Shiraz
Well-Known Member
Not sure if this is the right place for this. It's a long one so apologies in advance. If you don't care about her history then the actual shoeing dilema is at the bottom where the stars are
My mum bought a QH mare in March 07, unvetted against my advice. When we went to view her (5hrs away!) although she was crabbit and bad mannered she moved straight and true, tracked up, turned on a tight circle, backed up, was fine under saddle and showed no reaction/sore bits over her back when palpated.
It was another 3wks before she arrived on our yard as we needed to hire a transport company and due to mum's house move she was given 2wks off to settle in. I noticed her action looked a bit "pottery" and then she was having trouble backing up, turning on a tight circle and she was having big reactions/spasms over her back when palpated.
I know the saddle she came with didn't fit her (and previous owner rode with a cut-away-wither saddle pad on back to front
).
Anyway I got the vet out and he suspected navicular, x-rayed an found a pea sized cyst on the navicular bone of her off fore but didn't think it would affect her and not to the extent that she was lame. Second opinion said navic and arthritis (and to breed from her - she's had 2 foals already that I know of). The vets suspected cause of arthritis ties in with the history that we know of her - used fairly hard when young and used incorrectly when older and unfit. She is 15 now.
She is on 1/3 a sachet of danolin a day, cortaflex and get McTimoney -Corely and does stretches daily as advised. She is on field rest just now. She has had periods of being sound but in the 18mths we've had her she's only been ridden in walk a handful of times (also had major trouble finding a western saddle to fit her. Got one now but got a lame horse!)
We've been through loads of supplements and since the company in USA stopped making the one that worked we've that Cortaflex is doing the trick for now. It just seems to be one thing after another with everything. She not at deaths door and not unduely uncomfortable. She is happy in herself and estastic if there is food on the go! She careers around the field like a right one and can buck and fart like a right one!
********************************************
Ok, to my point...
She has incredibly small feet, everyone comments on them. I know it is/was common practise to trim QH feet small for halter classes as it makes their forearms and thighs look more muscular. She was a (successful) Halter horse but I've no idea how she was trimmed/shod just that her feet are tiny now.
I had a brilliant farrier, D, but he stopped covering my area. We then swapped to another farrier and sacked him straight off, tried another, M, he was fine for the first 3 sessions then I started to get concerns. With the QH he was leaving the toe long and heel short and thus changing the angle of her feet and putting strain on her tendons and ligaments. I spoke to the farrier about this and each time he explained things but when I had the vet out anyway I got him to check all my horses feet and he agreed with me that they weren't the best but to tell the farrier X, Y & Z and give him another shot.
This I duely done but the farrier still done, imo, a very bad job. Less than a week later and my QH was lame. She was only shod in front when we got her but he insisted on shoeing her behind as her heels were contracting?! We got the vet out and he said it was ligament damage due to the poor shoeing. This is some photos of her feet after she was lame with his shoeing. I pulled the hinds off after taking the pics
This is how she was standing (mid fart
)
Fronts
hinds
So I got a new farrier, O, and he shod her Natural Balance and confirmed that she didn't need shoes on her hinds. He made a really good job of her feet but she was lame still. I think this was because of previous ligament damage and then putting her feet back to the correct shape was too much in one go. We moved yards and this good farrier doesn't cover my current area.
The new farrier we are using is good but shock horror
is always early. Not just 10 mins but over an hour and when I'm at work I don't know he's there (doesn't text to say). She was shod 1wk ago and he'd done her before I got there, she was cold shod (I want her hot shod) and her feet look to have been taken really short, her off fore looks almost club. I'm not dissing this farrier, I like him a lot and he does a good job the previous 2x I've had him. He was going on hols the next day and I was last job so not sure if that was a contributing factor. Now QH is lame/stepping short again. She's running out of foot and I'm running out of farriers (seriously there are NO others I can use at all).
