Winston Churchill once said that "If you're going through hell, keep going". I'm trying to keep that in mind and I wish I could somehow share that knowledge with Little Love. Not that it would help her in her current hell. She is beyond sore. I don't have words to describe this, as I have never seen anything like it in my life. I took pictures of her trimmed hooves, or what's left of them and sent them to my friend and specialist Claudia Garner in South Carolina. Claudia studied with Strasser ten years ago, but has since expanded her knowledge. She continues to educate herself as she runs a hoof school and educates others. When she saw the pictures she said "OH MY GOD!!!! No wonder the poor thing is sore. What an absolutely disgusting trim. Do not let this guy touch this horse again."
Yes, it is a Strasser trim, but not exactly the "field trim" voiceofthehorses mentioned ealier... according to Claudia this is the clinic one, but... we aren't at a clinic. It will take about 4 weeks for her to grow back to anything that can be considered "normal".
Anyways. Little Love was really sore yesterday morning and we could barely get her to come out of her stall, but once Col went out, she followed slowly. Luck has it, the ground was frozen, but when she got to the grass part, it got a little easier to move. In the evening getting her in was hard, as she didn't want to walk on the cement, but after about 15 minutes of coaxing, she came in. She was sore, but it was still within the realm of "normal" soreness after a trim.
And I was hoping yesterday was the worst of it. But no. This morning I went to the barn and Little Love was hurting, swaying back and forth on her feet, trying to releave pressure. Her muscles all over her body were cramping from sheer fatigue and there were moments when it looked like she would actually fall over. Trying to pick up her front feet was nearly impossible and she could only hold a foot up for a few seconds until her other front knee started buckling from underneath her.
She didn't want to go into the field at all, but since I know movement will help her, we decided to do what we can to help her get there. My husband and I took some squishy foam and taped it to her fronts with duct tape so she could walk on the cement without collapsing. This worked and we managed to get her to the pasture. It took her 20 minutes to walk the 40 feet it takes to get to the gate. Of course, the beginning of the field was still frozen so getting to the grass part was agony, but she made it and it was a little better (although still extremely slow going) walking on the grass. The sun is out now, so I hope it melts the hard ground a bit, and she will have some relief.
I ended up calling the vet, as this is just not alright anymore. I have seen sore horses after trims, but this is beyond sore. She needs some kind of relief, as her muscles are starting to spasm from being so tense. And this in itself will bring on another set of problems. I'm not a big advocate of painkillers for horses, but at the moment I think we need to give her a few days of relief.
And how am I doing in all this? I am sick to my stomach and can't sleep knowing I caused this to my horse by making one of the worst decisions of my life by calling this trimmer. Live and learn, but unfortunately it is Little Love who has to suffer the most for my mistake. It will be hard to forgive myself for this one.
Showing posts with label trimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trimming. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Day 23
First thing I noticed this morning was Little Love's swollen front left leg. It wasn't excessively swollen, but just a bit on the inside and below the fetlock join. Great. All I need is an injury on the day of the first trim. I took her out and she had a slight limp in the beginning, but sort of worked it out after moving around a bit. The leg was a bit warm, but it was very local, so I just ran a bit of cold water over it before the trimmer showed up. Will have to keep an eye on that one...
The trimmer was both good and not so good. The good thing about him was that he did what I expected him to do, and talked about all the things I have learned about in the past year. Little Love has sole contraction, heel contraction and frog contraction (to mention a few...) - but over all he was positive about how her feet looked after being in shoes for over ten years. In other words, he's seen worse. And I agree. It could be worse. The heel was also underslung and high, but it seems to me that that is to be expected in a shod hoof. I felt that he truly trimmed with the contractions in mind, as he wants to help the hoof expand and grow properly. Also, the way it has been shaped so far, has put quite excessive pressure on the inside of both front hooves and this really has made the sole compromised.
The not so good part was the fact that I felt he trimmed her hooves a tad aggressively and now she is quite sore. I'm not sure if we could have avoided the soreness with everything that was going on, but in any case, I believe you should always try to leave the horse as sound as possible, because this encourages movement. And movement is what a barefoot horse needs, especially one with all these contractions. Not to mention that everything heels faster in the absence of pain. I did talk to the trimmer at length beforehand, telling him that I would prefer him to trim every two weeks a little rather than once every six weeks a lot, but he didn't feel like that was a good plan. So, I let him do his thing. Of course, what do I really know about trimming? Lots of theory, but no so much the practice. So in hindsight, would I have asked this trimmer to come, had I known he was this aggressive? I don't know. There are not lots of options for me at the moment. So, I'm trying not to think of what I should or could have done. The trim is done and now we have to deal with the aftermath and look into the future.
