Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Random mystery lameness strikes again.

*SIGH*

This time in RH, not LH. It was really weird, and I'm not sure what to make of it, but Bob's pretty confident a new trim might help. He also wants to shoe her on the trim after this, just to stop the bit of toe dragging we are still having.

Mainly because, she's a 1/2inch shorter on the toe on the RH, and Bob thinks that's adding to her being so uneven. She's got a way better stride on the LH, which is now fully grown out and looks great.

She was doing great when I got on. We warmed up on a loose rein. She felt a little funny, but I figure that was because I was rushing because it was getting dark, thanks to me forgetting my boots and having to go back to the house, and I had put her saddle a little far up.

But she always feels short-strided when I first get on, then she warms up and gets loose. She was great...she walks almost all the time perfectly on the bit, nice and consistent. Trot is improving. We started to trot to the right, and she was doing good, and we got halfway around and she tripped, or something wonky, and after that, she just looked PISSED. Her ears were pinned, she felt funny. I called Bob over to tell me what he was seeing, if it was just her being a witch because it was almost dinner time, or if something was really off.

I asked her to trot and she tensed up and ALMOST thew a tantrum. Definitely pain. Bob said he saw it in the RH right off.

So I got off and we trotted her down the barn on the concrete...and she was perfectly sound. WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!

Bob looked at her feet, measured her angles, and concluded that her angles are almost perfect right now, but the 1/2 inch of toe is probably making her strides wonky, and the stumble she had might have made something sore too.

I guess we'll see. It's not like last time. I'm hoping it's just her being wonky because of her feet being due for a trim. She also has a huge chip out, although I tested it to see if it was sensitive and it wasn't. But I looked at the RH and there's a lot of weight on the outside hoof wall...basically none on the sole right there, thanks to some chipping. Despite my frequent oiling of her feet, the dry summer is hard on them.

2 comments:

  1. It almost sounds like something muscular or in her back. One bad step could throw something out of alignment, so getting those feet nice and even might be the key.

    It is definitely frustrating. Hope you figure it out so you can really enjoy riding your girl.

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  2. I think Bob is spot on about that toe being the problem...that 1/2 inch makes a difference. And she just can't seem to improve because her stride is physically restricted, so it's a cycle of destruction. I think shoes to prevent that toe from wearing down will really benefit us. If she can grow those toes back out, her strides can finally be even, and thus, nothing getting stressed out.

    I mean, I'm definitely not rich, and I feel like a bad horse owner, but I can't afford to run to the vet to go on a wild goose chase to find a thousand things wrong that probably are coming from the feet. I mean, all of this started seemingly after the toes started to go wonky - that's a HUGE clue. At Casey's, she just carried herself totally wrong for her conformation and strained her back muscles out.

    But like I said...everything Bob has advised me to do for her has been spot on and we have greatly benefited, so I really trust his judgement. He doesn't think this is something I need to spend money on vet bills for, because later down the road, I might need that money for a more serious issue, and it seems that every time we adjust her feet, her "offness" clears up. She started to get better when her angles got corrected, and now we just need to get even toe length.

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