Anyone here a horse person?

[AllyCat]

I have a blacksmith question and don't know what to do!

[Lizzie Borden]

1. most definately!

I had a stable here where I took care of 40 horses a day. Ask away. I'll help you if I can. I still have 5 horses .

[Spinzonner]

3. Should s/he be axing you instead of asking ?

[AllyCat]

6. New farrier drove six hot nails today

One of them was BLEEDING an hour later. I've never had this happen in my entire horse career. Vet has me soaking in epsom salts/iodine twice a day for 30 minutes for the next week.

I mentioned the nails looked too high when he did it and the horse was really sore. He pulled out the nails and drove the rest lower, as he did for the rest of the shoes. But apparently, he never pulled the quarter nails. A friend pulled those on the vet's advice.

What is the prognosis with this? I;ve heard of a hot nail, but not one that was bleeding! I'm really worried about an abcess.

[Spinzonner]

2. I think Centaurs are extinct

no sightings in a few thousand years.

[Deja Q]

4. Well, I know a person who's hung like a horse...

Does that count? :evilgrin:

[Spinzonner]

5. Must be a strong rope

any special knots required ?

[AllyCat]

7. Not really helpful in this case

But thanks for the laugh.

[miss_kitty]

8. I'm pretty much all human

but I like horses and started riding at the age of 4. No saddle most of the time.

Haven't been horseback riding for decades.

[JVS]

9. I have some horses

They look like this

[Lefta Dissenter]

10. holy shit, Ally!

Please pm me and tell me who this was, in case it's the person I'm using for my winter farrier! :(

You're doing the same treatment that we did when one of our horses ripped a shoe partway off and then managed to jam the nail up into the white line. He didn't end up abscessing from it, but it scared the crap out of us.

Good luck! :pals:

[AllyCat]

14. PM on its way

Hope it's not your winter farrier either.

[BeHereNow]

11. Add some tea tree oil to the epson salt soak.

Natural anti-biotic, will help ward off infection.
Also, if you can find some comfrey root, make a poultice
and pack it around the hoof three times a day for 30 minutes
ALWAYS supervised as comfrey root should not be ingested
by your horse.
I think I would find a new farrier too...
BHN

[AllyCat]

13. Comfrey! Thanks for the reminder...I forgot about that.

I'll hit the natural foods market by my house as they sell it in bulk. Won't the Tea tree get sort of, overpowered by the iodine?

And uh, yeah, new farrier used by a good horseperson in my barn will be coming next. Poor mare!

[BeHereNow]

15. Tea Tree oil in the epson salt soak-

Iodine after, applied topically.
BHN

[AllyCat]

17. How much TT?

I'm using a Davis boot since she won't stand too well with her foot in a bucket. It's about 1.5 liters of warm water with 1/4 C. Epsom salts.

Thanks for your input.

[BeHereNow]

18. I'd use anywhere from two to six ounces.

Depending on the sensitivity factor.
Comfrey root is AMAZING stuff for humans and critters!
bhn

[forgethell]

12. No, but

I once had a girl-friend who looked like one. She was ugly, too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

:shrug:

[Lizzie Borden]

20. Why do you people think a horse in pain is FUNNY???

Flame me, starting now. There is NOTHING WHATSOEVER about an animal being in pain which is funny.I can't understand what some of you are thinking, or maybe that's it, you aren't.Grow the fuck up.This poor mare is in horrible pain. That's not FUNNY. If you think that it is, you should have voted for the guy who blew up frogs as a cild cause y
ou're right down there in the gutter with him. Just fucking stop it.
FLAME AWAY!!!:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[BeHereNow]

22. This is the reason

I prefer animals to people...
I hear ya LB.
bhn

[forgethell]

24. Well, excuse me,

I didn't bother to read the entire thread and was responding only to the first post. Don't be so damn judgmental. I wouldn't laugh at an animal in pain. In fact, I own 4 dogs, 3 of which were strays, and 2 cats, both strays, so I'll match my animal lover credentials against anybody's.

That being said, I'm sorry if I offended you. Perhaps I should have read the entire thread before answering.


MERRY CHRISTMAS :spank:

[Sanity Claws]

16. Do you mean a centaur?

[Lizzie Borden]

19. Is this a new farrier?

This has to be the the single worst case of shoeing I've heard of. You need to find a new farrier fast and fire that one cause he clealy doesn't know what he's doing. You need to pull the shoes. Apparently he quicked (drew blood) your horse a number of times. This is very serious. It's not a little mistake. Once in a while a farrier may do this but not on a regular basis. Keep the shoes off for now. Calling a vet was right. The vet has you putting iodine in the nail holes which is correct. Try to keep it off the coronet band because it tends to burn. Do the iodine after the epsom salt soaks. Do you have any bute? There are 2 ways to look at the bute question. It will make your horse much more comfortable, however, it will be masking pain if you give it. I'm worried about this horse foundering. You want to avoid that at all costs. If the horse won't move,or stands with his back feet drawn up under him (looking to take the weight off front feet)he may be foundering. Call the vet immediately. As you probably know, founder is extremely serious. If you see the horse urinating and the urine looks brown (like coffee) that's an indication of founder. I take it your horse was vaccinated for tetnaus? Good.Big time tetnaus germs are in a stall environment.If your vet told you to use bute then do so. If not, observe your horse tomorrow to try and establish pain level, and lameness factor . If he's not lame, keep doing what you are doing, but just know that if you're giving 2 grams of bute a day, you could be masking the pain. Founder really does make the hooves feel warm and there should be a thick digital pluse with fouder but sometimes it is'nt easy to feel. Keep checking the horse and doing the soaks. Call your vet if you notice any further problems, and don't use that particular farrier again.

