Today was the day! I went ahead and took the day off work because I figured Secret would pitch a fit about the whole operation and it would take awhile. It turns out, it was lucky I took the day off because the vet was incredibly late due to an emergency. But, in what seems to be an endless quest to make a liar out of me, Secret was a perfect angel. We took all kinds of X-rays! And they showed…. Nothing. Absolutely nothing! It all looked great. So, the vet suggested that the next step was to add pour-in pads UNDER the natural balance shoes and put her on stall rest for about six months to allow any soft tissue injury to heal.
I took the advice and did what she suggested. The shoes with pour-in pads cost me $150 and I was not looking forward to paying that every six weeks, but what choice did I have? I was now down almost $800, my horse was still lame, and now wasn’t to come out of her stall for SIX MONTHS! I don’t have to tell fellow horse owners how frustrating and depressing this is. I decided that I would give her the time she needed and in the meantime I would post and ad on craigslist for a horse to play with.
I was just looking for someone that had a horse that maybe was barn sour or just needed some work and some miles. I didn’t want them to pay me, and I didn’t want to pay a lease. I got several responses to this ad. The first was about 50miles away on the other side of the city… too far. The second was still a good bit away, but at least on this side of town and I used to drive down there all the time for my trainer so I figured, why not? When I pulled up the lady went and brought her horse out. I looked down at her feet, which is now at the top of my list for judging a good horse owner, and the first words out of my mouth were, “Her feet look AMAZING!!!” She calmly responded, “Oh thanks! That’s my farrier right over there.” I looked at the man and blurted out, “Do you travel as far as Powder Springs?!?” And this whole conversation started about Secret’s lameness, horse’s feet, and horse shoes. I got a real education.
This was the first time I had met someone who was a “barefoot farrier”. I had heard about them in the past, and always thought they were a bit off. I’m admitting now, I was wrong. This guy spent a good 2 hours talking to me, explaining his point of view, and then ended by saying, “Look it up… see if it makes sense to you. If it does, I don’t charge anything to come out and do an evaluation.” Well, I believe that all things happen for a reason. I went home, read all I could on “barefoot horses” and asked him to do an evaluation on Secret. He came out and spent another two hours (1) Looking at her standing square (2) Watching her move and (3) Explaining to me what he thought the problem was, this included showing me pictures in a text book, and how he would go about fixing it. He pointed out to me (and the barn owner who was there and I asked to listen in and give his opinion) that the whole left side of Secret’s body was ½” higher than her right side. He said, “I bet this horse is a dream to turn to the left, but you can’t make her go right.” Wow! Nailed that one. Then he said, “Probably when you ride her bareback she seems sound, but she’s really lame when you put a saddle on.” Right again! Evidently that’s because her spine is twisted to the right and the saddle bars would press down on it, but this wasn’t a problem with the bareback pad. I was impressed.
He told me his plan to fix her: (1) Pull her shoes off (2) Trim only the left side until she was balanced (3) Give her an all-around, balanced, barefoot trim for 5-10 weeks and then re-evaluate. I thought about it, talked it over with the barn owner (made sense to him), and thought, “what would I do if it was my foot?” I felt kind of guilty like I was experimenting with my horse. Afterall, the vet had told me to put the shoes on. But, by the same token, if this was my foot, I would try it and why should I do less for Secret? I agreed.
We pulled the shoes off and trimmed her left side. He said to watch for any head bobbing, any body soreness should be treated with Devil’s Claw, abscesses were not unexpected after having shoes on for a year, and her feet were going to get really ugly… he’d be back in a week. This is going to sound unbelievable, but the improvement she made in that week was unbelievable! Her attitude made a major turnaround… she’s the darling of the barn now. AND, she was lunging with no head-bobbing and no limping…. Just a little stiffness.
A week later, he trimmed just the left side again and said that she was now balanced. He’d be back in a week to trim her all around. Now in week two, with no sign of limping or discomfort, I started riding her. It was like a different horse. She would walk and trot with no hesitation and turn in both directions without a fuss. We even did a trail ride and a couple of canter laps. She was still stiff in the right front shoulder and didn’t want to pick up her right lead, but she did great to the left and on the trail. I had hope again!
Just the past Saturday, he came and trimmed her all around. I want to add here that every time he’s been out he’s spent at least an hour looking her over, evaluating her stance and movement, and then deciding on a plan of how to trim her. He decided that since she was still stiff and unsure in that right front shoulder he would change the breakover on that foot and force her to extend it. It’s amazing how a little change to the foot can cause such big changes in her movement. After just a little rasping, she was no longer short stepping on that shoulder and her footfall pattern had evened out. He told me to expect her to be a bumpy ride for awhile, but that it should aid in her rehabbing those shoulder muscles.
Yesterday (Sunday), I had planned to trailer to Cochran Mill Park for a trail ride. I was a little worried because she hasn’t been on such a long ride in several months and I was worried that she would give out about half way. She, once again, made a liar out of me. She went the whole three hours with energy to spare and was totally sound when we got back to the barn last night. I think maybe this duck has landed… I’m hoping its permanent. I’ve been converted, I’m a believer. Long live the barefoot horse!
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