Last Friday we had hoof trims. In spite of the mud lately, everyone's hooves are doing well. My husband has taken over learning the trimming process, as he is stronger than me and much better at manipulating the rasp and the hoof knife. I'm still learning what to look for, so I can stand there and point out to him what he already knows while he's doing the trims!
At this point he has completely taken over the donkey trims and is doing a good job. He's also doing touch-ups on Keil Bay and Cody about every two weeks, which is really making a difference since their hooves tend to grow really fast.
His next candidate will be the pony - who has pretty much perfect feet. We'll likely put him on the touch-up schedule along with the geldings, but will see how it goes once that gets started.
The trimmer will come every 6 weeks to do Salina, Cody, and Keil Bay, and to check the others and continue teaching. It's given us a lot more confidence and is a relief to know that small things can be corrected in between trims!
We've taken a slow approach to purchasing the tools. We started with a rasp and new hoof knife, a sharpener, and gloves. This trip the trimmer had a hoof stand a friend was selling at a great price, and we grabbed the opportunity to add that to our tools. No more using a landscaping timber!
On Saturday the chiropractor was here for Salina, Keil Bay, and Cody. They all had minimal issues, but all seemed appreciative of the work, especially Salina and Keil. Since they were getting 48 hours off with the chiro, and since all this timed with two really warm days, I went ahead and did their deworming on Sunday (I generally don't ride them on deworming days, and I also try hard to time the deworming when we're not having extreme weather or on the cusp of a big weather change).
Now, as soon as this rain/cooling front moves through, we'll be all set ride again. I spent yesterday getting pine pellets, peat moss, and stocking up on feed supplies, then getting the stalls topped off. We were just getting dried out from the last rain spell, but it's muddy again and they're all trying hard to be the muddiest horse on the property. It's way too warm to blanket them, even with single-weight turn-out sheets!
Spring bulbs are coming up already, and the tree bark chewing started. The herd completely girded a red oak this year, which forced us to scurry and wrap more trees in the front field in case they decide to look for another one. So far, so good.
It seems greener this winter than it usually is - we over-seeded the back field so that's looking nice, but even in front, the grass is still growing. So much for my theory that the chewing has to do with them missing the green stuff!
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Showing posts with label hoof notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hoof notes. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
hoof notes, April 2012
I am so happy to report that this morning when the trimmer arrived two little donkeys were waiting eagerly in the barn aisle. We had halters and lead ropes on just in case Redford decided to skedaddle - post gelding, all done with antibiotics (he took the last week's worth whole in his feed tub and just crunched those things right down!), he is still a bit skittish about folks driving up to the barn with equipment in hand.
However he stood bravely this morning, took a nice long sniff of the trimmer's apron, and seemed to assure himself that this was in fact a benign operation he remembered with no trauma attached. He went first and was a little champ.
Rafer Johnson wanted to go first, which made my heart warm. After two difficult trims due to white line disease he is now over the hump with that and back to his trusting self. That he wanted to go first let me know he was better, and indeed he is. No hoof wall had to be removed today and we are very close to being all grown out with tight, healthy connection. Thanks to our trimmer who was able to get in there and remove the yucky stuff, thanks to husband (and daughter) who have religiously picked little hooves and applied Banixx, and thanks to the supplement called Kombat Boots, which I suspect helped us get through this last five weeks with lots of growth.
Salina went next and I continue to be grateful for R. for not assuming Salina cannot pick her hooves up and put them on the stand. She can, and does, and this allows her trims to be much more accurate. Her angles are better now, and I think the stretches she gets also do her body good.
Apache Pony was not all that thrilled with his turn, but he rarely is when it comes to getting hooves trimmed. He settled down once I got the clicker out. Fortunately he has healthy, picture-perfect hooves anyway so his trims go fast.
Cody went next and he is doing well. Daughter had braided his forelock and I admit I was so taken with his handsome face beneath that fat braid I do not remember what the trimmer said about his hooves! But if anything were amiss she would have made sure I listened. He's doing well in general since I increased vitamin E, magnesium, and his ALCAR. Springtime for PSSM'ers can be tricky, but I think we're on track again.
Keil Bay came in when it was his turn - about 5 minutes before we were ready for him - and began to bang on his stall door for his trim. When he was escorted out of the stall, he went to the gate and banged that. Keil Bay loves anything that puts the attention on him, and his hooves are doing so beautifully under the care of R. that he seems especially happy to show them off. I could not be happier with how his feet are progressing now that the heels are being taken down enough and the frogs are getting lots of stimulation.
Between the good trims, the well-placed gravel we've put in, and balanced diets, things are looking good right now.
We've not had issues with soft hooves around here, but the entire herd have been on Kombat Boots for 5 weeks now and their hooves today were hard as could be. It could also be time of year and our weather, but I think the supplement added something beneficial to the mix. I'm definitely keeping Rafer on it until his front hooves are completely grown out again.
Thrilled to report good hoof notes this go round!
However he stood bravely this morning, took a nice long sniff of the trimmer's apron, and seemed to assure himself that this was in fact a benign operation he remembered with no trauma attached. He went first and was a little champ.
Rafer Johnson wanted to go first, which made my heart warm. After two difficult trims due to white line disease he is now over the hump with that and back to his trusting self. That he wanted to go first let me know he was better, and indeed he is. No hoof wall had to be removed today and we are very close to being all grown out with tight, healthy connection. Thanks to our trimmer who was able to get in there and remove the yucky stuff, thanks to husband (and daughter) who have religiously picked little hooves and applied Banixx, and thanks to the supplement called Kombat Boots, which I suspect helped us get through this last five weeks with lots of growth.
