The Lameness Chronicles, part 1

So here we are, things have improved. Horse is doing much better, less rebellion. Life is good. And then suddenly one day, Sammy is noticeably off at the trot. Uh-oh. No big. Wait it out, maybe he pulled something. Nope, still off and it's a month or so later. By now, I have been married a couple of years and Dear Hubby has a truck. I talk to New Barn Owner, who, after 6 years of being at her place has now had her name changed to just Barn Owner, happens to have a small, stock-style 3 horse bumper pull trailer. I ask her who she recommends for mysterious lameness, and she tells me Anoka Equine. So we borrow her trailer, stuff Sammy into it, not without some trepidation, and head off across town.

About an hour later, we pull in. Sammy, having whinnied at every single stop along the way, causing head turning everywhere we went, has worked himself into a lather. I also notice that he is a bit tall for the trailer, his ears are smooshed as he stands with his head at normal height. Oops.

We get him off the trailer without incident and the vet techs take over. They longe him (and he actually does it, yay for me and my training!!), agree with me that there is definite off-ness, so we head into the actual clinic barn. He stands very well for heel nerve blocks and the big garage door going down. Very impressed with him. Unfortunately, he trots sound with a heel block, so we know it's a hoof issue. Dang it! Arthritis? Navicular? Founder? Worse? Is there worse? My mind races as they set up the X-ray. I go into the tech room with the vet as he looks at the radiographs. Not any of the above. Horse has a toe that's a smidge too long. Take his toe back an inch or so, slap some front shoes on him for a few months to support the heel and he should be fine. Oh and find a new farrier, this one is leaving him too long.

Sammy, while sedated, positions himself directly over the grate in the middle of the floor and lets loose a really good pee. I have a good chuckle over that and head in to the office to pay the bill. Best news yet, it's just under $200. This is great! No long term issues and a cheap vet bill, hooray!

We get him home and all is well. He pulls off the first set of shoes in a day, the second set in a couple of days. We add bell boots and things go better. I find a new farrier who is great. Sammy is finally back to normal.

The winter passes, spring comes around again. Suddenly, we are out to the barn and Sammy is uber lame, like holding one front leg in the air lame. Not Good!! We throw him in a stall overnight, which he hates and I call the vet out the next day. Vet comes out with a less than stellar bedside manner, punches Sammy in the belly for "kicking" at him and then after several goes with the hoof testers, declares it an abscess and charges me somewhere in the neighborhood of $100. I am somewhat skeptical on the abscess thing, but he tells me if I leave Sammy in for the day and overnight and it gets worse, it's an abscess. Sammy goes back in the stall.

Next morning, I go out to the barn and Sammy is in a sweat in the barn. It's pretty chilly out yet, so I throw a cooler on him and walk him around. He is no longer 3-legged lame, so it seems to me he has improved=not abscess. I figure he is smart enough to not hurt himself, so I throw him back out in the pasture. He stresses less out there anyway. A few weeks later, there is an obvious abscess blowout at the top of his hoof.

Fast forward a few months and the blowout has grown down about halfway. A crack started at the bottom and worked it's way up to the blowout. So now he has what looks like a cloven hoof. The new farrier is concerned about Sammy breaking off chunks of toe, so he throws front shoes on him again. This time, they are attached well, and they stay put for the duration. Did I mention I am VERY happy with this farrier?



We got him past this ugliness and all seemed great. Until October, 2007. See part 2 for exciting continuing saga :)