All in a day's work

RickB. · All in a day's work

I have the owner's permission to recount this tale and post the pictures too.

Here is a horse I worked on Sunday. This is a 19 year old broodmare with significant hoof issues. The first two rads are from a time when she was basically sound, and the third rad is of when she was dead lame(starting right after she was shod in the orthotics seen on the rad, ~ 10 days previously) on the left front.
Which is why I was called in.

When the owner got her out of the stall Sunday, she was mostly non- weight bearing on the left foot and could not turn to the left and turned to the right with great difficulty. I did see rads, on site, of the right front and it has not nearly the damage of the left front and it is the one that she will willingly bear weight on when the left is off the ground. There is only minor remodeling of p3 and the palmer/ventral angle is ~0-2 degrees. Before I started, I tried to lift her right front to see what the response would be. She absolutely refused to lift it and be fully weight bearing on the left front.

The first photos are from b/4 I worked on her and the latter ones after I was done. I ran out of battery and didn't get after photos of the right front.

I shod the left front first and when done, she willingly lifted the right front and stood with full weight on the left front. It was a modest victory and though she is still lame, she is much more willing to walk and turn in both directions with the left front. On a scale of 1-10, before she was re-shod she was about an 8 or 9 and after she was re-shod about a 4-5, maybe a bit less.

I used a Steward Clog, Impression Material, low rails on the left front, no rails on the right front. After she was shod, we first walked and turned her with no rails in place and she was better but still quite uncomfortable. Next I tried tall rails and she didn't like that at all. Next I tried low rails and she was immediately more comfortable so that's how I left her. The left front was attached by using external screws screwed into the clog next to the wall and one screw on either side screwed through the wall into the clog and then using Equilox/Grand Circuit MMA. I didn't get the Equilox finish as 'polished' as well as I would have liked, but all things considered, it turned out quite satisfactorily.

On each hoof, the toe that overhung the front of the clog was trimmed/'ramped'/beveled back from the top side. Breakover was moved back to just behind the tip of p3 and the heel support was extended back to the bulbs. The right front was nailed on as it has much better walls and not nearly the pain reaction to hoof testers that the left front exhibited.

This horse had been reset 10 days +/- before I was called so there was not much to do other than to lengthen the base of support by bringing the heels back/down and then re-mapping the hoof and setting the clogs accordingly.

If all goes well, the next time I see this horse will be in six weeks. I did caution the owners that there is a 72 hour window where if something is going to go wrong, it will.

I also suggested that the owners discuss with their veterinarian, the feasibility and practicality of a deep flexor tenotomy for the left front.

Enjoy!

Left front b/4

Right front b/4

Left front after

_________________

Kim Cassidy

Rick,

I saw you post this on another forum. Dang

Is this a QH or an Arab. I'm curious if you feel any disdain for this horse being alive? Do you think this is right for keeping her shod and alive so she can have babies?

See folks, I can be upset about something and Rick and I don't have to agree.

No offense Rick, but I've seen this in person and it makes me wonky :D

BTW, you did a good job with what you had to work with and sounds like she moved off better than she moved in. What is your goal, besides comfort? Do you think you can change anything?

Chablis

Thanks for posting Rick.

Glad the horse is more comfortable - how on earth did they get that bad in the first place?

RickB.

Kim Cassidy

I love you Rick

I don't agree that valued bloodstock makes a horse in this shape worth keeping alive.

But given that it's your job and you love it, I give you credit.

Thanks for answering all those questions. Can you imagine, being challenged on your work and your beliefs and yet you didn't go wiggy

Thanks.

appellativo

Hi Rick. Do you know about this horse's history or any other issues that would explain why her hoof is the way that it is? I'd like to hear more about that part, if you know her history, diet, etc. Thanks.

RickB.

PasoBaby_CarolU

What an Interesting case! I've never seen anything like this and honestly hope I never do. Poor horse!
I do have some questions.

In the radiograph she appears to have a curled tip at the end of her pedal bone. Is this normal in a club foot? What causes it? Is it hereditary? And if not, what caused it? And if it is, why would you breed such an animal?