So basically what would you do for a lame, poss navic, small footed horse? I've emailed someone from here http://www.epauk.org/ basically all the same blurb i've put here to find out if barefoot would be an option? I really don't know what to do for the best which is why I am posting here.
What would you do? I really would like her to be a happy hacker as she is bored senseless. Any help or info much appreciated. I'll try to get a photo of her feet tonight.
Here are some proving she's got "go" left in her and that she wants to hack out not be stuck in a field!
My mum bought a QH mare in March 07, unvetted against my advice. When we went to view her (5hrs away!) although she was crabbit and bad mannered she moved straight and true, tracked up, turned on a tight circle, backed up, was fine under saddle and showed no reaction/sore bits over her back when palpated.
It was another 3wks before she arrived on our yard as we needed to hire a transport company and due to mum's house move she was given 2wks off to settle in. I noticed her action looked a bit "pottery" and then she was having trouble backing up, turning on a tight circle and she was having big reactions/spasms over her back when palpated.
I know the saddle she came with didn't fit her (and previous owner rode with a cut-away-wither saddle pad on back to front
Anyway I got the vet out and he suspected navicular, x-rayed an found a pea sized cyst on the navicular bone of her off fore but didn't think it would affect her and not to the extent that she was lame. Second opinion said navic and arthritis (and to breed from her - she's had 2 foals already that I know of). The vets suspected cause of arthritis ties in with the history that we know of her - used fairly hard when young and used incorrectly when older and unfit. She is 15 now.
She is on 1/3 a sachet of danolin a day, cortaflex and get McTimoney -Corely and does stretches daily as advised. She is on field rest just now. She has had periods of being sound but in the 18mths we've had her she's only been ridden in walk a handful of times (also had major trouble finding a western saddle to fit her. Got one now but got a lame horse!)
We've been through loads of supplements and since the company in USA stopped making the one that worked we've that Cortaflex is doing the trick for now. It just seems to be one thing after another with everything. She not at deaths door and not unduely uncomfortable. She is happy in herself and estastic if there is food on the go! She careers around the field like a right one and can buck and fart like a right one!
********************************************
Ok, to my point...
She has incredibly small feet, everyone comments on them. I know it is/was common practise to trim QH feet small for halter classes as it makes their forearms and thighs look more muscular. She was a (successful) Halter horse but I've no idea how she was trimmed/shod just that her feet are tiny now.
I had a brilliant farrier, D, but he stopped covering my area. We then swapped to another farrier and sacked him straight off, tried another, M, he was fine for the first 3 sessions then I started to get concerns. With the QH he was leaving the toe long and heel short and thus changing the angle of her feet and putting strain on her tendons and ligaments. I spoke to the farrier about this and each time he explained things but when I had the vet out anyway I got him to check all my horses feet and he agreed with me that they weren't the best but to tell the farrier X, Y & Z and give him another shot.
This I duely done but the farrier still done, imo, a very bad job. Less than a week later and my QH was lame. She was only shod in front when we got her but he insisted on shoeing her behind as her heels were contracting?! We got the vet out and he said it was ligament damage due to the poor shoeing. This is some photos of her feet after she was lame with his shoeing. I pulled the hinds off after taking the pics
This is how she was standing (mid fart
Fronts
hinds
So I got a new farrier, O, and he shod her Natural Balance and confirmed that she didn't need shoes on her hinds. He made a really good job of her feet but she was lame still. I think this was because of previous ligament damage and then putting her feet back to the correct shape was too much in one go. We moved yards and this good farrier doesn't cover my current area.
The new farrier we are using is good but shock horror
So basically what would you do for a lame, poss navic, small footed horse? I've emailed someone from here http://www.epauk.org/ basically all the same blurb i've put here to find out if barefoot would be an option? I really don't know what to do for the best which is why I am posting here.
What would you do? I really would like her to be a happy hacker as she is bored senseless. Any help or info much appreciated. I'll try to get a photo of her feet tonight.
Here are some proving she's got "go" left in her and that she wants to hack out not be stuck in a field!