[AllyCat]

21. Can you believe it?

Yeah, will definitely get a new farrier. And mine recommended this guy to me! He drove six nails and my mare didn't really do much except fuss a bit. That was the first show. When he put the hoof down, I could see the front of it and gasped when I saw how high the nails were. He seemed to think it was just the horse being a little sensitive and thought he would look at it again when he was all done. I insisted he drive the rest of the nails lower.

At the time, I really didn't think it was more than just "new guy, new client, everyone has a bad day". Now I feel like a moron. I'm worried about founder too and my vet said to keep an eye on her over the weekend. She thinks at the worst it will just abcess. She did prescribe bute, but I worry about that masking pain too. It does work as anti-inflammatory which is what she is hoping will minimize the risk of founder. Tetanus is up to date (May of this year).

The heat in the hoof just a few hours later was amazing. I'd left a check for him ahead of time because I wasn't sure I could be there. He has, of course, pocketed the check and did NOT provide me with a bill of sale. I have a business card. What is the etiquette here? I want to stop payment on the check.

Should I call my old farrier and talk to him? This guy apprenticed with him and the old farrier was terrific! He moved a few months ago and suggested everyone use this guy.

[Lizzie Borden]

23. I would think your old farrier

would want to know what kind of work this guy was doing especially if he apprenticed under him. People don't like their name connected with shoddy work. But you never know, farriers are a strange breed especially because they are so rare. But even so, he does this kind of work ? Frankly, I'd be telling everyone I knew about it. Horsepeople will close ranks over something like this pretty quikly.
Keep an eye on the heat level, and call the vet back if you need to. Founder can have a long recovery period and it's best not to let it happen at all if you can help it--but you already know that. Good luck.

[Politicub]

25. Neighhhh.... how did you know?!

Here's me mum's pic:

[Tsiyu]

26. I would be so pissed

Here is a site on hoof injury. To the left are more detailed discussions of white line and founder.

http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0394hoofinj.shtml


Here's another link to an emergency care site.

http://www.yourhorseshealth.com/health_care/emergency_care.html

Hopefully you can keep that hoof wrapped and clean- hard in winter. I agree with the comfrey but it shouldn't be ingested. Human Neosporin is good, also try drenching the sight with antibiotics if it gets infected. We did this with a case of thrush - using liquid penicillin.



Best of luck to the mare.


Edited to say you would find founder also under "laminitis"

[CO Liberal]

27. You Mean a "Horse Person" Like This???

:-)

[UncleSepp]

28. Oh OW OW OW

Gaahhh, that makes MY toes hurt just thinking about the poor horse! Please please please, if you have any doubts about how your horse's feet are responding to the salt soak, don't hesitate to contact the vet again. Also, keep those feet as clean and dry as you can (well, when not soaking).

/off to get some goons to go drive hot needles under your farrier's toenails!

[AllyCat]

30. Thanks for the goons. :)

Right now, my best option is called "stop payment".

[Tsiyu]

29. I laid down and woke up saying "abcesses, abcesses!"

Yes, I dream about horses ALL the time.

That's really your biggest worry here, and once they form they have to be drained.

The founder we've experienced has come from horses eating too much grain or new spring grass, and it will show up generally in both front feet. Horses have a delicate balance of ingredients in the gut; strange phenomenon and too boring to explain here, but you mess with that balance and it goes to the feet. Specifically the laminae and that causes the sole of the hoof to become unable to hold up the bone of the foot, which rotates into and sometimes pierces the sole. I'm not saying a puncture can't cause it, but an abcess is more likey at the holes of the nails.

Abcesses form when the hoof is punctured and bacteria enter the wound. Your best defense is to keep it clean. We had a Percheron who got them all the time in one hoof. It was soak, wrap, constantly.
A Professional's Choice or similar support boot can help while the hoof is healing.


Edited to add this link:

http://www.profchoice.com/index.html

Anyway, keep us posted.

[AllyCat]

31. Laid down and awakened thinking "hoof sealant"!

I just awakened and frantically called the barn manager. It occurred to me overnight (or whenever) that he (the farrier) had filled the old holes and the new high ones with a hoof putty/sealant most of the farriers around here use. If that is blocking the holes, the soak is not going to work where it needs to work.

I'm waiting for the barn manager who is calling her farrier right now to find out how to get it out of there.

A friend of mine had a horse that foundered during pregnancy. It was awful. They were able to keep the mare alive to deliver and for part of the nursing, but she was so uncomfortable, they ended up bottle feeding the baby after putting down the mare.

The worry of founder here is worst case scenario. Blood has to come from somewhere and if he hit the laminae with one or more of those nails, one has laminitis. Still, I would think that she would have killed him if he'd done that.

Anyway, barn manager report is that mare is perky and looking hungry in her stall...has not taken her out yet to see if she is three-legged lame yet and to soak the foot. Thank goodness for the world's greatest barn manager!

Edited to correct stupid grammar.