Mrs Mom's Magic Arrow-y Thing-y

I sent Estes' hoof pictures over to Mrs Mom and had her do her magic.  Only one picture was suitable, but I found it helpful and thought I'd share it.

Red Arrows- that is where your deep tissue thrush is hiding. Clean the hell out of that area, and pack with any of the treatments we discussed



Lime Green Arrows- Shows bar tissue. Not out of hand, but you'll learn to trim that back to the level of existing sole


Blue Arrow- at toe- shows her breakover/ wear pattern for that foot. Nothing bad- just thought you might find it interesting to note.


Heels are flat and level- very nice. Might be a tad high, but hell this IS a true club foot you're looking at too.


On the top shots, all that really jumped out at me was that the heels on her non-club foot are a tad high as well, (which might well explain her sore shoulder- horse's have a way of evening themselves out to cope with issues in the distal limbs,) and I see some "lines" in the hoof wall. Some folks call those "event lines". I don't have a name for them, but note them as they are an indicator of changes in the horse's life, diet, exercise level, hormone levels, past illness, etc etc etc... The lower on the hoof wall, the long ago the event that disrupted the horse's system. Higher up obviously more recent. Not usually anything to worry about- just a good overall sign for us when we "read" the hoof.


I can't tell from photos how much retained sole she may have in there. May not be much, might be tons. Club feet tend to retain a lot.


Now- on that club foot- to test how far that deep tissue thrush has invaded, and how bad it has affected the internal stability of the hoof- you need to do the following:


1- lift hoof, and clean WELL- all cracks and crevices, and hidey spots.

2- place one hand on either side of hoof- thumbs over the sole, fingers wrapping towards toe.

3- Rotate inside hand towards to, outside hand towards heel.

4- Repeat, with inside hand going towards heel, outside hand going towards toe.


What you are looking for:

Flexion. Movement. Watch the hoof. FEEL the hoof- if you see and FEEL (FEEL is CRUCIAL) a lot of movement in the hoof, that shows you the internal structures are compromised.


Which means what?

Compromised internal connective tissue means a weaker heel. Means more movement on weight bearing. Means pain on movement.


Can it be fixed?

Yes- and with no shoes.

It will take aggressive treatment by you guys, packing those openings and cracks. Hooves can heal themselves amazingly well. All we need to do is clear out the crap that has taken over in there, provide exercise to tolerance, a good diet, proper balanced trimming and staying on top of ANY thrush that will try to invade.


Your supplies:

Q-tips

PenG soaked cotton balls, tubes of the mastitis treatment, triple antibiotic- any of those will work

Or White Lightening soaked cotton balls


Any of the above to pack the holes with.


Recovery time will depend on how deep the tissue was compromised- but within a couple months you should begin to see an entirely different frog and sole. Watch her move too- she'll tell you how things are feeling in there.


We've (and by "we", I mean Mom and Bill since Estes lives with them) been treating Estes with Pen-soaked cotton balls, which seems to be helping her movement.  Monster is working with her this weekend and will take her out for a short ride to get her stretched out.  I have hope that she'll be sound again soon.