Hello,
I read your
two previous questions about ringbone, however my horse seems a bit different,
and I thought I’d see what you think.
I have an 18
year old, 15.2hh, “bull-dog” Quarter Horse gelding. I have ridden and driven
him for the past 7 years, and the last 5 years we were competing in competitive
trail driving over distances of 25 to 50 miles. The actual events were on soft
ground, but 90% of our conditioning was done over paved roads. He has extremely
nice and healthy hooves, which are large and in good proportion with his very
stocky body. Through our competitive years and pavement driving, he wore steel
shoes on all 4 feet, with borium for traction, and rubber pads for cushion. He
never took a lame step a day in his life – ever, and his feet remained healthy. Two years ago, about 2 months before a 50 mile event, he suddenly was very lame
on a front leg. Flexion tests and x-rays showed arthritis in his pastern. Two
weeks rest, bute, and then hit the roads again. We successfully completed the
event, with the event vet finding a small hint of lameness at the end, barely
noticeable.
In the spring, we started conditioning again with plans of a 100
mile event in late spring. We drove on the roads for about a month, and he was
lame again. More x-rays were taken, and his official diagnosis was ringbone,
and the changes just from fall to spring were noticeable. The vet said to quit
using borium, or have my farrier flatten out the borium, instead of making them
small and steep. The vet said his competition days were over, and that he would
probably only be very light riding sound, and would progressively get worse as
the years went on. We tried Adequan, and Legend, with no change. So, I retired
him, pulled his shoes, and if I’m going to use him I give him bute the day
before, the day of, and the day after. If I don’t use bute, he’s moderately
lame.
I hate the
idea of him being a pasture pet at only 18. I took him out recently and he’s so
tender on the road and gravel, and will trot very hesitantly. I’m starting to
think that he’d be better off with shoes, seeing as then his feet aren’t
actually on the roads, so it will lessen his lameness. I’ve read a lot about
corrective shoeing for ringbone, and am starting to think that barefoot is
actually harming him instead of helping. He’s trimmed every 4-6
weeks.
Thanks for
reading this – I know it’s long!
Best
Regards,
Pam
Hello Pam,
You need to keep up your research. All your answers are out there on the internet.
It's vitally important you get some hoof boots for your horse, as well...always, always have boots on hand before taking shoes off a horse.
The lameness you see is the direct result of previous hoof care/management/shoeing. All of a sudden your horse is feeling the damage. Horses that are never shod and trimmed properly do not end up with these common problems. Use of borium is especially damaging as it sends even more fierce vibrations up in to the horse's legs with every step.
Read www.hoofrehab.com in addition to others that come up when you do a search for "barefoot horse".
Dr. TT
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