It was a lovely fall day, beautifully sunny with a bright blue sky and wispy white clouds, and a nice breeze keeping everyone cool. It was perfect riding weather through the woods and cornfields of Alexandria Township.  At one point we crossed the road for a few hundred yards to get to an adjacent field, and the start and end of the road crossing was manned by local police, keeping riders and horses safe.   There was a choice of three different ride lengths. Like Goldilocks, the ‘medium’ ride was just right for us, and we completed it in about 1:20.   We started out alone and quickly caught up to the group ahead of us, to Webster’s approval.

The ride was a huge success. It was the inaugural ride for the Central and South Jersey affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and over 60 riders participated. The parking area was full of trailers big and small. The ride raised money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, for national breast cancer research, and local screening and education. Bow Brickhill was the leading fundraiser and was awarded the first annual trophy. The Central and South Jersey Affiliate raised over $48,000, just shy of the goal of $50,000.

Fundraising is still open until November 15th, so if you wish, you may still donate until then by going to my Ride Page. If you have benefited from this blog in the past and would like to show your appreciation, this is a very worthy cause.

Here are some views from the Ride, they will be up until November 11, 2011.

https://vando.imagequix.com/proof.html?id=49WEF9G&eventid=1071%2D2680%2D0011#preview

https://vando.imagequix.com/proof.html?id=49WEF9G&eventid=1071%2D2680%2D0011#preview

https://vando.imagequix.com/proof.html?id=49WEF9G&eventid=1071%2D2680%2D0011#preview

https://vando.imagequix.com/proof.html?id=49WEF9G&eventid=1071%2D2680%2D0011#preview

And here we are cantering in the ring at home:

Christopher Johnston, DVM, PhD, spoke about Impact in the Athletic Horse; about Heel Expansion; and also about Objective Biomechanical Testing of Horseshoes. Dr. Johnston finds that a softer surface may absorb as much as 90% of the impact forces. In his laboratory studies, as much as 80% of the impact force on the limb is absorbed in the hoof, before it reaches P2.

Dr. Johnston outlined three possible explanations for heel expansion of the hoof under load: the frog pressure theory, the depression theory, and the hemodynamic theory. Every one of these may play a part. Using a thin wire attached to the heels and a potentiometer, Dr. Johnston found about 1 mm (1/24 of an inch) expansion at the heels under load, followed by contraction of the heels as the hoof approached breakover during motion. Shoes decreased the amount of expansion and contraction.

I found this short blurb interesting in that it states matter of factly that shoes prevented expansion of the hoof. There’s no way to tell what if any discussion was generated at the symposium, but this study is over ten years old and it appears to have died a quiet death. I think this is a far more significant finding than there is credit being given, as most farriers and authors will dispute that shoes prevent hoof expansion.

I have not been able to find anything on the original study by Dr. Johnston. If anyone is familiar with where to locate it, please post.

Link to article:

http://www.anvilmag.com/farrier/bls.htm

Club Foot

Not Club Foot

Shoes were removed in December ’08.  The images represent his progress over the course of the next 5 months.

Left Front Foot

         Fig. 1                                                              Fig. 2

       Fig. 3                                                              Fig. 4

    The long toe is progressively coming back into better proportion.

A better hoof/ pastern alignment is visible in the subsequent views.

Right Hind Foot

         

           

The horse has started to compete at unrecognized Combined Tests, and is doing well.

Preparing Your Horse – Have your horse checked with a veterinarian within 4 weeks of the trip to make sure he is healthy enough to endure the journey and that he is up to date on all vaccinations. This is especially important if the expedition is long. Also, practice loading in and out of trailers with your horse, that way he can familiarize himself with the procedure.

Bandaging/Shipping Boots – Many people wonder if they need to bandage the legs of their horse, use shipping boots, or do nothing at all while they transport their horse. Here are some tidbits to help you make your own decision. If your horse has no shoes on, there is no reason to bandage him. However, if your horse does have shoes, proper bandaging is necessary to help protect the coronet. Make sure to wrap the bandages tightly or else hay or straw could get in the wrap and irritate the horse. In regards to shipping boots, if your horse tends to kick a lot, it could injure itself wearing boots. Boots may also add extra heat during transit, but overall they are a safe choice. With both bandages and shipping boots, allow a sufficient amount of time for your horse to become accustomed to wearing either before the journey.

Preparing the Trailer-Your trailer needs to be in great condition since it is the vehicle your horse will be traversing in. In general, all parts should be in good condition and make sure there is no rust or missing parts. Bringing a spare tired for the trailer is a good idea as well. Make sure there are enough vents to provide for comfortable ventilation since horses are susceptible to over heating.

Trailer Ride- Dehydration is a common problem when horses are shipped, therefore providing enough water is essential. Offer water from a familiar bucket every four hours or at every stop to prevent dehydration from occurring. Horse grain and rich feed may cause problems in the large intestine; therefore hay is a suitable choice for feed as it helps prevent dehydration by aiding in retaining water in the gut. It is also a good idea to wash away manure and urine at every stop to help prevent respiratory infections.

Transporting your horse requires planning and should not be attempted the night before departure. Start thinking about it at least week ahead of time. Also, keep in mind that each horse is different and that one technique will not always work best for all horses. Keep these tips in mind for your first or next trip to assure a comfortable and safe ride for your equine and have peace of mind for yourself.

