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BAD hooves... shame on me

3K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  alexischristina 
#1 ·
Let me start off by saying -- I know I'm a total idiot, OMG.

Ok. So I basically left my horse in the care of the amish for the winter. They ALWAYS do good with her. She loves them, they love her. I don't wanna hear about what "jerks" the amish are to horses. I've seen them handle her a million times, she's pushy towards them, but he calms her down so well. Honestly, I think he's a better match for her than me.

Well, this year didn't go so hot. IDK what changed with his care, but my horse came back to me in pretty bad condition. I'm not mad, I consider it my fault for not taking the time to check on her. I was just really busy, and since I live so far away.. No excuse, I know. My fault.

I want to take her to the boarding barn where I keep my Thoroughbred, and get her hooves back on track. But I'm so embarrassed, I don't want people to think I'm awful or "abusing" my horse. It's stupid, I know.

I'm honestly not educated about hooves at all. I need to learn more, and I'm working on it... But it looks like she could have had laminitis...? Some sort of rings on her hooves. And maybe white line.. IDK, the wall is all sorts of messed up. She's in my pasture at home right now, trotting around and having fun.. I lunged her a little to see how she would act and she shows no sign of lameness.

What should I do? Take her to the boarding barn looking like an insane mess (Choppy mane/tail, manure matted coat, shortish tail, crazy hooves)

I'm going to add pics soon

Also, white spots are suddenly showing up on her. 1 in the saddle area, and like 4 out of the saddle area (Shoulder, neck, hip) ... She's a pure registered Haflinger.. Could these be birdcatcher spots? Or something else? >_<
 
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#3 ·
Did they use her for driving? White spots might be from badly-fitted harness. Get her feet trimmed-maybe your horseshoer can tell you what's going on w/her hooves. Give her plenty of hay & take her to your regular place once she/s recovering. Go to your library for a book about hoof care and/or study about it online. AS always, few people take care of our things as we would. Always good to check how things are going.
 
#4 ·
I'll most likely have the vet out soon. I can't do it right away because I'm having some health problems of my own that I believe are a bit more urgent, sadly



They -did- use her to plow their field last spring/early summer (Or something) but they only used her like.. 2-3 times I believe. They gave me money off my board to use her, and she really enjoyed it! She loved being next to her boyfriend (Belgian she goes nuts for.. LOL) hehe. I do not know anything about harness fit so I just figured they must know what they're doing. I know, I know.. Bad.

But her weight appears good to me, no visible ribs, nothing sticking out, as far as I'm concerned. Her mane is VERY full, but one side is super choppy.. Short tail at the bottom, no rubbing at the top.. And honestly, she's been muddier at my own house LOL. She's got a THICK winter coat so it's not hard for her to get tangled :?

I was on vacation (Out of country) nearly every other week, and when I got back home it would be pack, talk to people about my Thoroughbred (New horse w/ issues, my priority), pay people for taking care of all my animals, buy supplements/pay vet bills.. and since I've left her with these amish for so many winters now and have never had a problem.. I figured she would be fine again. Lesson learned, time to move on, right? :oops:

Actually.. At one point, I was going to sell her, and the Amish man who usually takes care of her told me it'll be really sad for him to see her go, and if he had the space, he would gladly buy her, and offered to make my board even cheaper.. LOL. I've spent a lot of time with this family, and I know they're good people. They told me it had been a rough winter when I went to pick her up.
 
#5 ·
Hmm usually the amo's are on top of feet. Especially the ones they are using.
They pulled a haffy and a Belgian as a team? Or they were stalled next to each other? Something sounds funky, just not sure what or where.
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#6 ·
Hmm usually the amo's are on top of feet. Especially the ones they are using.
They pulled a haffy and a Belgian as a team? Or they were stalled next to each other? Something sounds funky, just not sure what or where.
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I believe they used them together from what they told me. Their other Belgian is getting pretty old.. Or maybe they just used my Haffie? IDK. But they told me "She was happy to be near our gelding" ... She does love that gelding LOL. They used to be stalled near each other but that changed (new barn, different arrangement)

Something is off about the whole situation, but I'm not going to question it because I consider it my fault. I'm just focused on getting it fixed. But -- I still don't want to take her to my boarding barn looking like an idiot. So farrier then vet!

