Looking Good

Lady & Maark are doing wonderful on the big pasture. Both are moving completely sound & Lady has been seen galloping with her head & tail held high. They share the pasture with 5 other horses, one of which is a 2 year old filly. The filly has become the third member of their little herd. It's cute to see Maark following the filly, although at times she gets tired of his shadowing her every step & she'll pin her ears to warn him off. But let Maark & Lady move to another area of the pasture & their new little friend hurries to join them. Maark also has an affinity for the 2009 fillies in the next pasture over. Anytime they're by the fence he can be found standing next to them. He's so huge next them but they don't seem to notice.

On Saturday, Sally & one of her student trimmers were out to trim a few horses. The student had seen pictures of Lady & Maark taken a few days after they arrived because their pictures & story had been posted on a barefoot practitioner's' list. The student could hardly believe that the horses standing in front of her were the same horses in those pictures. Maark is no longer bloated & has lost some weight. While he hasn't lost much, every pound lost smooths out his bulges. The abnormal fat pads on Lady's rump are receding & smoothing away. She's actually gained weight over her ribcage while redistributing the abnormal fat. Both have come so far that it's hard to believe they're the same horses. And most amazing is that they're sound.

Quite a few people told me there was no saving Maark & Lady. They all thought that Lady's founder was her death sentence. Even I had thoughts of losing her in that first week. The same people thought that Maark was also foundered but his x-rays proved otherwise. I had people tell me to put shoes on both horses (how can you nail something on to already excruciatingly painful feet?); Lady needed her heels elevated so her toes would be forced down (I still have no idea at the logic of this); both needed egg-bar shoes & pads; cut the sole away to force concavity; some said don't trim the toe & others advised cutting the toe back to live tissue; some said feed only alfalfa & others said no alfalfa; never feed grain hays; never feed grass hay; alfalfa cubes are safe because they're not hay (this one still confuses me); lock them in 12 x 12 stalls filled with shavings; turn them out on hard ground to keep the bones aligned (huh?); force them to move; limit their movement. There was all manner of advise coming from all directions.

Common sense told me they needed movement to improve their compromised circulation. This same common sense told me their feet needed support & padding to ease the pain so they'd want to move about. I had read about people taping foam to their horses' feet & others who kept their horses in boots. I tried to get boots on Maark & Lady but their feet were considerably too big for the boots I had. If it hadn't have been for Sally I would have given up on these beautiful horses.

The best advise that I can give to anyone going through this same painful journey is to get a very good trimmer who KNOWS feet; someone who has been successful in helping foundered horses; someone who understands that founder is so much more than just a hoof disease. Do your own research to find all available options. There's so much more to this condition than I had ever heard. Without the support & help from someone who understands how the entire body is effected by founder & its causes, I would not have been able to save Maark & Lady. Most importantly, recognize the early signs so you can begin treatment before severe & irreparable damage is done. And never forget that you are not alone.