I did it -- I helped bad feet

[BiologyBrain]

I've had the crazy stomach bug going around for what seems like the past two weeks. So my time with the minis has been minimal. Today is the first day I went out there and thought I could tackle the biggest mini's foundered/laminitis-y feet. I've been reading every barefoot, treating founder/laminitis Internet site possible. I've reflected on all you have told me and researched what normal feet are supposed to look like. I've worked up my courage to try to alleviate some of LBs foot pain. At first I used my Trail Rider's Rasp to see if I could make an appreciable difference. The first foot seemed like I made some good headway. LB wasn't thrilled with standing on 3 sore feet for any length of time. However, I made good progress on his front right hoof with the rasp and a little progress with all his other feet. Since my a rms were tiring out, I decided to try the nippers to clip the toes and also address the heels a little bit. My arms & hands weren't up to the task for much, but I was able to get a good portion of the toe off of all 4 feet. It's not pretty (so I didn't take any photos) but he walks BETTER!! Even the owner noticed! I'm going to try to smooth the rough edges and round the whole hoof a bit more in line with the "mustang roll". He actually lands heel first. He went from being unwilling to move or even stand today -- he was laying down when I came into the stall he's claimed as his own (all stalls in the barn are open to the pasture) -- to being led easily by my 3 and 5 year old children. When he's sore, it usually takes everything I have as well as the elderly owner to get him to take a couple of steps. He went from classic founder/laminitis \\ // to standing like a real horse || ||.

I'm SO happy for him!!! I darn near passed out from the heat, exertion, and left-over stomach sickness weakness, but it was worth it to see this sweet little guy able to walk! He's not 100 sound yet, but this surely made a difference! I wish I had better arm and hand strength so I could have finished him, but the sites it read indicated that if the horse was really sore (& he was) sometimes it's better to do a rough job to get them more comfortable and finish later. His friend, RM needs some work too, but he was too much for me today.

 

[BSharpRanch]

Awesome news!!

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Wow great job,

You did good, and you are teaching the owner and helping him at the same time.

Maybe he will be more willing to get a different farrier after this.

Minis are horses but they are different and not all farriers are good with them.

I am so happy for you.

(HUGS)

 

[MyMiniGal]

Oh, I so happy for you and the little guy. Sounds like you did great.

 

[BiologyBrain]

I'm going to have my husband sharpen both pairs of nippers I have so it won't be so hard to do next time. I absolutely LOVE the Rider's Rasp Trail size that I have! It made rasping so much easier! The one I have doesn't have the fine teeth, just the medium ones, but seems to be ok. I still have to go back and smooth the rough edges with the rasp (I ran out of arm strength plus today it decided to finally act like August in KY 90 degrees and crazy humidity).

For anybody that trims and/or rasps or just knows -- how important for actual hoof function are smooth edges? Basically, I'm asking if its hurting him or his hooves in any way to have some ragged edges where my nipper cuts didn't quite meet properly. He's out on pasture with no rocks or really hard ground (just some areas of dry dirt/clay -- like in the stalls). He is out with his 3 fellow minis and the Belgian. The only thing I can think that the ragged edges could cause would be if he kicked one of the others it could cut them up a bit more than if smooth.

Another question for anybody that's helped a sore/lame horse with trimming... His first 10 steps were still kind of short and gimpy, but within those 10 steps he got bolder and bolder. Is that normal? Is he just so used to gimping along and having sore feet that he couldn't believe his feet didn't hurt? The entire time I've know this little guy (over a year?) he's gimped around a large portion of the time.

I'm so excited & I'm still going to be looking for more guidance on keeping his feet sound. I know it's a process, not an instant fix. However, it does make you feel pretty good when they instantly improve! ;-)

 

[chandab]

As long as the hoof is balanced, then the rasping itself is more for looks than function (I prefer to rasp, as the smooth edge makes it easier for me to see if I have the hoof balanced, but that is me); but like you said a sharp edge could nick a buddy during play.

Yes, its pretty normal for a horse that has had bad or unbalanced hooves to take those gimpy steps or short steps after a trim brings them closer to balance; its not just the hoof you are affecting, the tendons and muscles in the legs also need to adjust (depending on how bad the hooves were). And, you are likely right, he was expecting it to hurt when he walked off, so he walked short and gimpy til he realized it didn't hurt, so he tried out his new hooves.

 

[Marty]

Good for you. Also if you have really watched some of the better natural barefoot trimmers trim a foundered horse, you know that you won't necessarily get a "pretty foot" if you are trimming properly. So don't worry about that. Hope you are providing pain meds as well. Good luck to you.

 

[ohmt]

That is GREAT news!

 

[Shes My Style]

Yes - it is very normal for a horse to really hesitate going forward the first few steps after having horrible feet. All they know is for the longest time that a step equalled pain and it takes them a few to realize that is no longer the case.

Right now functionality is more important than pretty. Anything that gets him willing to move and thus increasing blood flow to those hooves will help them heal. Congrats on your first trim attempt!