I'm still going to post pictures to see what everyone thinks. I just got her back the other day
 
#7 ·
Wash the manure out of her coat, worm her, get a good farrier, ensure she's comfortable in her tack or don't put it on her - even if your saddle fits fine, if she's had a summer of bad saddle/harness, she may have bruises that need healing. Consider a vet &/or bodyworker.

In the meantime, start educating yourself about hooves, laminitis, etc. The thread link in my signature will give you a start. You can look at the other link below for tips on critique pics if you want any opinions on her feet.
 
#8 ·
Should've mentioned, it's too cold to wash here, currently. It's not too bad, I can probably get her coat back to normal in a few days with some dedication.

I have been trying to learn as much as possible online, but I really need hands on experience to have confidence in anything. That's why I sound so uneducated, probably.. I trust nearly everyone's judgement, aside of my own. :oops:

She was ridden this Summer (About a month after they use her, or something, IDK. But I know which field they used her in at least, it couldn't have been much.) had a saddle fit just this fall before going there.. I plan on having one out again before I ride, which probably won't be for months.

I've already done the deworming, and I have my farrier, I just had to make an appointment

I still plan on posting pictures for more opinions, and to learn from what everyone has to say.
 
#10 ·
really need to see what you are looking at. the spots on her , probably ill fitting harness, dirty equipment etc. I would speak with the Amish man, and ask what happened to the horse. Did he loan her out to someone else?
I did not know that the Amish boarded to outsiders. There are not Amish in my area.
 
#11 ·
The spots are from ill fitting harness, I'm positive. Thanks guys! I should explain more, I think I'm giving a bad impression LOL.

I did not grant permission for them to use her. I had no idea it was happening, and I was visiting her often (Every day/ever other day) at the time. I just happened to come out one morning and oh, wow, they're untacking my horse.. Ok.. They gave me money off my board, but I told them not to do it again. I promise I didn't know this was happening, or I would have stopped it. And now that I'm thinking about it, gosh.. I'm so trusting. They have probably used her much more than that without me knowing, maybe? Ugh. IDK.

I'm trying to get pics, but my phone camera isn't working right now! And I don't have any other cameras currently (Not at my house, anyway) but I have a vet appt in a about a week.

I think I might be making it out worse than it is. She's in no obvious pain, no heat in hooves, no lameness, not underweight. Just some mud, bad hair (like 14 inch long hair in one spot, 3 inches in another..) and actually, no rubbing on her tail, surprisingly.

I'm under a lot of stress right now so I'm having a hard time trying to learn about hooves/anything really. I've cut out a lot of the "bad" in my life this week, still adjusting though. Then I plan on hitting the books, maybe getting some hands on experience. It's not that I don't want to learn -- I'm just incapable right now.
 
#12 ·
Also, should mention. Obviously, she won't be going back there ever LOL. If I KNEW anything was going on, I would have taken her out right away. I told them not to use her in the fields again, and I trust they wouldn't. I was probably wrong.

I'm not going to talk to them about this because if they lent her out, they wouldn't tell me. The whole "Amish are so honest" thing is NOT true LOL. Not for any of the Amish I know (And I know quiiiite a few) anyway.. I should have saw all this coming. My common sense totally leaves when I'm under a lot of stress. I'm working on controlling my anxiety and stuff, really hard.

When I took her home they said "You should probably have her feet done" ... That was all.
 
#13 ·
Well I'm glad you got her home, and I hope you can get everything sorted ASAP! I never understood how people could be so trusting or so kind in situations like this :lol: I'm a very passive person in general, but goodness nobody rides my horse, nobody touches my horse, it's hard for me to let my trainer on my horse. Anyway, it sounds like, to me, that you're doing everything right now that you have her in your care, and I hope everything starts looking up for you. It's no fun trying to deal with things like this while you're under a bunch of stress, but you may find that your entire stress load in general will be significantly lessened once you get your mare sorted.
 
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