Up date on my bare foot rehab

Curragh

Curragh

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Hi,

Well my horse Charlie was diagnosed with Navicular a year ago. He was 3/10 lame on the right fore and 2/10 lame on the left fore. He went to Rockley Farm at the beginning of Feb this year and came home after 3 months. We have just had him re vetted and x rayed. He is 1/10 lame on the right fore, sound in the left fore. His heels have built up well and the angle of his feet has improved. He no longer stands in the typical navicular way (pointing his toes).

So I'm happy with his improvement but, still ended up in tears at the vets. Guess I was kind of hoping for a miracle...

G x
 
He said that he couldn't tell me how he would be in 6 months, but said I could leave him barefoot for the winter and try hacking him quietly on good surfaces 3 times a week. I've actually decided to part company with Charlie, found a cracking home for life for him. Thats why I re x-rayed, to make sure I was making the right decision.
 
What do they say at Rockley Farm? If he only started rehab in February and it is now September he is doing well, because if took years for him to become lame it is probably going to take more than 7 months to completely get better since all the new tissues are going to have to regrow.

If I had a horse that was completely sound in shoes with no issues at all and I took the shoes off to go barefoot I would be thinking of 6 months before he could do as much work as in shoes and that if everything went completely well and there were no set backs at all.

Glad he is so much better though. After all, he has improved lots.
 
I'd say that you are seeing a miracle!!

My mare came out of shoes last year after spending her competeing life shod. Her feet are constantly improveing, but it's not a five minute job and they will need a lot of care and time before they come 100%.

If you want to compete, perhaps it's best he moves onto a hacking/PC home. You must pat yourself on the back though for doing such a good job at bringing him back to where he is now, he will go on to have a useful, happy and painfree life because you had faith and a willingness to learn.

Well done!!
 
Out of interest was he 100% sound when he came back from Rockley? With the foot that he is still 1/10th lame on does he fully land heel first still? I am asking because I am in a similar situation with my mare that has been barefoot for 17 months and I have had a tough summer (hard ground/ rich grass) and she hasn't been consistantly landing heel first and found she has been on and off lame. I cant use hoof boots because she tends to land outside first with her hoof so due to the movement all the boots ive tried twist then rub.
She has a knack of pulling shoes off when she was shod so opted out of bar shoes and the like.
 
He was sound on returning from Rockley but, he has had his good weeks and bad since then. Didn't feel quite right to me but loads better than he did. He is landing heel first but the navicular was worst in the right fore to begin with. He will never be able to do what I want and its hard to plan to do any thing when your not quite sure how he will be. His new home is just hacking/schooling a few times a week and the OH is a farrier. I think he will enjoy a slower pace of life and their expectations aren't what mine are.

Its the hardest decision for me as he was brought as my "forever" horse, but I've got his best interest at heart.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with how he's come along from 1 year ago. Would recommend any one to try barefoot, its helped my boy....
 
Well it it is lovely that he has a nice home to go to where he can enjoy himself and be used. I can understand your reasons for finding him a new home, if you want to seriously compete. It has given him a new lease of life, though, which wouldn't have been the prognosis a year ago.
 
Curragh it would be good to know how you kept him since getting him back. Was he turned out 24/7 over the summer, out in the day, out at night, stabled all the time?

I'm pleased that you have found him a good home. Do they intend to shoe him to try to remove the last 20th of lameness?
 
Well you did well to get him down from 5/20 to 1/20 lame on the front. There are plenty of horses competing which are 1/20 lame in front and their riders don't even seem to notice. It will be interesting to see if they do shoe him and if he gets worse again or comes 100% sound. It sounds like you have done your best for him and set him up so that he can have fun with another family.
 
Your lucky to have found him such a good home. Sounds like you couldnt ask for better. I think environment and the surfaces a horse works on whilst building the digital cushion must be nearly as important as diet.
 
He has holes in his navicular bone shown up via x rays.

Hi Criso, How's Frankie doing? Charlie has broken my heart but I know he's gone to a lovely home. Dropped him off today and the new owner loves him so much already.
 
Well Frankie's a vet loving, self harming, accident prone ex racer with the TB injury hotline on speed dial so my vet won't be struggling to keep up the payments on his holiday home any time soon but fingers crossed his front feet are OK at the moment.

I am going to struggle a bit with keeping up his current workload with working long hours and the nights drawing in but hoping to get a sharer.

Hope Charlie settles into his new life.
 
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