Posted by L.J. on November 29, 2003 at 00:37:36:
Please help me...asap. Last Friday my daughters quarter horse was shod. on Sat or Sun I noticed the horse limp so I told her not to ride her. We gave her some bute each day. Today a week later I had my daughter trot her on hard ground and still saw a limp. Then...she just would put no pressure on her foot. I just had X rays on her last month and this leg was fine. This is our first horse and I about hit the roof when I read about hot nail. My farrier just called as I am typing this. He seems to feel that if it were hot nail she would have been 3 legged lame within 24 hrs of the shoeing. He said maybe some sand was lodged under her foot and worked its way in which would cause intermittent lameness. However this right foot lameness started right after she was shod and a week later seems worse. She is in a very sandy pen thank goodness and it's not as noticeable until you put her on hard ground. What do you all think? Would a horse go completely lame in 24 hrs from hotnail or could it take longer? could it just be positioned in a way to irritate her and make it worse when she trots? What else could it be and what should I look for and ask the farrier when he comes out tomorrow? Can hotnail leave a horse lame for the rest of it's life? Thanks to all of you in advance who take the time to read this. She is not just a horse but our family member!