Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Horrible hooves (a Saga hoof update)

I haven't posted pics of Saga's feet for a while, and frankly, I'm really hesitant to do so now. They look quite horrible.

To fill in on the latest bit of the ongoing soap opera that has become Saga's hoof care... he was last shod four weeks ago by the vet farrier. Prior to that, it was eight weeks between shoeings. At five weeks exactly he threw the RF, then at six weeks exactly tossed the LF. I could not, for love nor money, get an appointment with the farrier, despite trying for over four weeks. I booted Saga as I could, but still, his feet chipped badly. I'm afraid the farrier didn't have much to work with when he shod Saga this last time, so you will see the chips in the bottom of the hoof wall. Saga has an appointment next Tuesday for new shoes - it will be exactly five weeks, and that's the schedule we're going to try to keep him on from here on out. Maybe, just maybe, that will magically help somehow. Maybe.

So, here's the awfulness:

LF. You can see the truly awful event lines. And look at the difference in angle of the hoof wall, from the coronet band all the way down. The first 1/2 inch or so is soooo different from the last inch. I have been trying to grow that angle out all the way down for two years now, both barefoot and shod, and have not been able to make any success. It's frustrating to know just how much pressure that must be putting on his toe. GAH.

LF again. Hairline is pushed up, huge flare at the bottom 1/2 of the foot, event lines allll the way down. I have tried so, SO many things with his diet to prevent those event lines from happening, and yet they still do. At this point I have no idea what's causing them, and I just can't win. He's very, VERY sensitive to something in his environment, I just don't know what.

RF. The thing that looks like a crack on his toe is new. Well, not exactly... he used to have it a year or more ago when the quarters were too long. It's back. It's superficial, but still... it's a clue that things aren't right. More event lines, more flare... and the medio-lateral balance is soooo off.

RF. At least his heel isn't terribly underrun and the changes in hoof wall angles aren't as horrible as the other foot? This is the one he's always had a better landing on.

Here's what he looks like standing.

I guess he stands fairly straight, despite everything.

I'm so depressed looking at these pics. I guess the ONLY thing that's good is that he's sound and happy to work, and I KNOW he would be lame without shoes, because his soles are so thin.  Also, one thing I have learned looking and bare feet over the last few years... beautiful-looking feet may not function terribly well, while awkward-looking feet may function fantastically. His feet are definitely functional, even if they make me cringe. I guess that's something. 

17 comments:

  1. Eeep. They aren't pretty, are they??
    At least he's sound. I guess they can look as gross as they want as long as they're still working!

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    1. No, they are definitely not pretty. There's just so much going on with them, none of it good. But he's sound...

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  2. I cannot imagine how frustrating it must be to not be able to make him grow a new hoof. At least if he is sound and working he is getting movement. That is always a good thing.

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    1. Val, he actually grows hoof pretty well. The problem is that I just cannot get the correct angle to grow out all the way down. Barefoot is the same as shod - it starts flaring out about 1/3 of the way down. ARGH!

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    2. I understand. That is what I meant.

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    3. Lol, I wasn't sure! But yes, it is VERY VERY VERY frustrating. If you hear a thumping sound, that's me banging my head against the tackroom wall. Again. ;)

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  3. I had to run my horse Gunner in shoes and pads for most of his using life. He had the same flat thin soles as Saga. Gunner is now 32, retired and barefoot, and is pasture sound. So maybe all those shoes and pads did no harm? I think that if Saga is sound and comfortable you are doing the right thing. Some horses just have difficult feet. Though my son's horse, Henry, has pretty good feet, they want to flare, too, and I shoe him once or twice a year, which helps get rid of the flare. And then he goes barefoot for a good long while and his feet don't look like platters(!) But Henry has no tendency to get sore footed. They're all different.

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    1. It's true, they are all different. I just wish that Saga's feet didn't have quite so much funkiness going on in so many ways. If he had a nice, consistent angle all the way down, with no event lines and good medio-lateral balance... well, that would definitely be an improvement! Maybe we'll get there someday.

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  4. Feet can be so frustrating! Kudos for trying so hard to get things better. If you think it might be a food alergy, you might ask your vet to do a RAST test. It's a simple blood draw - just a vail like they do with a coggins test. They send it to a lab for analysis, and send you a very detailed report.

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    1. Terry, I did a little Google research on RAST. It seems like it's used mostly for dermatological allergens, and isn't terribly reliable. Do you have experience using it for determining a food allergy? If so, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Thanks!

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    2. Poor Paj has horrible airborne allergies. They affect his eyes and breathing. Before we got it figured out, he had days when he sounded like Darth VAder. Very scary. I've done the RAST test twice, once when we were figuring out what was wrong, and once years later when we moved, just to protect him in his new environment. The results were only a few point different over time, so I'm convinced it's an accurate test for him. He's an extreme case with regard to the number of allergens. He's on monthly allergy shots, and it has really given him back a good quality of life. I never blogged about the scary breathing part, but I got so many "why is your horse wearing a mask in winter" questions that I did a post on it.
      http://moondanceranchco.blogspot.com/search?q=paj+has+allergies
      I don't think every horse has allergies and needs a RAST test anymore than I think every horse must be barefoot, lol! It's just my experience as data.

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  5. Well I would not know a good hoof from a bad one or shoe. etc. But I am sorry Saga is having such a rough time with the feet, ermm hoofs. I know zero about horses and well I am scared silly of them. But I think they are beautiful!

    Dogs and Goats are much more my speed. Well I would like a milk cow too but a small one :O).

    Thanks so much on the suggestion of a Jolly Ball for Keeper I will certainly look at those at Tractor Supply my next visit! I also think that is a fantastic idea to put fabric squares inside his pig as he had the best time pulling the stuffing out of that pig LOL. I watched him super close as I didnt want him to eat any of it. He wasnt interested in eating luckily! I had totally forgot about braiding polar fleece for toys! Thanks for reminding me on that I used to make those a long time ago for a big old doggy we had. I have polar fleece so I will whip him one of those up today.. All super ideas :O) THANKS!

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    1. Texan, I wouldn't mind a milk cow either! But I think I'd better stick to horses, lol!

      Glad the toy ideas for Keeper might work. Keeping toys around for big, chewy dogs is hard and can be really expensive if you get lots of store-bought toys!

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  6. Sorry about your frustrations-I can 1000% relate. It's sooo heartbreaking to not 'know' the answer. If he's comfortable in shoes, than that is all you can go on for now until all the parts are working together. If I find the magic answer, I promise to share ;) hugs

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    1. KES, yes, not knowing the "answer" is just killing me. I've gotten to the point where I just try not to think about it too much. I am sure I could throw a lot more $$ at diagnosis and such, but I don't think I'd get much out of it. This is the best I can do, so... this is what I'll be doing. Fingers crossed that it works out long-term.

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  7. My last horse had feet much like this when I started with him. It took a year with trims and resets every 5 weeks (6 at the absolute longest) and they have looked pretty great over the last few months. Sometimes I almost thought it wasn't worth trimming every 5 weeks as the farrier takes so little off, but I'm glad I stuck with his advice. I'm sure you've tried increasing the frequency, just thought I'd mention it since those feet look quite similar to what I dealt with.

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    1. Ruckus, thanks for stopping by! Yes, I'm having Saga's shoes reset every 5 weeks. We're only two shoeings in, so hopefully things will improve over the next 6-9 months. Fingers crossed!

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