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Post by andrea on May 6, 2010 16:03:23 GMT -8
Has anyone ever had a horse with a lump above the hoof that feels like it might have been a break at one time? I just got a starved and neglected filly (too softhearted!) and there's something wrong there but she seems sound. Not that I'm working her to see how she goes, but just in general I haven't noticed a problem. I'm wondering if something like this can fuse and they can be sound for trail riding. Anyone have a story to tell about a situation like this? I had one person tell me they knew someone with a horse like this that had no trouble at all, was rideable and lived into her thirties. I know some leg deformities can go away with good nutrition but I don't think that's what this is. I'll just hope for the best... Here's a picture. I have trimmed her feet now though. Yikes, they were bad.  |
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Post by highwayoflife on May 6, 2010 17:00:05 GMT -8
Perhaps others can offer insight, but I would suggest taking her to a vet to give you a good assessment. You might want to do that anyway to see how sound (or not) she is for working or riding.
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Post by RideHappy on May 6, 2010 17:31:09 GMT -8
That's odd, alright. I've been watching this unfold on your blog, too, and like I've said, I'm not a hoof person. I do know that bones can refuse, but it could be something else. Those feet were so, so bad--no telling how it affected the conformation of her leg and tendons. But, if she's sound--maybe it doesn't really matter.
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Post by andrea on May 6, 2010 20:12:41 GMT -8
I probably will take her to a vet at some point. For now I'm just going to feed her and keep her hooves taken care of and see what I can see. I'm wondering how much of this will be resolved just by that. I have heard of stranger things. But I'd be very curious to see what an x-ray of that area looks like, eventually. To be honest, I can't really spend a bunch of money on her. My neighbor was going to shoot her and I wanted to give her a chance. I've had some very nice people donate toward the cause, but it looks like most of it will be out of our pocket. I'll feed her up and vaccinate and worm her and see where we go from there. The idea is to find her a permanent home once she's looking better and had more ground training.
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Post by highwayoflife on May 7, 2010 21:23:43 GMT -8
There is a wonderful vet up in Deer Park we take our horses to. With my horse, Mindy, I had her teeth floated and asked about a few health issues with the Horse. The Vet was extremely helpful explaining each issue. Mindy has an 'indentation' on her left shoulder, and he felt it and explained a list of possibilities of what might have caused it and explained what it did - part of the muscle contracted in that area.
Obviously, you’d have to pay for a thorough checkup if you wanted it done on the leg, but if you are taking her to the vet for something else and ask about the leg, the Vet can probably take a quick look and at least give you a basic opinion that would help. It might be all you need to decide what to do from there, whether to go for an x-ray, or if continuing to just care for the horse and the hoof will be sufficient, and if that leg problem will be a hindrance her movement while doing exercises or ridding her.
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Post by andrea on May 7, 2010 22:10:54 GMT -8
Isn't it great having a good vet who knows their stuff? Down here we have a lot of vets but mine is by far the best (in my opinion  ) other than maybe one older, very experienced vet, down in Clarkston who is great at diagnosing lameness. I'll have one or the other of them look at her eventually. I had a long talk about her with my vet on the phone today and he was very helpful with giving me a beginning plan for her. I was worried about vaccinating her in her condition so I gave him a call. She's healthy and has already gained a lot of weight since I first saw her during the winter, so he gave me the go-ahead but told me to do it in a lot of slow steps. I didn't ask about the leg because I think it's something you'd have to see to diagnose. |
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) other than maybe one older, very experienced vet, down in Clarkston who is great at diagnosing lameness. I'll have one or the other of them look at her eventually. I had a long talk about her with my vet on the phone today and he was very helpful with giving me a beginning plan for her. I was worried about vaccinating her in her condition so I gave him a call. She's healthy and has already gained a lot of weight since I first saw her during the winter, so he gave me the go-ahead but told me to do it in a lot of slow steps. I didn't ask about the leg because I think it's something you'd have to see to diagnose.