So, after the trim, poor Little Love was not walking very well at all on the hard concrete that unfortunately surrounds the barn. However, when I opened her stall door, she was very motivated to go outside into the pasture, actually coming out before Col. Slowly (and painfully) she made her way to the edge of the pasture, over the frozen (and semi-hard) mud. My heart sunk, literally, until I saw her finally walk onto the grass, where she actually moved normally. Thank goodness for our fantastic grass pasture! Even when it's below freezing, it's soft enough for my sore horse. This gave me hope that perhaps everything isn't as bad as it looked on the cement. I know there is a lot going on in her legs at the moment with the blood flow coming back 100% and restoring nerve funtion (i.e. feeling) so I just have to brace myself for the next days (and hope she can do the same). I will try to help her in every (natural) way possible. I went to the store to buy some stuff for setting up a "soaking station" for her, tomorrow I'll try that with the clicker, hopefully I could at least get her fronts to soak for a while.
The trimmer was both good and not so good. The good thing about him was that he did what I expected him to do, and talked about all the things I have learned about in the past year. Little Love has sole contraction, heel contraction and frog contraction (to mention a few...) - but over all he was positive about how her feet looked after being in shoes for over ten years. In other words, he's seen worse. And I agree. It could be worse. The heel was also underslung and high, but it seems to me that that is to be expected in a shod hoof. I felt that he truly trimmed with the contractions in mind, as he wants to help the hoof expand and grow properly. Also, the way it has been shaped so far, has put quite excessive pressure on the inside of both front hooves and this really has made the sole compromised.
The not so good part was the fact that I felt he trimmed her hooves a tad aggressively and now she is quite sore. I'm not sure if we could have avoided the soreness with everything that was going on, but in any case, I believe you should always try to leave the horse as sound as possible, because this encourages movement. And movement is what a barefoot horse needs, especially one with all these contractions. Not to mention that everything heels faster in the absence of pain. I did talk to the trimmer at length beforehand, telling him that I would prefer him to trim every two weeks a little rather than once every six weeks a lot, but he didn't feel like that was a good plan. So, I let him do his thing. Of course, what do I really know about trimming? Lots of theory, but no so much the practice. So in hindsight, would I have asked this trimmer to come, had I known he was this aggressive? I don't know. There are not lots of options for me at the moment. So, I'm trying not to think of what I should or could have done. The trim is done and now we have to deal with the aftermath and look into the future.
So, after the trim, poor Little Love was not walking very well at all on the hard concrete that unfortunately surrounds the barn. However, when I opened her stall door, she was very motivated to go outside into the pasture, actually coming out before Col. Slowly (and painfully) she made her way to the edge of the pasture, over the frozen (and semi-hard) mud. My heart sunk, literally, until I saw her finally walk onto the grass, where she actually moved normally. Thank goodness for our fantastic grass pasture! Even when it's below freezing, it's soft enough for my sore horse. This gave me hope that perhaps everything isn't as bad as it looked on the cement. I know there is a lot going on in her legs at the moment with the blood flow coming back 100% and restoring nerve funtion (i.e. feeling) so I just have to brace myself for the next days (and hope she can do the same). I will try to help her in every (natural) way possible. I went to the store to buy some stuff for setting up a "soaking station" for her, tomorrow I'll try that with the clicker, hopefully I could at least get her fronts to soak for a while.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Day 19 Oops! She did it again.
Today, when I got to the barn, Becky and I took the horses in. In other words, we walked out into the pasture, said hello to the two horses standing tightly side by side. Then, I invited Little Love to follow me, which she did and so with me in the lead, all four of us (plus three dogs) walked to the barn.
For some reason I was thinking about horse shoes the minute I started grooming Little Love. I should have known. When I have random thoughts like that while around her, it's usually her trying to tell me something. It wasn't until I picked up her left front that I realized the message; she had lost her shoe. And not just lost it, it had pulled off part of her hoof. This is a horse that loses a shoe ONCE during the 8½ years her previous owner had her and now she has done it twice in the past 2½ weeks... Okay, I get it Little Love, you want to have your shoes off.
I looked at the hoof and realized that my initial plan of having Little Love shod in the front for another 3 weeks was going out of the window. No sense in trying to put a shoe back on the ragged looking hoof, it would probably just come off again and take even more hoof wall with it. And since I was going to take those suckers off anyways, why risk losing more good hoof. So, I called the trimmer.
Finding a good trimmer is not the easiest thing in the world. I have some hopes for this guy as I have selected him carefully. There are a few trimmers in this area that I could have called, but I have not been impressed with most of their work, as it seems that if the horse has any problems at all, the trimmers are not able to address them accordingly. They seem to sort of just stick to whatever the horse's hooves look like in the first place and not make too many changes.
