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Posted on 02/24/2006 9:12:25 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.
I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!
I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.
So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
Previous threads:
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
Isn't it when the sore foot hits the ground, the head goes up?
Harley looks good. I am glad you had a nice ride. The granddaughter and I went for a walk down the bike trail. It was so beautiful out. There is a path along the side for horses to go on, but with all those bikes zooming along, I would be afraid they would get spooked.
I think it's entirely possible both hurt... he seems rather choppy and inconsistent.
Vet needs to block him, one foot at a time. You can get a ton of answers with a block. Sounds like navicular.
Well, then we should talk xrays and a real diagnosis, and discuss next steps if the treatment plan he's been on for two years is no longer working.
Your right. His head bob, so ever slight, does seem to go up when the right foot hits. After watching the video a couple more times it was clearer.
Mercy, it's hard to see the horses in pain.
That's a great video, by the way. I've got to get my husband to show me how to do that.
Well, I had a good long conversation with the vet - on the phone. He's slammed. Talked about when he could come out and spend a good long while diagnosing and ended up not till Monday. He is repairing a broken leg all day tomorrow that he was called into today, he's doing a knee surgery Wed, and so on and so on. Given that kind of schedule it sounds like he doesn't really need my money this week either ;~D LOL.
We ruled out laminitis that would mean he has to come out right away... doesn't make sense, and he's taking my word for it on the symptoms. (doh! should have asked for his email, I could have sent the video)
Here's what we decided to do: Medicate the heck out of him this week as if it's his Navicular and see what he does. Give him 20 Isoxuprine twice daily [he's been getting 14 in the morning only] ~and~ two Bute tabs twice daily every day this week. Give him nothing Monday and he'll be by to see him at 1:00. If he's relatively sound after all those meds, then evaluate whether he should be xrayed, continue to be treated with meds, talk about different shoing options, or maybe even the injections to his foot, and whatever other options make sense. If he's not sound after all those meds then it's not his navicular.
I think it's good that by then, my shoer will be coming the same week anyway, if changes there need to be made.
He's moving very choppy compared to how he usually moves so I think they are sore but if he's not standing with them out to keep the pressure off of them it's not too bad yet. I hope.
I'm glad to hear you reached the vet and that he okayed meds for him. Did he say anything about cooling his feet?
Well, we sortof ruled out that it was laminitis-related because he's not standing like a laminitic horse, or refusing to move, or rocking, or doing the other things he might expect to see. He said "I could come out right now and verify that if you think that's it, because we wouldn't want to wait, but it doesn't ~sound~ like it from the description"
Really, I should be surprised if that was it. There's really not that much grass out there, and no other reason he should be foundering.
But the warmth in his feet is a puzzle. I did hose his feet a bit when I brought him in to groom him, and our water is cold. If I'm going to be bringing him to the tie twice a day to Bute him, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to hose them good at the same time.
My concern is that I can think of no reason for any heat in his hooves except founder. If I recall correctly, heat in the hooves is not good period. I'm at work right now so I can't check any of my books at home or ask Bob but it seems to me that I remember you can minimize the damage from founder if caught early and the heat is kept down in the feet.
Check Bay's neck at the top, is it at all cresty? Heat in the hooves is not good - it is an indication of founder, possibly just starting. If his neck is at all cresty it is founder. Waiting until Monday is not good. Hose his feet down to cool them.
Call your farrier and see if he can get out to take a look at him. And I may be an alarmist because maybe his feet aren't hot. Look for injury in the ankle or swelling. Check his back feet to see if they are warm.
I'm glad you got hold of the vet.
You mentioned his front feet are warmer then Cyn's, how do they feel compared to his back? Maybe that's normal for him. Will he stand with his feet in buckets?
Becky
He's a little cresty, not new, he's carried that for a while, since I got him anyway... I'm told that once they get fat there, it seldom goes away unless they're starved, it's hard to get rid of.
You're not being alarmist, you're going by what I told you, and when his feet felt warm I was alarmed too. I wish there was an objective way to measure that and tell you. they felt about as warm as feeling his leg... not hot, but not cool like Cyn's. In the past I've felt them that warm before, and when I did, I took him off grass for the rest of the day and started limiting their time on it.
The vet said it's subjective trying to report that they felt warm... and hard to say 'how warm is too warm', and I might guess that if his navicular area is inflamed and painful, maybe that would bring a little heat with it (??? that's a question). There's no swelling anywhere.
Well, I'm gonna go get him anyway, and give him his Bute. I'll feel his feet again, and Cyn's and try to make a decision one way or the other on that issue. And I'll close them all in the paddock for now, where they don't even have access to the back forty. It'll give me a better chance to watch him intently and keep him off grass anyway.
I've never tried :~D I don't know.
I'm gonna go catch him and Cyn and feel them again. I'll check back.
About Celia's horse. He is a Quarter horse, but he has racing blood in him, which makes him longer and lankier. I think he's a bit on the thin side, Celia said it was just he needed muscle tone. I don't think it's fair to compare him to Harley because of the age difference. IMO, she's not feeding him enough, especially in light of the fact that she is conditioning him, but I tried to tactfully say something, but she's not buying.
Becky
Has she had his teeth floated?
Shoot, with everything else I forgot. Happy Birthday :)
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