The area of hoof around his old nail holes had chipped a bit, both in part to the moisture from soaking and just general moisture due to weather. This has happened to him before. It's unfortunate because the farrier could barely get a nail in that part of his hoof. I hope the shoe stays on.
The sun has set on the abscess adventure!
I am going to keep the breakaway halter on him for a while longer. It does go against my better judgement for safety reasons, but it helps as a training tool while we practice haltering. It doesn't mean catching will be any easier, back in the large pasture he can still get away from me. But it's much easier to get a lead rope on a halter that is already on my horse, then lead him to a place where I can halter him (over the breakaway.) The breakaway allows me to "hold" him from pulling back while haltering him. Well, he still pulls back, but, he can't escape. I think a few weeks of this, and he will realize he can't "get away." This is a bit of a safety "catch 22." It's unsafe to leave a halter on a pastured horse, but it is equally unsafe to have a horse you can't catch in case of an emergency. If my horse were to seriously injure himself, such as a gaping, bleeding wound that required immediate attention, someone other than myself might have to catch him, and quickly. One might think an injured horse would be in pain and not try to escape. Not necessarily, as he proved the weekend of his tender abscess, when the vet arrived and he was still outrunning me in the pasture.
I now know that I can deal with an abscess. I am sure it is not the last of them, considering Paint Girl and I have now dealt with two in the last 4 months!
The photo caption contest is over, thank you to those of you who entered! I will be reviewing the entries and deciding a winner. Monday night I will post the winner and photos of their prize!
Woot! Woot! Yay for My Boy!! I'm so happy to read the good news. I've been thinking about you and your spotted boy ever since he came down with the absess. I'm so glad he's healed up so well and so quickly. I'm sure you are so relieved, too.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your time with My Boy this weekend and that you have beautiful.
Oh. And that photo with the sun under his cute belly is so cool. I love how the light highlights all of his spots on his legs. Awww! :)
~Lisa
'weather'...I meant to type in weather.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. maybe my brain had already moved on before my fingers had.
lol!
~Lisa
Hithere. Always a huge relief when a foot is on the mend. Do you use a hoof dressing? A good one can work as well when the conditions are too wet. Gives the hoof some elasticity that the soaking kind of leaches out. I use an old one called Fiske's. Good luck with him, C.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
ReplyDeleteA good hoof dressing will stimulate healthy new growth so you get rid of those chipped nail holes.
It can help your own nails too if you've been doing the soaking!
C.
Glad he's better, What about going barefoot, There may be a reason, but I may have missed it somewhere along the line. Just a thought.....
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you got the abcess dealt with. I hate those things.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see he's better.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your reason for using horse shoes? Have you ever considered barefoot?
Whewie..good work done ther sis.
ReplyDeleteI have never had the pleasure of doing such work on a hoof as of yet..no abesses!
Mine are bare foot and I am hoping the Pea gravel paddock will cut my absess rate to = nill!
sEE YA SOON...CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHO WON!
KACY
I would love for him to go barefoot, but My Boy has really tender hooves. He was bare on the back hooves for a year while I leased him/first owned him, and he was very tender on the trails. His hooves just never toughened up and riding on gravel roads was a nightmare. Even a short walk across gravel the other day on his unshod hoof, and he was practically 3-legged. I thought Appy's had tough hooves?
ReplyDeletePhew...I am glad that you can wipe your brow and relax now...lol!!!
ReplyDeleteHopefully you, and Paint Girl, can dodge the hoof abscess bullet for the rest of the winter. :)
So glad to hear that the absess deal is over with!! Those things can be nasty! I have to keep shoes on my Morgan too as he has such tender feet and goes lame without them.
ReplyDeleteHop on over to my place and have a looksy at a rump that looks an awful lot like My Boy! I thought of him when I saw this guy last week!! :o)
Stripy hooves and black hooves are "supposed" to be the hardest hooves, but I think it all relative. A matter of opinion. After talking with Mrs Mom, I know there are things that can help to toughen hooves and condition hooves. Maybe, I've been lucky, but I've never had a shod horse and yeah sometimes there are tender moments, but for the most part, they are pretty tough, even on rocky trails. Good luck with your poor tendered footed young man. HOpe this it for the adscesses! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteHooray the boot is gone!! I am glad his hoof is all better!!
ReplyDeleteJust look at his super long Appy tail!! Maybe there is hope for his mane to grow long too. That is an impressive tail!!!