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Foundered Pony and Pic's of Hooves

4K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  NorthernMama 
#1 ·
A friend of mine took over a pony for her sister.

Her sister bought this pony, foundered, five years ago. Supposedly the pony is now 10 and I also believe she has cushings.

She now has her on a dry lot, gives her hay, but feeds her this grain:

http://www.platformfeed.com/products_minifeed.htm Made especially for ponies. Her vet said this was ok for a foundered horse?

The pony is worse this past month since the other two horses that were there were taken to their winter home, I think they kept her moving.

This horse has had xrays several years ago, but has never been treated for founder.

I think the pony has terrible thrush too.

Any opinions on how to help this pony?



http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/DSC03075.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/DSC03076.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/DSC03077.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/DSC03078.jpg





http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/DSC03084.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/DSC03085.jpg

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b145/horsegma/?action=view&current=MOV03074.flv
 
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#2 ·
Oh, that poor baby! :shock: She needs a thorough eval by a vet. Sadly, it's a pretty safe bet that her treatment won't be cheap.
 
#3 ·
Sadly, I've dealt with two cases of foundered horses. One was okay, but now that she's older she's bad again. The other did not fair well and when xrays shows 4 degrees of rotation we opted to put her down.

Both horses were treated with a heart bar shoe. The horse that responded well was treated by cutting off a major portion of the toe. Don't know what this procedure is called but it looked ghastly, however it didn't hurt the horse and it took the pressure off the coffin bone (I think that's what it did, I'm not a farrier or vet) and the horse got better. Took about six months for the foot to grow back.
 
#4 ·
Poor thing. =[

I second Dee about the vet thing. It's also pretty important that she gets regular trims every 3 to 4 weeks. And by a good farrier. Consistent trims like that really will make a difference.

I knew a pony that used to walk like that. He was moved to a different location and fed differently [although I don't know how] and it wasn't long before he was galloping around with the other horses. And I mean really galloping. So although I don't have any terribly valuable information, I just wanted to prove that there is hope for the poor girl. =]
 
#5 ·
My first pony had a struggle with founder practically all of his life. Towards the end his feet... well looked much worse then your ponies feet, and he was terribly sore (to the point where we sticky taped cushions under his feet to cushion the pedal bone). Our farrier was great, and over time his feet werent sore at all (just he was a stubborn old man who *thought* that his feet still hurt.. my farrier bent his hoofpick against his hoof without thomas so much as flinching to demonstrate the point). Although eventually, because he was laying down so much, his joint wore away until he could no longer stand... rip thomas...

i agree with 7ponies, although my farrier never done it to thomas, he was telling me how he put a set of shoes on a particular pony, and chopped off the toes. He said it looked awful, but the pony could move again with no lameness, as it completely took the pressure off the horses pedal bone.. or something like that.
 
#6 ·
Read the post "Gypsy has foundered" for one person's experience and solution.

She needs her diet evaluated and her feet looked after. I don't agree with shoes as they prevent the hoof from moving. I don't agree with cutting back the toe dramatically. A good healthy trim, and frequent farrier care (weekly) is my solution for her feet. With the thrush as well (due to lack of hoof care looks like), a shoe and boots will not discourage the thrush. After the trim, treat the thrush with product of your choice and once controlled, use apple cider vinegar and water (50/50) after every day's cleaning to prevent recurrence.

She can come around. Good luck.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies.

She emailed me xrays from awhile ago when her sister had this pony.

She is going to a grassy hay and is leaving out the grain altogether, I hope.

She has a vet coming early in a week and I know that she will recommend a farrier who will put shoes on and remove the front aggressively. Our area doesn't have natural barefoot trimmers that have dealt with founder.
 
#8 ·
That's too bad that you think they will knock off her toes. You can see in the x-ray how the biggest problem is the HEELS. Why oh why they insist on taking off the toes is beyond me... Yes, toes appear very long, but you'd be surprised just how much of that forward growth is due to the heels not being trimmed.

At any rate, something is being done for this girl and THAT IS GREAT. Yes, hopefully the grain will be cut out of her diet also.

Sending good wishes to you all.
 
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