AboutChristine Sizemore Expertise I can answer questions for horse owners who would like to have their horses go barefoot (without shoes) and can also answer questions related to hoof care.
Experience Barefoot trimmer since 2003, rehabilitation of problem feet, transition of horses from shoes to barefoot, work with horse owners to make the appropriate decision re: shoes or no shoes, train horse owner to perform basic hoof care between trims.
Education/Credentials MS and PhD. in Biology, Horse owner, extensive continuing education in hoof care and trimming.
Past/Present Clients Thoroughbreds, quarterhorses, arabians, gaited horses, one draft :-); current clients are trail horses, pleasure horses, geriatric horses with arthritis, pony club hunters, jumpers. All barefoot and maintained to be best at their intended use without shoes.
Question QUESTION: My 13-year-old Appendix Quarter Horse named Bugsy was diagnosed with
navicular syndrome last year and I took him barefoot Feb. 1 (using a trimmer
in Pete Ramey's group) hoping to cure his lameness. I was initially worried
about his becoming overly sore without shoes but he seems to have
weathered that without much incident. But when I brought him back to the
trimmer last Friday (March 7) for a second trim, all of a sudden he appeared
to be off at a trot on his front LEFT leg instead of his RIGHT (as he had been
previously--and the right foot was the primary one diagnosed as navicular).
Is this something I should be concerned about? What's going on?!? I'm
attaching a JPEG showing his front feet at various stages over the past 5 or so
weeks in case that's of any help. Bugsy's front right foot is somewhat upright
and to the best of my understanding is in worse shape as the frog and digital
cushion were thus always left far off the ground. Both front heels were
contracted. And the most outstanding feature I can think of regarding his
front left leg is that it paddles when he trots. I don't get the feeling Bugsy's
doing any worse than last week and if I had to say one way or the other I'd
guess he may be even doing a little bit better. But, if so, why would he all of a
sudden be off on his other leg?!? Can you help me understand what's going
on?!? Thanks for whatever insights you can offer! IMAGE: Bugsy.jpg
ANSWER: Thanks Evan!
There are a few things that may be going on with Bugsy....thanks for the pics! Can you please send me pics of him standing on level ground (cement, or pavement or something like that where you can see his feet) - Pics that show the whole horse from the side the way he NATURALLY wants to stand, i.e. don't make him square up if he does not want to and just move him back and forth a few steps until he has settled into the most comfortable stance - and also a pic front on with his head in it as well, and on straight from the back, and then a closer view (camera on the ground) of his hinds and fronts from the front and the side, and if it is safe, from the back of the feet as well? For a horse with his issues, the side to side, and more importantly, the front to back balance is critical to assess the appropriate approach for any corrections.
Also, please be aware that it will take time before any adjustments that are done through barefoot trims will set in...it takes 9-12 months for a new hoof to grow and it will be a few months before you can see a definite change in his feet. However, I can definitely help you assess what may be going on with him suddenly not feeling well with the other leg, if this may be related to trims. What part of the country are you located in and what footing/moisture is Bugsy kept and ridden on?
With the new pics, I will do my very best to try to explain to you what may be going on.
Also, when you say he was diagnosed with Navicular syndrome, can you tell me what test the vet did to arrive at this diagnosis and do you happen to have pics of Bugsy in shoes from before that time? Also best view would be from the side on level hard ground.
Thanks again!
Christine
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thought I'd send you a slightly updated version of the foot comparison chart
previously sent--in case it's of any interest. This one's got a picture of Bugsy's
right foot in his 'navicular' shoe plus a couple of photos of Bugsy. (I've also got a
series of heel shots in a similar layout if you're interested.) IMAGE: BugsyFEET.jpg
ANSWER: Hi Evan, yes the more pics the better! What others have done to get pictures to me that you can see one at a time is to post them on one of the pic sharing websites that are free on the internet....such as Photobucket, and just password protect them. I think you can download video as well...can you post there for better viewing? I got a pretty good idea about some of the issues Bugsy may be battling with and how his feet have already responded to the trims he has gotten so far, from your composite.
Yes, it is very possible to see all sorts of changes in gait, body posture, etc, when you do a foot rehab on a horse. I have to admit that I never saw an issue that popped up suddenly on a different leg but one thing that is actually very common when horses with contraction issues like Bugsy come out of shoes...and that is that a variety of abscesses develop since you get different mechanics going with regards to the hoof capsule that were not there before. Plus, since he has very long feet with the breakover way in front of him, AND assuming that what is going on here is really navicular disease (which can be a catch-all term to indicate caudal hoof pain in general which can be caused by all sorts of things) then re-establishing of the appropriate dorso-palmar balance will be key. The deep digital flexor tendon, the tendon inserting in the coffin bone and running across the navicular bone is under greatest stress at the point of breakover in the stride...so you can imagine what long toes to to that stress. So its not so much getting the heels down, which often happens as a generic approach to barefoot rehab, but doing so in a matter that does not intermittently create and even bigger imbalance around the center of rotation in the foot. So, conceivable, and depending on what his dorso palmar balance used to look like, dramatic changes in these angles can make a hoof that was originally happy a bit unhappy while another hoof, depending on where the heels were to begin with, may do better...e.g. a hoof with already low heels and very long toes getting even lower heels (I am referring to low with respect to the plane of the sole) will not be as happy as a hoof that had high heels and long toes and now you gently lower the toes...but you are of course correct, he could have just been running around more when he was feeling better having his shoes of and overexerted himself :-)
Also to get back to your first question, irrespective of the age of the pasture mates, a bigger pasture is always better and healthier than a smaller ones...horse will move around more naturally when they graze and larger pasture with fewer horses also probably means more grass, less poop and more to do....You obviously care for Bugsy very much - providing barefoot rehab and thinking about the best pasture options is really great!
So, if you can post whatever pics you have of Bugsy on one of these free sites, would be fantastic. You can also send to my personal E-mail at jnksize@comcast.net if this would be easier for you.
Let me know!
Christine
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I was able to get in touch via email today with a lameness vet and barefoot
advocate from Arizona named Dr. Tomas Teskey (do you know him?) who
explained what's happening to Bugsy is apparently not at all unusual. In fact,
he said, in his experience, horses that go back and forth from one foot to the
other with such lameness as they recover actually have BETTER long-term
results. He also said he could already see some nice changes, including some
already improved hoof walls, in the pictures I sent. But, on the other hand, he
described Bugsy's degree of heel contraction as moderate to severe,
explaining it will take at least one to two years for his feet to completely
recover--which is okay I guess as long as he becomes sound and is ridable
(at least in boots) a lot sooner than that. Do Dr. Teskey's observations sound
reasonable to you? I'll see what other pictures I can send you! Thanks again!
Answer Hi Evan, yes, fully agree with him! What was striking to me is not so much the hoof wall thickness but how much more symmetrical the bottom of his feet have become. Also, initially you could see slight bending of the tip of the frog and flaring on one side of the hoof that seems to have normalized - this is usually an indication of uneven hoof loading when in motion (i.e. dynamic balance) and it was remarkable how just these few trims made a difference! Yes, heels may take a while but I saw some horses recover very quickly and suddenly decontract much faster than one could imagine possible!
Since you mentioned boots..have you tried riding him in boots yet? He may be more comfortable than you think and providing regular gentle excercise, such as slow rides on good and level ground if he is not too lame (how lame is he at the moment) may be good for his mental wellbeing and yours probably as well....
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