High Ringbone

Dr Tom,

I have a horse with high ringbone.  He was barefoot when I got him a year and a half ago.  I knew he had the ringbone, but I took a chance on him becoming sound.  He is a very gentle well bred QH, so he was worth the risk.

Being ignorant of the benefits of being barefoot I had shoes put on his fronts.  He did seem better and was rideable unless I did a lot of tight turns.  This went on for ten months.  Then I had to move him to a different place to board.  It had a lot of deep mud right in front of the entry to his stall and he went lame within a week.  I finally got him out of that place and in a nice 10 acre MUD FREE pasture.  Almost over night he was sound!  He was running and bucking and I could ride him and he was fine.  Then his feet were getting long and I had him re-shod, it made him sore, (special hot shoeing).  To top it off he pulled the shoe almost off, and by the time I could get the Farrier back to fix it he had pulled it off.  Now I have him barefoot in hopes he will heal up and become sound.  I have read how many horses are sound again. My question after all this is, it has been five weeks, and he is only a tiny bit better.  He is very tender on even the smallest rocks.  Just putting a saddle on him he limps terribly.  I do have him on a joint supplement and extra MSM, plus flax seed meal.  I read the omega-3 is
good for arthritis.

Do I expect him to be gimpy for a few months?  Is there something else I can do?

He seems to have full movement of his foot, it is not hot nor seems tender.

I also read (I have madly been reading about ringbone) if the joint fuses he will be sound, I  read if you keep it irritated enough, it will cause it to fuse. This is done by riding, even though they are in pain.  Is this correct?

Thanks for your time.

C

Hi C,

Five weeks is not long enough for damage from shoeing to resolve, regardless of the ringbone situation.  Most websites on natural hoof care will explain in detail what to expect over the next few months to a year when it comes to transitioning to barefoot from shod.

I would not recommend the surgery to fuse the pastern, and unless the ringbone is VERY extensive, it will not likely fuse on its own.  The surgery often damages the nerves to the foot, requires the horse being confined and in a cast, and places unnecessary stress on the horse in general.  Using boots and comfort pads will give the most comfortable movement.  Click here to check out EasyCare, Inc's website to see all they have to offer.  I would not ride a horse in pain hoping the pastern joint would fuse.

Horses I've dealt with that have ringbone (even severe changes) do amazingly well once their hooves are in good working order, as the hoof flexes instead of forcing the painful pastern to twist.  I have had many of them that you would not believe have ringbone as good as they work.

Take care,

Dr. Tom T.

Hello Dr. Teskey,

I wanted to say how much better my horse is finally!  He has a little head bob at the trot now and he seems comfortable walking anywhere in his pasture, no tenderness.  It has been  months since I have been able to ride him, so I rode for just a few minutes at a walk on Sat.  I needed him to know he really was still a horse and not a big pet.  He did really well, he kept breaking into a trot, I had to keep bringing him back to a walk.  Will I harm him and slow down his progress if I ride him for a few minutes maybe once a week in a soft round pen?  He gets plenty of exercise in his ten acres with the other two horses on his own.  I hate to be selfish and ride him if I should not, he is such a good boy, you would have thought I had been riding him along, all these months.

I am still hoping he will make a complete recovery, as soon as I got his feet balanced he started to improve immediately.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.

C

C,

A little "tincture of time" and your horse is doing much better...no "special horseshoe" can do that!

If your horse is that comfortable riding at a walk, I would place NO restrictions on you for riding him at that gait.  I wouldn't do it in the round pen, I'd go out on a nice trail or in the ten acres to avoid all that turning.  Use boots if necessary for rougher trails.  And I would "test" the trot once in awhile to see if he's sound at that gait, and step up the pace as he is able and comfortable doing so.  Have fun and enjoy some time riding as long as it's comfortable for him.  You've got nothing to lose.  Movement is life for a horse.  If they get sore because of the movement you're not doing something right with their diet or environment.  Sounds like you're doing good with having ten acres, though.  Keep up the good work...you AND the horse!

Dr. TT