Horse shoer has been and gone... told him about Bay being lame last week and he did hoof testers on him and decided he might have been, might still be, a little bit laminitic.
I said I'd given him Bute last weekend and he was better, but had not given him any yesterday or today. He said stay with the Bute longer.... every day for awhile, till the grass is a little less vigorous.
No sign of laminitis in the pony. If someone was gonna founder on grass, it should be her... But I guess not necessarily.
Bay was visibly hurting to stand on one foot barefoot while he worked on the other one. I gave him 2 tabs of Bute right then. I don't know what to think really...
Also talked a little about NB shoes... he said, "My horse shoes are basically the same thing once I roll the toe, and he showed me how when he's done hammering the shoe is not flat, but tips up in the front when placed 'bottom down' on a flat surface. That may be true, but they don't look the same. He thinks they're just a trendy thing. That's sortof what I thought he'd think.
I'm sorry Bay seems off again. You have to exray to be sure about laminitic right?
Becky
I'm sorry to hear about Bay still being a bit off but I'm glad that the pads seem to help him. Your farrier's response to the NB shoes being a trendy thing is understandable. A lot of traditionally schooled farriers think that. But the shoes themselves aren't necessarily the main thing, although they do help. It's getting the breakover point and the heels where they need to be. I think I've told you that you could use a regular rim shoe and with some anvil work accomplish about the same thing. The NB shoes just eliminate the need for the anvil work. But fitting an NB shoe like you would any other shoe isn't going to accomplish the same thing. I know you're skeptical and you're frustrated and I don't want to preach, although I know I already have, and I know you like your farrier and feel like he does a good job for Bay, so I'm going to get off my box and leave it there.