As alway no names no finger pointing, just the facts as related to me, so we can all learn and hopefully more horses can lead healthy, productive iron free lives.
So scenario is:
Young, unbroken, furry
Acute lameness, one fore with heat
Diagnosis unclear, but vet and other equine professional advice was to shoe
Carer sought third opinion from an AANHCP member, who (to cut long story short) advised a diet change.
I was called for a visual consult.
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| Solar before |
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| Heel before |
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| Solar after |
This horse was not horribly trimmed, in fact it was by far one of the better 'pasture' trims I have seen. The heels were not staggeringly high and had a reasonable balance. But the horse at this point was still lame.
The carer and I talked things through and the carer requested a trim.
One of the things you will notice in the 'before' solar and heel shots is the stretch in the white line. Not the worst but not 'tight' either. Once the crud was removed there was evidence of blood in the white line of the sore foot. So the previous advice to amend the diet was right on the nail (no pun intended).
The trim was completed in accordance with the AANHCP guidelines and future diet and exercise were discussed.
Both I and the owner were delighted when the horse came sound. And from the feedback I have received he is continuing to be sound over a variety of quite challenging surfaces including the dreaded limestone chippings.
It's the apparently small things that make all the difference - tweak the diet, get a proper roll, keep the heels where they should be. And none of these cost a fortune.
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2 comments:
Diet is so important - wish more people knew to start with that - feet come from the inside, after all.
Yes totally agree - I see a variety of horses kept in less than optimal conditions, but the ones that do well have the diet spot on. The ones that are not doing so well tend to have hole in their diets somewhere.
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