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RE: [RC] feeling depressed about underrun heels.... - donhustonHello Carrie, Assuming your horse's health and nutrition are good then IMHO the two most important steps to permanently change an unbalanced hoof is to trim it moderately and often, at least weekly, using a hoof gauge and photos so that you can tell that you are making progress in small increments and then lots of movement barefoot working up to actually riding barefoot. Those xrays will tell you what toe angles you need to get ground parallel coffin bones and also will be an excellent reference after 12 months of trimming to see if things are improving. Steel shoes just don't allow you to make those small steady adjustments that allow the hoof to physically change and heal from the inside. Three times in the last 4 years I have had 2 vets and my good riding buddy who is a farrier tell me that my horse needed steel shoes to fix his hi/low syndrome and later his severely re-broken splint. I refused and kept trimming and riding the horse barefoot except for endurance rides when I used boots. The hooves are still not perfect by wild horse standards but Datezz was and is again barefoot sound on all surfaces since Sept'07 when we started riding endurance again after 7 months of R&R for the re-broken splint. My theory of going barefoot is it probably took several years of shoeing to unbalance the hooves so it only stands to reason that it will take several years of corrective trimming AND actually riding barefoot to get back to balanced barefoot hooves. Don Huston ---- "Kitley wrote: Hi all - I have also been in the midst of the long process (2 years), of attempting to remedy high/low syndrome on my mare. I recently spent a bundle of $$$ on EponaTech diagnostic xrays to determine exactly where her bones were in relation to hoof walls, etc. and it proved to be very revealing. My vet specializes in hoof care and diagnotics and is an advocate of this relatively new technical process to obtain perfect hoof alignment, thereby having a very clear picture of the angles that need to be corrected and to which degree, etc. I was impressed with it and don't regret spending the money on it because to me, she is worth it. So, together with a farrier who specializes in corrective hoof care (both barefoot and shod), my own farrier and my vet present, she was trimmed properly and shod with wedges, pads and hopefully within a year will be even on all fours. I've read a ton of material and a million posts on this subject and it seems that there is never a definitive answer on what is the best corrective protocol for high/low syndrome. Shoes, pads, wedges, bare? I'm so deflated, confused, frustrated and can certainly relate to the subject line above. Before we did this, she always had a slight drop in her left shoulder (the low heel side), and now that she has been corrected, seems to be off on the opposite side. If we were to attend a ride at this point, I believe she would again be pulled because of this. She's totally rideable, but I wouldn't take her in an LD right now. She's rarin' to go but tires out quicker than normal, for her. I almost think she was better when she was uneven. :( I went for all the corrective options because I didn't want her to end up permanently lame someday. At first I thought it might be that her muscles were adjusting and re-compensating for being even after two years of being uneven. (Clear as mud?) It was July 3rd that we did the "big correction." I would think she would be 'good to go' by now. I'm really bumming out about all this now and worried that there may be an ongoing lameness issue and that all our efforts have only served to make things worse. When I spoke to all 3 of them about giving her a balanced trim and leaving her barefoot, they all said "bad idea." I love this horse with all my heart and she is an amazing girl, with ARC and old Crabbett bloodlines. I feel like I have a Ferrari with a flat tire and no spare. I don't know what to do next. *sniff* ;( Bottom line, I just want her to be comfortable and be able to do the job she lives for. Carrie Kitley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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