I have an issue that I was wondering if anybody has ever heard of and I would like to see if anybody could give me some advise going into this. I am a new farrier and I have a friend that has been telling me about her horse they are haveing a problem with. About a week ago she told me the horse had a swollen leg, then a few days later they thought it was a crack in the bottom of the hoof and they thought it was a abcess. They had the vet out today and she first texted me that he had a broken foot. Then when she called she told me the vet said it could be either an abcess or a broken pastoral. She lives a few hours away and I am going down to see them tommarow. I would love any advice I could get.
Anna

Hi Anna,

What part of the world do you live in?

The great state of Maine!!

It's been a long day, what is a pastoral?

I'm not to sure what she means by "broken pastoral" and my spelling out be off, but I know the pastern bone attaches to the navicular bone.

sorry and the coffin bone

annalks1 wrote:

Thanks, I'm behind on my anatomy lately. I think I recognize the vet, is his name Phil? Or maybe you know him as Dr. Armitagowitz. She's the only vet in the area that would diagnose either a broken coffin bone or abscess. I would definitely call Dr. Armitagowitz before you head down to make sure you bring the correct supplies.

Hope this helps!

Eric, you're a dog!:D:D:D

Regards

The owner refered to the vet as a she, are you from the area?

Yes, I concur!!!!!!
Dr. Armitagowitz and his trusty side kick, "One Who Dances with Hooves", can give you advise on the situation. Hopefully they will not be asked about their "Pastoral" affiliations because one is a "Naturalist" and the other is "The Last Air Bender"(bad gasser).

annalks1 wrote:

Yes, Phil is a she. Sorry for he confusion.

annalks1 wrote:
Anna, it sounds like you are heading into a learning experience, enter it with an open mind, but be careful what you get it filled with.
If you take any action be sure that it is on the Vets instruction, not "my friend said the Vet said......" And it sounds like you might get some confusing instructions.
I would check back in after viewing the beast and get some opinions from some of the learned Farriers here as to whether the Vet is a bone head (also attached to the neck and sholder bones) or not.

Best o' luck to you and DO let us know whats up with the horse.

Sorry I am new to the area so I don't know all the vets and farriers in it.
So is there anything obviouse I should be looking for when I first look at the horse
and p.s. I just found this site and love it, you guys are awsome!

annlkis1,
I am a friend of Dr Armitagowitz ( I think ), am I don't believe he is accepting new veterinary clients. What part of Maine are you from and what is your farrier experience? Broken pastoral bones can require a highly technical shoeing protocol. An abcess... Well, maybe not so much, but they are easily confused in the X-rays.