The adventures of Gilly the rescue horse and his side kick and partner in crime, Pokey the donkey.

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Being with a horse is a journey that never ends. What they have to teach us is amazing; but we must quiet our mind to hear them. ~ jca

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Sunday, October 10, 2010

More about Lacy.....


Above are Lacy's X-Rays of her right front foot from the vet in Lancaster.In the first one (side view) you can see the navicular bone, the small one above the hoof. The vet said it had some deterioration and some small cracks in it. I looked and looked but I don't see them but then I don't know what I am looking at.
Second one is from the back of the foot; what her foot is on is a thick piece of plexi glass so the xrays could pass through. Do click on each one to enlarge. Fascinating photos.

First he watched her trot, which she couldn't do very well and was really limping. Then he did a nerve block on the right front; waited a few minutes and had her trot again. No problem and no limping! So he said it was in her foot not in her shoulder as we had first thought. Well, this isn't good news.
Next he gave her two injections for her arthritis, one in the left knee and one in the coffin joint of her right foot. When he had the needle in the coffin joint he pushed on her skin at the injection site and a very dark fluid appeared in the needle. We asked what it was and he said the fluid in the joint, the reason it was so dark was because it had a lot of blood in it caused by inflammation! Oh, ouch! He said that the fluid should look like Karo syrup. I am not sure if it was Hyaluronic acid or something else he injected her with (so much information that I now can't remember...I will try my best) to help her joints.
It was supposed to help her within a few days, it really didn't. The other thing he said to do was to put shoes...ugh...on her front feet. Egg butt shoes so it would elevate her heels to take some pressure off her coffin joint and to stabilize and support her foot. He said her feet were in really good shape, her trim was excellent and she was balanced....but....she needed to have higher heels to help the navicular area and relieve some pressure.
Kim didn't want to hear that because for three and a half years we both have had barefoot horses and both have done very well. But what is going on inside her foot that we can't see needs support so Kim said she will try the shoes.

 Lacy's front feet, a little dirty! yes, they are a little long because they hadn't been trimmed in 6 weeks and it was time for a trim. But still they are in good shape.

 Kim called a farrier, Bryan Farcus, (click on his name to read more) he is an excellent farrier and taught at Meredith Manor for years. The chalk marks on Lacy's hoof are the angle of her hoof, the rasp is in the angle he wants her hoof to be to relieve the pressure on the joint.


 
In this photo her right hoof has been trimmed and the left one hasn't yet. Can you see the difference in the angle? She now has a higher heel and a shorter toe.
Here Bryan is showing how her shoulder is angled, very steep and short, Lacy tends to be short strided in the front. Gilly on the other hand has a very long shoulder and has a very long reach when he trots and canters.
 
 Here is Lacy's new shoe, looks funny to me but this is what she needs. It's aluminum and light weight.
 It sticks out in back, I asked if she would step on it with her hind foot and Bryan said she might but he thought she wouldn't.
 Putting the finishing touches on the foot. I never had a horse that had to have specialty (corrective) shoes before so this was all new to me too, as it was to Kim.

 and.....here are the new shoes on Lacy. She seemed to walk much better still the turning was a little ouchy but now she needs to see the massage therapist next. Having a massage will help work out the kinks of trying to compensate for the pain she was in.
When turned loose Lacy started running did some bucking too, we could tell that there was a slight improvement in her movement. She didn't over reach and hit her shoe either.

I might also add that Bryan explained, showed diagrams and talked to us for a long time. the actual time to put the shoes on wasn't long at all but he was there for three hours. He said he always makes time for new clients to go over everything very thoroughly; Kim had a lot of questions and  he answered them all. He really knows his stuff that's for sure!

I talked to Kim today and she said that yesterday she worked Lacy on the lunge line and there was NO limping at all, at the walk, trot and canter. She still seems a little stiff but the gal is coming this week to give her a massage.
This is GREAT!!! Now in a few weeks she will probably be able to ride and that means me and Gilly will have someone to ride with!!!

Happy, happy!!!!! I am really happy that Lacy is feeling better. I have arthritis in my feet, one is worse than the other so I have some idea how she must feel, it hurts.
I will post more later and hopefully have some photos of rides!!! :-)

8 comments:

Jeni said...

Ouch !! I'm so glad Lacy is finding some comfort.

Isn't this weather FREAKY??? It's summer WITHOUT the BUGS !!

Anonymous said...

Glad that Lacy is finding some relief!

Jacque. said...

Hey Jane...I'm so glad you took the time to write that all out for us. Very interesting. Hope things keep going forward for Lacy.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Terrific post! Thanks for sharing all this information about Lacey's feet. It's amazing how just a trim and a special pair of shoes can make such a huge difference.
I hope my farrier can help Apache in a similar way. The adjustments she had don't seem to be making as big of a difference as I'd hoped.

I hope that Lacey continues to improve.

~Lisa

Alice ~ Folk Art Primitives said...

Maybe Jane needs a new pair of shoes, too!!!!!! It helped Lacy!

That was a very interesting post! Who knew things could be so involved ~ owning horses sounds expensive and time consuming!!

Hope you get your riding buddy back on the trail soon!

jane augenstein said...

Jeni, yes, things are looking up for her, well, we still have those pesky little black flies bugging the horse and donkey. But I like the weather!!!

Kate, glad that she is feeling better, hoping she is good enough for Kim to ride soon.

Jacque, I am learning more about horse feet than I ever wanted too, but more knowledge is good!

Lisa, thanks, yes, just the right angle can make a world of difference to the horse. Her feet on the outside are great but what goes on in the inside, which is hard to know at times is what needs the help. Hope Apache can get some relief from her problems soon too!

Alice, no, I just need new feet! LOL Oh, yes, horses can be very expensive at times. I am lucky that Gilly and Pokey are healthy boys and so far have good feet inside and out.

~from my front porch in the mountains~ said...

Over the years I have worked with many horses who had great benefits from corrective shoeing! With corrective shoes and a top-rate farrier will get a horse back in shape!
Next month we will be having corrective shoes put on Allure! It is time. At 27 and a little on the heavy side, we watch her diet like a hawk! Every summer she wears her grazing muzzle until we have a good frost!! She will never lose her"barrel shape" from all her "mommy years" though :)
After a suspensary injury last summer, she has contiued to have problems. Shoes were a last option as she has never been shod in her entire life! I do think she needs this. I am hoping to see less "ouchy" days for her. She is such a sweet mare.
I hope Lacy continues to progess well. Keep us updated. I am really interested in following her!!

Wonderful day to you all! xo, misha

jane augenstein said...

Misha, Lacy is a little on the plump side too, she also is on a diet, special food and not much hay but no work has made her tubby. Now that she is improving it's back to school for her in a few weeks. Her feet also seem to small for her size. Gilly on the other hand has nice BIG feet to support him! I hope he never needs shoes.

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