Next set of questions. I quite honestly don't like any of the pictures. It is pretty easy for even an untrained eye to see what is wrong in the original. But I have never seen a hoof look like the Fix. I have never seen anything like this before. Would you mind telling me about the fix? What is done and how it works. I am glad this horse is in less pain.

appellativo

Rick said, "Breakover was moved back to just behind the tip of p3 and the heel support was extended back to the bulbs."

My understanding is bringing the breakover back under P3 and supporting the heel would make her more comfortable and allow her foot to do its job, right?

What do the rails do? (ie why do they seem to make her more comfortable? I'm not familiar with a clog or rails.)

Kim Cassidy

I worked on a similar case in California last July, broodmare QH. She was pregnant and owner didn't want to put her down, despite vet suggesting pinching the embryo.

If I could have attacked the disgusting owner I would have. BTW, Owner name is not what is listed on the Metron report

Horse had to have both front feet blocked to work on her and per vet who brought horse to the clinic, horse had foundered multiple times since 2006 (ya think).

Thankfully she died after giving birth to this latest foal, I'm glad she did and mercifully her miserable life with Humans was ended.

Some are asking how Rick's horse got the way she did. I have no idea but I can offer speculation.

QH broodmare, probably halter horse when younger, filled with steroids for the show ring, lamintic from the get go. Forced to get pregnant and forced to carry pregnancy after pregnancy in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

When you make your money from horses, usually the horses LOSE. ;( Of course this is all just me guessing. The feet and coffin bone don't look like a recent occurrence, it looks like long term effects of severe laminitis.

Okay, breathe, breathe - no way is this a reflection upon Rick, he did the best he could with what he had to work with. I would have gone in my car/truck and cried for a bit.

Anyway, here are photos of similar (but Sophie's coffin bone doesn't look as bad) case to Rick's.

When she first walked up.

After we were done, it took quite some time to shoe and radiograph her, so the after could still be showing the effects of the block.

Click to download file

Thankfully Monique refused to shoe Sophie after the 2nd visit, since the owner dismissed vet advice and refused to pinch the foal. Owner fired vet for suggesting it too. Yeah for the Vet.

becdubie

oh so sad....as farriers....(vets too I suppose) you see it all.
Honestly...I couldn't handle it, but I'm glad some of you out there are willing to at least try to help these horses.

ForgeNHammer

Gotta love halter bred quarter horses

. I don't think I've seen any that are skinnier than the one pictured above.

PasoBaby_CarolU

Oh Kim, that picture is just heartbreaking. She looks totally miserable in every area of her body.

alexwein

I agree about the picture and her looking miserable. I'm no body scanner, but it literally made my body hurt just to look at her. Her front end looks so locked up, her whole body so tense. She looks so uncomfortable it makes me uncomfortable! And sad. What a story! I don't think I could deal with such horse owners. I mean really, I don't think I could! Not and survive emotionally. You guys have to be tough to deal with what you do. I trained for a long while as a vet tech and studied to be a vet, but ran into the same kind of issue. Love the critters, just know I can't deal with the people.

Chablis

Yikes! It is really scary how common bad hooves are (and I am talking the extreme cases).

Those poor horses.

I don't think I could be a vet or a farrier/trimmer and have to see those type of horses (even though it must feel wonderful when you can help them be more comfortable).

The mare Kim showed looks so sore - everything hurts from compensating for those poor hooves.

Do you have any more recent photos Kim? I would love to hear about your progress with her.

Chablis

Kim Cassidy

Chablis

Kim Cassidy

Chablis

RickB.

Kim,

Another major difference in the two cases is that the horse I worked on did not exhibit the pain levels shown in your horse. And after I completed my work her body7 language changed even more for the better. When/if all goes well, I'll try to remember to get some full body pics when I go back to reset her.

appellativo

I wonder about how when you put a navicular horse in wedges and they get better (ie pain free) for a little while, but it continues to degrade the foot and they are eventually worse off/unsound permanently etc. (this is my understanding from hearing others talk about it; I'm not a vet nor have I ever cared for pathological hooves). Rick what is your experience with that scenario, and do you think there is any possibility of this horse with the clogs, being a similar type fix? (ie more comfortable now but not truly rehabilitating the hoof? Not to say you can always fix the damage that has been done in every case though, and not to say there isn't a place for making a horse more comfortable as best you can given what you have to work with!)

RickB.

Kim Cassidy