Update on Kay, shoes on for nevicular , pics..

Well, Kay had her front shoes put on for nevicular disease today. The one shown is her left, the bad one, which they put the back bar on. Regular shoe on right. With wedges in both.

This is going to be her treatment for the next few months. Keeping fingers crossed that it will give her some relief.

She stood quietly will the farrier worked. He did the left first, then as he did the right, she wasn't fighting to put her foot down to get the weight off her left. YEAH!!! She actually was closing her eyes like she was dozing off. When he was done and I walked her around there was very little limping on the left and when I took her to the field and turned her loose she trotted around for about 3 min. with her head up and ears perked. I haven't seen her like this since July.

Attached Images

	kay new shoes 005.jpg (84.6 KB, 45 views)
	kay new shoes 004.jpg (120.3 KB, 45 views)

Great! Glad she's feeling better!

Thanks qtrhrse. And DUH!! Navicular, you'd think I'd spell it right since I've read enough about it in the last week.

Any critiques please??????

It is hard to give any kind of critique from the pix as the one is at an odd angle. Though it does appear to me in the second pic that the angle on the left hoof is much steeper than on the right and if the angles are off, that could cause other problems in her shoulders and back.

I just hope that it will give her some relief so that the inflammation can go down and she can be sound again.

Just a note about wedge shoes, of any variety. They DO offer immediate relief of heel pain. The reason is they tip the coffin bone up on it's tip, which actually presses on the circumflex artery in the hoof, and poor circulation means poor sensation ability, so it does numb it, but at a price.

I know I'm always pooh-poohing shoes, but esp. in the case of wedge shoes. That increased angle puts MORE stress on the deep flexor tendon, and can increase the rate of degredation of the bone, but..at least the horse doesn't feel that. The horse MUST land heel first a majority of the time to maintain hoof health, and wedge shoes make that impossible, espcially bars and pads. The foot may appear to land heel first, as the thick shoe hits that way, but if you are wearing high heels, you are walking on your toes, not your heels, and you may know how your feet feel at the end of the day..I know human feet do not directly relate to hooves, but it IS a tangible example of the higher heels and how the heel may land, but the skeleton is walking toe first. And imaging having heels permanantly attatched and then run with extra weight on your back. Your skeleton will be out of alignment and you will hurt.

I hope this is TRUELY a short term fix, but just be knowledgable about how the wedges work-that they don't fix anything, and they mask the pain. It's a fact that they are a temporary hide for the damage, and since they make it worse, it's a matter of time before the numbing effect wears off and the progressive damage is noticed again.

I would say a better option would be to remove the shoes and let your horse rest to let the inflammation subside, while your farrier works on the trim to bring the foot back in optimal balance, and work on what caused the imbalance in the first place-it could even be saddle fit, or thrush that was the catalyst, and no matter what treatment you decide on, if you don't fix the real cause, it's a vicious circle. WIthout shoes, your horse would then acheive REAL healing with a better prognosis for useful life since the sensation in her feet wouldn't be compromised and she could be given an honest lamness assessment.