But, the thing is that I want to make changes to Little Love's hooves. I want her legs to be straighter and her hooves to be balanced (something they are not now). I want her joints to be lined up. I want her to have a chance at being healthy and sound for a long, long time. This trimmer I have selected has studied with the German vet called Strasser. For those of you not familiar to the barefoot circles, the name Strasser seems to be like a swear word to some people, as the woman is mostly known for her very aggressive approach to horse hooves (she has, however, cured horses that were "doomed", but they went through hell to get healthy). However, her hoof school does have it's bonuses, as she does teach her students not just the basics, but way beyond. I have come to know the work of a few people who have gone through her trimming school and it seems like many quickly adapt their own style of trimming which may losely be based on the Strasser method, but is not as evasive.
So, I have decided to go with this guy, and we'll see what comes of it. I can always change if it doesn't work out, right? In any case, I will have a loooong talk with him before he touches Little Love's feet :-)
And just for the record, Little Love is in full blown heat. Her and Col are inseparable, and won't stop nibbling at each other even when they are in the barn. Here are two pictures of the two of them "going at it" after coming inside. She is in such euforia about this new friendship that she barely gives me the time of day. Which I'm starting to get used to, as I have been back in that square one so many times in the past weeks I've lost count :-)
For some reason I was thinking about horse shoes the minute I started grooming Little Love. I should have known. When I have random thoughts like that while around her, it's usually her trying to tell me something. It wasn't until I picked up her left front that I realized the message; she had lost her shoe. And not just lost it, it had pulled off part of her hoof. This is a horse that loses a shoe ONCE during the 8½ years her previous owner had her and now she has done it twice in the past 2½ weeks... Okay, I get it Little Love, you want to have your shoes off.
I looked at the hoof and realized that my initial plan of having Little Love shod in the front for another 3 weeks was going out of the window. No sense in trying to put a shoe back on the ragged looking hoof, it would probably just come off again and take even more hoof wall with it. And since I was going to take those suckers off anyways, why risk losing more good hoof. So, I called the trimmer.
Finding a good trimmer is not the easiest thing in the world. I have some hopes for this guy as I have selected him carefully. There are a few trimmers in this area that I could have called, but I have not been impressed with most of their work, as it seems that if the horse has any problems at all, the trimmers are not able to address them accordingly. They seem to sort of just stick to whatever the horse's hooves look like in the first place and not make too many changes.
But, the thing is that I want to make changes to Little Love's hooves. I want her legs to be straighter and her hooves to be balanced (something they are not now). I want her joints to be lined up. I want her to have a chance at being healthy and sound for a long, long time. This trimmer I have selected has studied with the German vet called Strasser. For those of you not familiar to the barefoot circles, the name Strasser seems to be like a swear word to some people, as the woman is mostly known for her very aggressive approach to horse hooves (she has, however, cured horses that were "doomed", but they went through hell to get healthy). However, her hoof school does have it's bonuses, as she does teach her students not just the basics, but way beyond. I have come to know the work of a few people who have gone through her trimming school and it seems like many quickly adapt their own style of trimming which may losely be based on the Strasser method, but is not as evasive.
So, I have decided to go with this guy, and we'll see what comes of it. I can always change if it doesn't work out, right? In any case, I will have a loooong talk with him before he touches Little Love's feet :-)
And just for the record, Little Love is in full blown heat. Her and Col are inseparable, and won't stop nibbling at each other even when they are in the barn. Here are two pictures of the two of them "going at it" after coming inside. She is in such euforia about this new friendship that she barely gives me the time of day. Which I'm starting to get used to, as I have been back in that square one so many times in the past weeks I've lost count :-)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Day 15
Well, my journey into barefoot horses has officially begun; I had the shoer (who came for Col) take off Little Love's back shoes this morning. My plan is to take off the hind shoes first, see how it goes and then take off the fronts a bit later. I don't have a definite schedule, but hoping to have all this happen in the near future, depending a bit on the weather. Of course luck has it that at the moment the weather is not on my side, it was really really cold this morning and the ground is frozen (read: rock hard). It's also really dry, which is not helpful. I have to figure out a soaking method for the feet which won't be an easy task as Lilo hates water on her back legs to begin with. It will take some training to have her stay in water/have on soaking boots (or any boots for that matter). But, I have faith in the clicker...
I went back in the late afternoon to take the horses in. Luckily the sun had warmed up half of the outdoor arena and it was soft enough to walk in. I hand walked Little Love for almost 30 minutes, just to give her hooves some extra blood circulation. Tomorrow I'll be walking her more as well as trying to do some soaking. I also have to bring the camera and take pictures of the hooves so I can send them to my friend Claudia in the US (she's the specialist :-). Then the next step is to find a decent trimmer, which is not going to be easy. I'll keep you posted!
I went back in the late afternoon to take the horses in. Luckily the sun had warmed up half of the outdoor arena and it was soft enough to walk in. I hand walked Little Love for almost 30 minutes, just to give her hooves some extra blood circulation. Tomorrow I'll be walking her more as well as trying to do some soaking. I also have to bring the camera and take pictures of the hooves so I can send them to my friend Claudia in the US (she's the specialist :-). Then the next step is to find a decent trimmer, which is not going to be easy. I'll keep you posted!
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