I checked on Ashke again last night and during our visit I told him he no longer needed to hurt himself if what he wanted was for me to come out more. I can do that. I checked his leg and there is a very small section of open sore that still needs to fill in. It is less than an inch long and maybe a quarter inch wide, for the most part. The rest of the injury has completely healed. There is no tenderness except for right where the small gap in skin is and it is healing at a remarkable rate. I would highly recommend Silver sulfadiazine for wounds of this kind. It is sold under the name Ascend and it worked amazingly. Minimal proudflesh, which I treated for three or four days with a topical steroid cream I got from the vet, and quick clean healing.
I took Ashke out and turned him loose in the arena. This is what J videoed.
Obviously, still very sore when moving clockwise on the circle. Overall, an improvement from the night before. I will see how he looks tonight and then make a decision on our next step. If he is showing improvement and it seems like he will be sound in a couple more days, I will wait. If he is about the same, I will contact my farrier to come out and put casts on his front hooves. Casts will give him a chance to grow out some hoof and deepen his sole, which has been thin since I brought him home.
I think I missed where this new soreness is stemming from. Is it something new or just an old soreness rearing its head again? I have zero experience with casts, so no help from me. Lots of good vibes and love going your way though!
To sum up: Ashke has had thin soles and short hooves since I brought him home. Every farrier I have had out has commented on it. We tried easyboot gloves (multiple pairs in many different styles) and they don't really work for Ashke. The biggest issue is that his breakover is wonky (kind of breaks to the outside) and instead of traveling correctly he stubs his toes into the ground (lands toe first). For about a year we did no boots and just went slow over bad terrain, but with the injury and lack of riding, his feet have changed. I was tired of him being ouchie on pretty much any ground and decided to do shoes. The farrier put on fronts, my vet wanted all four done, but before we could he twisted off both front shoes. I didn't want to cause an issue prior to my shows, so I waited to put the shoes on. Then he hurt his leg again (and thank the gods I did not have shoes on him then). This injury took less time to rehab and we did a ride on Labor day. We were cantering along a dirt/sand path and he hit a rock with the left front, which caused him to be lame immediately. He was sound on the sidewalk, but couldn't handle being on any ground that put pressure on his sole. We had seven miles to the trailer. He's been off ever since.
The farrier put pads on him to help with the sole pressure. If these don't work, then he will pull the shoes and put casts on the part of his hoof that the shoe would cover (not exactly sure if it covers the entire bottom of the hoof, but I don't think so). There would be a medicated pad put under the cast to help with the soreness. It will allow him to grow out some hoof while still protecting his soles. At least, that's how my farrier explained it. If that doesn't make him sound (the farrier seemed to think it would have an immediate effect) then I will have xrays done.
I think I missed where this new soreness is stemming from. Is it something new or just an old soreness rearing its head again? I have zero experience with casts, so no help from me. Lots of good vibes and love going your way though!
ReplyDeleteTo sum up: Ashke has had thin soles and short hooves since I brought him home. Every farrier I have had out has commented on it. We tried easyboot gloves (multiple pairs in many different styles) and they don't really work for Ashke. The biggest issue is that his breakover is wonky (kind of breaks to the outside) and instead of traveling correctly he stubs his toes into the ground (lands toe first). For about a year we did no boots and just went slow over bad terrain, but with the injury and lack of riding, his feet have changed. I was tired of him being ouchie on pretty much any ground and decided to do shoes. The farrier put on fronts, my vet wanted all four done, but before we could he twisted off both front shoes. I didn't want to cause an issue prior to my shows, so I waited to put the shoes on. Then he hurt his leg again (and thank the gods I did not have shoes on him then). This injury took less time to rehab and we did a ride on Labor day. We were cantering along a dirt/sand path and he hit a rock with the left front, which caused him to be lame immediately. He was sound on the sidewalk, but couldn't handle being on any ground that put pressure on his sole. We had seven miles to the trailer. He's been off ever since.
DeleteThe farrier put pads on him to help with the sole pressure. If these don't work, then he will pull the shoes and put casts on the part of his hoof that the shoe would cover (not exactly sure if it covers the entire bottom of the hoof, but I don't think so). There would be a medicated pad put under the cast to help with the soreness. It will allow him to grow out some hoof while still protecting his soles. At least, that's how my farrier explained it. If that doesn't make him sound (the farrier seemed to think it would have an immediate effect) then I will have xrays done.
Thank you!! Reading the summary, I was up to speed on everything except the Labor Day incident. I hope this works and gets him back on track.
DeletePoor guy and poor you for having to go through this! Horses; I think they are there for stressing us out. ;)
ReplyDeleteSending you healing and positive thoughts!
ReplyDelete