a little bored at home without him but it was enough to know he was happy and well cared for (and improving - although he did have his ups and downs, we referred to his feet as like peaches because he bruised so easily when first out of shoes).

I would also have been happy just to hack - but he has done a little schooling and if we continue to progress we might even do a bit of dressage - but I don't like to get too far ahead of myself, we'll just see how it goes.

More than happy to send pictures, and answer any other questions you have if you PM me your email addresss (i'm a bit technially challenged with regard to posting them on here).
 
criso said:
My horse went there almost 2 years ago now, he is Frankie if you want to search for him.
Please feel free to pm if you have any questions.

Vets, farriers everyone tried to help him, I don't want to mention names as everyone did their best but he had the farrier that other farriers look to for guidance, every aspect of his care and routine was looked and addressed but his feet actually got worse and worse and we got to the point that he could not even stay field sound so it was our last chance.

Nic looks after and cares about all these horses like her own, she is not in it to make a fast buck. I wouldn't get 7 day full livery inc exercise in Herts for £125 a week!

B and B's I didn't know about the old orchard when I was visiting but if you can't get in there, I stayed at a b and b in Challacombe nearby which is a short stagger from the Black Venus pub.
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Thank you I'm going to go and look up Frankie too. So grateful for all your responses, it's making a world of difference to how I felt after speaking to my vet earlier!
 
ThePony said:
Are you 'Dillon with the wedges'? Wow, you are practically famous!! Followed Dillons progress on the blog, so pleased to hear he is improving!
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i imediately thought 'Dillon with the wedges' too! lol

OP, i wish you all the luck in the world but i'm not sure you'll need it ;)

I lost about 3 evenings of my life solidly reading the Rockley blog from the beginning (but gained a lot of knowledge!). So fascinating watching the hooves change and i look forward to the blog popping up on my facebook page each day :).

Trina x
 
trina1982 said:
i imediately thought 'Dillon with the wedges' too! lol

OP, i wish you all the luck in the world but i'm not sure you'll need it ;)

I lost about 3 evenings of my life solidly reading the Rockley blog from the beginning (but gained a lot of knowledge!). So fascinating watching the hooves change and i look forward to the blog popping up on my facebook page each day :).

Trina x
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I thought that too - Dillon withthewedges was a Rockley Blog sensation
lol.gif


I love following the horses on the blog from day one.

It's really great of those of you with Rockley warriors who continue to share your experiences and update us how your horses are doing.

This was a great post
http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2011/09/morning-after-weekend-before.html
 
Trina I think I'm well into losing this evening to the Rockley blog lol! Can't get away from it except to come back on here and check out the forum for interesting stuff!

Oberon that post was great, made me chuckle :)

Hubby has agreed to go visit over half term week so hopefully I'll get a chance to meet up with Nic and get my (many) questions answered before making plans.

Thank you all for your posts, I'm feeling much more optimistic about it all now, which is helping hubby not mind paying for it so much ;)

Anyone able to pm me about which insurance company doesn't pay out for Rockley rehab? I'm betting with my luck that it's going to be mine!
 
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