Your Suggestions?

[candymara]

Hello,

My name is Candace and I live near Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Home of the Stampede!). I'm in a wheelchair and ride for therapy- loving the freedom and normality I feel when I ride.

I recently bought back a horse I had sold 4 years ago. He's a registered half Arab gelding. I sold him due to an injury that left me unable to ride (my injury, not his!) and when they told me they were selling him I jumped at the chance to have him back. I'm a monoplegic and when I started riding for therapy and it made me miss him so much. Now that he's older (coming on 19) and relatively done with competition (former hunter/jumper and dressage) I wanted him to live out his days with me as buddies. Getting him back has brought me incredible joy! I never realized how much I missed him and how big a part of my life he was. My son (15 months old) absolutely adores him as well.

His sellers mentioned he had foundered in September but this didn't deter me because I love this horse very much. I saw it as a sign that we needed eachother. I spoke to his vet (in Edmonton) who assured me the case was mild and he was rideable and even possibly jumpable. I went and saw him, lunged him and looked him over and he seemed fine. Was his same old self- full of energy and very loving. I bought him on the spot.

He still seems fine- not been sore at all and I have had him and ridden lightly since end of November. I was told by his vet to watch his feed intake (no alfalfa, no oats) so I have him on a strict schedule.

My reason for posting is he is now due to be seen by a farrier. I just now received his past x-rays from his old vet (been asking for months) and I'm a little worried at them- they look worse than I was expecting, but I'm not experienced with this at all. Maybe they aren't bad?
His x-rays can be seen at this link http://candymara.com/xrays.htm I don't know the date of the X-Rays but I would guess they were done in September or October.

Can you give me your comments and suggestions as to what I should be looking for, treatment-wise? I have researched options but it all seems so very overwhelming. Do these x-rays show I should be agressivley seeking treatment other than diet? Is his current, seemingly-fine state a "clam before the storm?"

He currently has shoes on his front feet only. They feet themselves appear to be in good condition- no "rippling" of any kind, no cracking, not mis-shapen.

He is stabled at night and in a paddock during the day with light riding no more than 3 times a week. He is on local/timothy mix hay and I feed him low protein pellets once a day. The pellets have added biotin, copper and high vitamin E. Like I mentioned, he seems to do well with this feeding program with no signs of soreness, agitation, lameness, etc.

I have spent weeks trying to find a farrier in my area with no luck. The man who I used to use 4 years ago with this horse (and was counting on using again) has since retired and I can't get a hold of him. The lady who owns my boarding stable is having a hard time finding a farrier who does consitently good work (new barn) and the one she last used is booked up for the next 3 weeks. There are no listings in our phone books and the one I found listed on our Tack Shop bullitin board hasn't returned my calls. I'm feeling terrible that I can't seem to find anyone and wish that I had been able to arrange all this before now.

Thank you all very much for your time and expertise, it is appreciated! :)

God Bless,
Candace

[Phil Armitage]

Hi Candace, holly cow your story brought tears to my eyes, if I were closer, I would definately help you out. Maybe this forum will find you a good farrier and Vet.

yep the X-Rays concern me also. The tip of the coffin bone is very close to the ground, not alot of sole thickness. The coffin bone is rotated. This is more than mild laminitis. Did they send you the right X-Rays? I am suprised your horse could tolerate all that work with that kind of rotation and not be sore. It is possible they sent you the wrong set of X-Rays, seen that happen before.

Good luck and god bless.

[Gary Hill]

Is this maybe club feet? I see no dip in the dorsal wall at all and the Rt looks steeper in the heels? Jaye what do you think? Good Luck! Gary
P.S. I know you said the other owners said it had foundered.

[Kaydence]

Candance, I'm fairly sure you have some Canadian farrier team members (past or present I can't recall off hand. I have no idea who is on the team right now.), in your neck of the woods. If you pm me, I'll look up a couple of phone numbers and see if we can get you in touch with some good guys who might make room in their schedule for such a worthy story. I wouldn't know the guys directly but a few phone calls to some of the former members here in BC, might lead me to a phone number that could help you out. Give me a couple of days.

As for the diet, you might want to check out the ideas at www.safergrass.org and chat with Katty (sp?). She was very quick to answer my questions when I emailed her.

Cheri

[candymara]

Thank you al for your responses!

Doc does have one slightly clubbed foot (I was told that's a common arab trait?)- but my previous farriers had always assured me that it was fine and kept under control by proper shoeing. He's the kind of horse you just knew would have problems without shoes. Unfortunately the girl I sold him to took the shoes off for the 4 years she has him. Could this be a result of that?

I emailed the Vet to ask him about the possibility of the wrong x-rays so we'll see where that leads. I really do hope they are the wrong ones.

Doc is half arab, 1/4 QH and 1/4 POA. Not sure why I'm adding that. Heh. He is a very pretty boy!

Thank you all again! I'll stay tuned for more replies.

[Dave Purves]

I'm no vetrinarian but I would have to say that the RF is definately a club foot, the dish in the toe, the stacked heels and the angle of the coffin bone relative to the dorsal hoofwall sure make it look like a typical club foot to me. However the LF does look rotated and not so much clubby. I do think that there is a good amount of sole depth though. Certainly not as much as I would like but sufficient. That's just my take on it.

Dave

[Rick Burten]

Well, he's 19 and sound, right? There are some issues in his feet, but I don't think I'd be going willy-nilly and whacking a bunch of hoof away.

I too think he has too little sole depth under the tip of p3 and I for sure would like to see some heel off that right front. It appears he is in bar shoes but it is not clear whether or not there is also additional mechanical support(Impression material, EquiPak, etc) under the rear portions of his feet(frog, bars, commissures, sole). If there is not, then this is something I think needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

I do think that p3 in both feet needs to be de-rotated and regardless of anything else that is done, absolutely NO sole should be removed from the front portion of his hooves(measured radiographically from the point directly under p3, forward. I also think that the breakover is too far forward and that this guy might be a really good candidate for aluminum banana shoes.

Because Arabian horses today show such a predisposition for the "up-down" hoof syndrome, aka LTLH/DTHH syndrome, et al, it is difficult to know whether that right front is actually clubby, or is growing exuberent heel as a result of laminitis. Since I am of the opinion that most of these horses with the DTHH syndrome are actually exhibiting a mechanical founder in the first place, I suppose one could argue that the horse is both clubby and foundered. Either way, the foot still needs to be de-rotated and correctly supported.

[Katy Watts]

Doc is half arab, 1/4 QH and 1/4 POA. Not sure why I'm adding that.

Tells me a lot. Arabs and pony breeds are more prone to laminitis from impaired glucose metabolism, and since he foundered in Sept. in Canada, when the grass has lots of sugar in it, he's a good candidate. I would have him tested for glucose, insulin and triglycerides. See abstract in new thread 'genetic link to laminitis'. If any are high, get him off all grain, and test hay for NSC. Instructions on my website.
Katy