Day 5 Chiropractor visit

I did not ride Taffy this evening- I had put the boots back on, minus the frog pads- after our morning exercise, wondering what difference I would see. I hoped I might not see toe first landings and pastern snaps, but they were back by evening. So the pads went back on after I backed her toes to the white line and rebalanced the heels. I think the heels are wanting to come down more. I'm proceeding with caution. LF is has a healthy curve on the lateral quarter. Medial lateral quarter is fairly straight. White line separation is present in quarters just in front of heels only on fronts. On hinds it appears in Lateral quarters . I rounded these also. I shaved off a bit more of the overgrown bars. They are not where they should be yet, but are passive.

Dr Bob adjusted her spine. She was all out of alignment. I expect she will be far more comfortable after a series of adjustments. She did well, some reactions but no overreactions. Doc reports her withers/top of shoulder area was most affected, followed by C4, which was tender when flexed to the right. It did not release, so will try again in about 10 days. I am to do stretches with her. I'm sure she'll love the carrot stretches.

It was windy tonight, so hay had to be spread in fewer piles to avoid it all blowing to the neighbors'.

Sure glad she loves grass hay! She has had bermuda hay plus some teff pellets and rice bran mixed with Diatomaceous Earth each day. She is learning not to charge me when I am holding food.

Day 5 Happy loping

Ponied out in another direction this morning. Taffy was feeling frisky. She did relax and walk well. The past two days she has jogged to catch up every time she lagged behind by two feet (head by Honey's hip rather than by my leg). Big noisy garbage truck came by, she reacted but did not overreact. I like that about her horsenality... Left brain extrovert. We'll have to teach her some "tricks"...
On the way home we took the wash. Deep small gravel. We tried it with the boots and pads off. Walk- smooth. Trot- smooth. Long trot- even and still no head bob. She offered to lope, so we joined her and had a short but pleasant lope down the wash. Yipeeee! We came back to the walk easily, without fussing. I appreciate her not getting hyper from loping. She had a few small sweat streaks across her loins when we got home. First time I've seen any sweat on her! No nervous sweating from her.

She is learning to keep her head down more to see where her feet are going. She even negotiated some rocks over gravel without boots. I left the boots and pads off the rest of the way home and she stumbled less than the horse I was riding. In fact, she didn't stumble at all.

VIDEOS-movement analysis

Please- turn off your sound... unless you like to hear kids bickering. Just watch the first 6 seconds- check out the fore legs. This vid has the best example of the toe first landings Taffy had in shoes, and I don't have software to cut out the kids noise. My daughter was kind enough to video me riding.

Next: after pulling the shoes. She's not seriously hobbling, but definitely tender over the back half of the foot (caudal region)-notice the hitch in the pastern as she lands over the toes and then snaps the heel down. This stresses the navicular pulley system repeatedly. I will video her with the boots on soon, and at a trot so we can see the difference.

A few minutes later... better already.

PIC-Day 4: Continued Comfort

Pic is of Honey (L) and Taffy (R). They have been at peace with each other from Day 1. They would pull a 2 horse cart well together I think- except their stride length does not match.

Day 3: an hour and a half of ponying out and about, on varied terrain, with frog pads and front hoof boots in place. about 20 minutes into our foray, Taffy offers to trot alongside, even jumped a dry streambed with eagerness (gives "go take a flying leap" new meaning for me)... Maybe she will be my hunter mare after all *wink*

Not much in the reactive/spooky side- she is attentive to what's going on, and learning to pay attention to where her feet will land. She can feel them so much more now. She took to ponying like she had done it all her life. Comes right along. Like Honey, she is a weed diver- when she can get away with it.

Later in the afternoon- RF boot is hanging around her pastern by the retention strap. Guess I better shorten the cables. Reapplied new frog pads and rebooted. Shortening will wait till tomorrow.

Day 4- boots installed and fine this morning. I adjust the cables, the toe retention velcro strap has more grab area. They stay put better. She is only slightly tender in the corral with just frog pads. The boots make her comfortable. I notice I have left one heel slightly longer than its partner. I will adjust that today.

Another hour and a half of ponying today- lots of pressure/release to speed healing and development of lateral cartilages, digital cushion, and expand the hoof. A horse I had trimmed bare for over a year was shod for a month. Her hoof contracted substantially in those 4 short weeks. I almost cried when I pulled her shoes. I saved a shoe as a reminder of the heels trying desperately to expand on impact- it was worn shiny on the heel area.

I see a slight short-stride on the RH today. At least it appeared that way from Honey's back. No hitch in pasterns, though Taffy stubbs her RF toe occasionally still. Note to self: back up toe a little more, ensure balanced heels.

Taffy still greets me, comes right to the gate and asks to lick me. I let her lick my palms as a reward. She was licking my jeans as I adjusted her boots. Note to self: get loose salt.

