Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Empress after Farrier Visit


I wish I would have taken a before video for comparison, but it was so painful to watch her walk that I didn't ever think of recording it. She walked similar to a severely foundered horse before her trim today. A couple hours after the farrier left I recorded this video. The difference is amazing. Although she didn't want to walk over to me, she walked over to her normal feeding spot and was obviously looking forward to her feeding, so overall I'm very happy with her movement and actions.

Here are her feet the day I picked her up:

Her feet after her trim: Her feet with black lines denoting where her hoof wall SHOULD be:

We're not sure why her foot grew the way it did. The farrier mentioned possible ringbone, but the change she's experienced in the last few hours make me hopeful that she was just very sore from her toes being so long. He agreed that despite how long her feet were that she actually has very good feet. Hopefully she will continue to improve over the next few days. If she does, we'll be more aggressive with her trimming and get her feet into the proper position. If she doesn't improve a trip to the vet will be in order to diagnose what's going on internally.

The good news is she actually walked around her field and grazed all afternoon, and showed more enthusiasm for her dinner than she has before. We're heading in the right direction at least!!

On an side note, the babies did so well with their trimming today! Fabian was a champ and I haven't been working with him at all, so I was pleasantly surprised. And considering he's still a little sore from being gelded Thursday, he was exceptional, actually!! Fabian also got his papers today--he is registered as "A Fabulous Choice." He's such a good boy--I can't thank Linda and Barry enough for letting me have him. He's going to make an awesome riding horse in a couple of years!! :)

2 comments:

knoyes said...

Great news Jessie, I bet this step will help her gain and be more comfortable as well. Once you get all the issues lined up, she will amaze us how fast she progresses. What a lucky mare she is, I don't think she could have lasted alot longer like she was.

Kim

Jessie said...

Thanks, Kim. I sure hope so! Of course after Sunny's ordeal I'm always hesitant to get too optimistic about these girls with recurring issues, but I am hoping she's just a hard keeper and needs a little extra TLC to stay healthy. Sometimes these halter bred horses can be like that. I am praying that's all it is and not any deeper issues!!