Written by Leslie Hsu of uShip.com, an auction-style marketplace for Horse Transport

View the story here (but ignore the beginning where they shoe using urethane pads):

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/drive_to_discover&id=6051896

The horse in question, an 18 yo Appaloosa was retired from showing because of the non-specific diagnosis of caudal heel pain syndrome.  Xrays confirmed the presence of ‘changes’ that were attributed to his discomfort.  He was shod according to proper conventional veterinary standards for navicular, which did help to make him comfortable, but he still seemed stiff, definitely not agile, and, at the bottom of the pecking order would allow himself to be cornered and bullied rather than try and run away.

In examining his feet, there was nothing obvious or terrible about them that would be making him sore but the owner decided, with much trepidation, to give barefoot a try. As it turned out there was quite a bit of fine tuning to do on his feet and with each trim his gait and comfort level improved. In particular his toes were able to be shortened much more than they could be in wedge shoes even though short toes is the standard shoeing protocol for ‘easing breakover’.

Right Front Leg Lateral View

a.  With shoes                          b.  Shoes Just Removed            c.  First Trim

In the shoes with wedge pads, the toe length looks acceptable, but without it, the excess length is more apparent.  While a wedge does improve breakover, it comes at the cost of shifting the weight of the foot and leg pathologically onto the toe.  With one trim, the toe length is improved and the bulge in the hairline is relaxed and straighter.

d.  Growing out holes           e.  4 mos. later                     f.  7 mos. later 

As the trim progresses, the hairline bulge continues to improve, the toe continues to come back, the heel stands up a little, and the foot comes ‘under the leg’ in balance.  In the last photo, the hairline angle approaches the ideal as toe height improves, and the toe length is nice and short. The horse is standing comfortably with the cannon bone nicely vertical, with all his weight visibly placed onto that leg and into the heels.   

Note the difference between figs. c and f.  In the later photo, the heel has been brought back more underneath the boney column, providing a better base of support which is helpful in a navicular diagnosis (as in all cases since the balance is better).  The toe is shorter in lenght but has more depth from coronary band to ground, which improves comfort.  In general the whole shape of the foot is much improved, without having made any drastic changes. 

Excess horn can look like caudal heel pain

 FIRST TRIM – The sole shows the evidence of why the foot was sore and what can masquerade as unspecific foot or heel pain, but is simply unrecognized excess horn. This view shows the foot in mid-trim with the left side already done and the ridght side just started. The heels have been brought back to the widest part of the frog and lowered to be level with the frog. This alone will help the frog to get healthier as it becomes weightbearing.   The right side of the foot is completely ‘flat’ – straight across, not reflecting the underlying shape of the coffin bone which is vaulted.  This has been corrected on the left side, including shortening the collateral groove (purple arrows).  The red arrows indicate either excess bar or sole which is causing pain on weightbearing.

a.  2nd trim                                      b. 7 mos. later        

The early trim shows spots of small abscesses, from where the excess sole was impginging on the sole corium. The toe shows a good deal of separation still leftover from being shod.  Within 7 months, the hoof has become rounder (or the toe is shorter), the frog is healthier in appearance with the heels level with it, and the separation at the toe is almost completely gone.  The bar is now straight, not curving, and the depth of the bars was experimented with over the course of the past trims in order to find what was most comfortable for this horse. He shows immediate improvement in his comfort level with shorter bars. 

For Sale – Contact

Need to re-home a lovely Morgan mare that was rescued on her way to the auction.  According to the vet, she is ~ 20 yo.  Liver chestnut, no papers, sturdily built, ~15.2hh, no major health issues. UTD on everything.    She supposedly has TMJ so doesn’t  eat very coarse hay, but otherwise it doesn’t affect her.  I feed her Triple Crown Senior Complete feed, and let her eat however much hay she likes.

Spry and sweet, she is great with kids.  We have had her on trails, jumped, and assessed by trainers.  Loads fine and is sound barefoot.   She is a top notch mover for English Hunter and would make a wonderful kid or adult beginner show horse. She has enough traing to show successfully.  She frames up, knows her stuff, and is easy to stop, turn, bend and accelerate in a snaffle.  Eager worker but not spirited.  No buck, bite, rear, or other issues. 

Right now she is gaining weight quickly and working her way back from skinny.  We are looking for a retired plug of a trail horse and she is just too great to waste.  Beautiful thick mane and tail.

Free to adopt with contract.  I cannot ship, but know a shipper who has very good prices for me.  We are located in Ridge, NY 11961.

Please contact me for further info and more pictures.  

 Christine   EquineLI@yahoo.com  516 220 8812

  Horse and rider right after a trim.

The mare is classified as a pony but is a QH, with large, horse-sized feet. She had fairly healthy feet to start with, with the exception of some minor flaring that was corrected over the course of the first two trims. This enabled her right lead canter to improve and helped with better lead changes.

     Slight Medial Flare                      Flare has been corrected

    Left                                                    Right                                        Left Sole

She and her owner/rider have had a very successful 2007 showing season,  winning Champion in Children’s Hunter Pony Division at the “Big E” Eastern Seaboard Exposition  in MA, a finalist (8th place) in Marshall & Sterling National Finals at HITS in Saugerties NY, and Reserve Champion at Gardnertown Farms in Newburgh NY. They are now (February 2008) competing at HITS in Ocala, FL.

At the “Big E”                       In a Chronicle of the Horse ad congratulating M&S Finalists

                                               (upper right hand corner)