She seems more relaxed each day, her corral mates are ok with her. Glory still pitches a hissy fit now and then, making her pig squeal at Taffy. No fur is flying though. She and Honey share nose sniffs without squeals, even while ponying. I appreciate Honey's steadiness, and am happy for her new owner- she will have many happy trails. I feel like I have my cake and am also eating it.... I have Taffy- as fancy a horse as I ever hoped to own, and Honey, though not mine now, is still here and I have her owner's permission to ride her.

I am still counting my blessings! God is good.

Day 2 ends in comfort.

I am glad that I left her shoes on for a few days after she came to me. I was able to get a feel for her personality and movement habits, giving me a base of comparison for her behavior barehoof and in boots and pads.

Tonight she comes to me as willingly as before, licks my hands as she loves to do. Moves with relaxed fluidity. I spread bermuda hay around the half acre dry lot that is our horses' home. Movement is key to healing, so this way we simulate grazing-they move from one clump of hay to the next, and nobody fights over the feed. Taffy adjusted quickly to the herd, and though is still on her own more than with the other two, they keep each other moving. I check her back. She is tender behind the withers- different muscles are working all the way up. She will have a chiropractic checkup in a few days.

Found a favorite scratch spot! I make it a habit to run my hands over my horses daily. Today Taffy let me know that she LOVES a scratch on the upper left shoulder. ohhhhh that felt good, she expressed through her stretched neck and extended nose and upper lip.

I don't see any evidence that she's been down for a roll since arriving. Might not feel safe enough yet. Tomorrow if it's not windy, I hope to pony her in the nearby wash.

I got to show her off to Sharla today, who thinks she's a great height and so pretty with her flaxen mane. I agree!!

This morning I trimmed a QH mare, an Appy mare, and fronts on an Arab gelding. The appy mare was wearing slipper feet a year ago. Now she has only to develop more frog and kick the thrush for healthy happy feet. We added frog pads under her Renegade boots, amazing difference.
Taffy also continues to wear the Renegade boots. I recently purchased a pair for Honey- for hinds so that she would have a full set. Turns out they are the right size for Taffy's fores. God knew in advance what we would need. Wow.

Such simple methods, such dramatic results.

Day 2: Boot Bliss

At morning's light, Taffy is mobile, but not immediately willing to move. RF shows tenderness, LF a little. Hooves are warm, as they were last night after de-shoeing, but not hot, and no strong digital pulse. Added pads on frogs only, duct taped in place- slight improvement in stance and a little lick and chew. Added Boot #1 on LF- BIG sigh of relief. She put her head down and cocked it so she could see what that was on her foot- so cute. Ok then, Boot #2 installed and she moves with very slight discomfort. Before my journey to bare, I would not have noticed anything amiss in her movement. But then, I wouldn't have noticed the hitch in her pasterns every time she landed toe first either. (while still shod).

A slight toe flip and heel first landing are thanks enough for me today. The BIG sigh was a confirmation that we are on the right track in the boots + pads.

If you are not familiar with these techniques and are intrigued by them- take some time to research Pete Ramey, Jaime Jackson, Robert Bowker MD, Martha Olivo, Phil Morrare and Cheryl Henderson. All have extensive material available online- I have learned SO much from them. And I have to thank the gentleman who graciously started me trimming: Kirt Lander.

PICS-After and Before

Here are Taffy's fore hooves, post- trim and pre-trim. She was due for a reset on her shoes, but I bought her the day before the seller's farrier was to come. Before I began with Taffy, I touched up Honey's fore hooves (Honey is the mare I sold so I could buy Taffy... that's another post...) Taffy was unconcerned with the noise of the grinder and the extension cord. I began with her hinds, which were already bare. She accepted the grinder without any spookiness.

I pulled the first shoe, and trimmed off the excess wall and sole that was cracking off. Then, thinking that I'd better get that second shoe off before her foot woke up and began hurting, I switched to the other side. Having her stand on a squishy rubber mat on her newly bare hoof helped. Once I had the shoe off and excess wall, sole and bars removed with nippers, it was time for the grinder. She seemed to enjoy it! I do think it's a sort of hoof massage for them.

Taffy did LOTS of licking and chewing as her hooves were returned to natural form. Her frogs are rather atrophied, that will develop with lots of movement, pressure and release over and over.

She moved off with a slight toe-first landing, but confidently, and not hobbling at all.
She is becoming aware of the sensations of the ground beneath her. I noticed some thing I hadn't before: an expansion of the digital cushion above her heel bulbs upon loading. Wow.

Now if this all seems rather technical, fear not. I too once had no inkling of the amazing way God created hooves to function and provide a tough, flexible foundation for the equine species.
It was a leap of faith for me to buy Taffy, remove her shoes, and apply what I have learned. I wanted to prove to myself it could be done, and give to her what I could not give the gelding I lost so long ago. Well, only half my life ago :)

So far, I see only strong evidence for barehoof healing. A few hours into barehoof life, Taffy has begun to land heel first with her fore hooves.