Salina went next and I continue to be grateful for R. for not assuming Salina cannot pick her hooves up and put them on the stand. She can, and does, and this allows her trims to be much more accurate. Her angles are better now, and I think the stretches she gets also do her body good.
Apache Pony was not all that thrilled with his turn, but he rarely is when it comes to getting hooves trimmed. He settled down once I got the clicker out. Fortunately he has healthy, picture-perfect hooves anyway so his trims go fast.
Cody went next and he is doing well. Daughter had braided his forelock and I admit I was so taken with his handsome face beneath that fat braid I do not remember what the trimmer said about his hooves! But if anything were amiss she would have made sure I listened. He's doing well in general since I increased vitamin E, magnesium, and his ALCAR. Springtime for PSSM'ers can be tricky, but I think we're on track again.
Keil Bay came in when it was his turn - about 5 minutes before we were ready for him - and began to bang on his stall door for his trim. When he was escorted out of the stall, he went to the gate and banged that. Keil Bay loves anything that puts the attention on him, and his hooves are doing so beautifully under the care of R. that he seems especially happy to show them off. I could not be happier with how his feet are progressing now that the heels are being taken down enough and the frogs are getting lots of stimulation.
Between the good trims, the well-placed gravel we've put in, and balanced diets, things are looking good right now.
We've not had issues with soft hooves around here, but the entire herd have been on Kombat Boots for 5 weeks now and their hooves today were hard as could be. It could also be time of year and our weather, but I think the supplement added something beneficial to the mix. I'm definitely keeping Rafer on it until his front hooves are completely grown out again.
Thrilled to report good hoof notes this go round!
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
spring! and some catching up
It's been a busy few weeks here - so busy that I had to take some stuff OFF my calender in order to remain sane.
We've had on again, off again spring, but I'm claiming we're fully there mostly due to my mood, which has taken a huge leap forward (hence the busy-ness) into a new season - in spite of the thermometer. Last week we had an 80 degree day and a brave carpenter bee, and last night it was 20-something and we had the wood stove cranking out heat. In between we are clearing beds and trying to get ready to start seeds.
Things are blooming: daffodils, maple trees, and some of the other early-blooming trees. The redbuds haven't bloomed yet, nor the dogwoods, but there is green showing its face all over the place. And the equines have stopped chewing tree bark, which means they have other things they're chewing on - new grass.
Salina started shedding several weeks ago and as of today all the geldings have started. The donkeys shed late, so they are still fluff-budgets.
This past Saturday the hunt club had its Hunter Trial to wind down foxhunting season. My daughter rode her lesson horse and won her class - and brought home a huge trophy, a blue ribbon, and a gift bag that had a gorgeous set of wooden hunt club coasters. It was a rainy, dark day, but the trial went on, and we managed to stay mostly dry and keep horses mostly dry as they waited for their turns to show off. There were some absolutely gorgeous foxhunters there, and it was a fun day all around. I admit - I was glad to get home at the end of it!
Yesterday we had hoof trims and everyone is looking much much better with the new trimmer. Salina actually lifted her front hooves to be picked and examined the "regular" way. Unfortunately, Rafer had to have some more hoof wall removed as the white line disease is still present - though not to the degree it was initially. We've had a lot of rain and mud, and it's being difficult to keep those little hooves perfectly clean. But he's not having discomfort now and we're working on growing new, tight, healthy hoof.
Today the pony had his little rider here and after the ride I got in my own ride on the Big Bay. I don't really need to say anything except how happy and grateful and lucky I am to have this handsome gelding in my life. Last week at my daughter's lesson there was a 73-year old man learning to play polocrosse. When he got off at the end and stood there letting his muscles situate, I had the thought that I hope, desperately, that when I turn 73 I am climbing into the saddle and treasuring the horse that carries me. I suppose it's possible that it could be on Keil Bay, but if not, it's definitely possible it could be on Cody.
But for now, for today, I'm a happy horsewoman with a handsome, sound, brilliant bay and at least a few sunny days in a row to ride him!
We've had on again, off again spring, but I'm claiming we're fully there mostly due to my mood, which has taken a huge leap forward (hence the busy-ness) into a new season - in spite of the thermometer. Last week we had an 80 degree day and a brave carpenter bee, and last night it was 20-something and we had the wood stove cranking out heat. In between we are clearing beds and trying to get ready to start seeds.
Things are blooming: daffodils, maple trees, and some of the other early-blooming trees. The redbuds haven't bloomed yet, nor the dogwoods, but there is green showing its face all over the place. And the equines have stopped chewing tree bark, which means they have other things they're chewing on - new grass.
Salina started shedding several weeks ago and as of today all the geldings have started. The donkeys shed late, so they are still fluff-budgets.
This past Saturday the hunt club had its Hunter Trial to wind down foxhunting season. My daughter rode her lesson horse and won her class - and brought home a huge trophy, a blue ribbon, and a gift bag that had a gorgeous set of wooden hunt club coasters. It was a rainy, dark day, but the trial went on, and we managed to stay mostly dry and keep horses mostly dry as they waited for their turns to show off. There were some absolutely gorgeous foxhunters there, and it was a fun day all around. I admit - I was glad to get home at the end of it!
Yesterday we had hoof trims and everyone is looking much much better with the new trimmer. Salina actually lifted her front hooves to be picked and examined the "regular" way. Unfortunately, Rafer had to have some more hoof wall removed as the white line disease is still present - though not to the degree it was initially. We've had a lot of rain and mud, and it's being difficult to keep those little hooves perfectly clean. But he's not having discomfort now and we're working on growing new, tight, healthy hoof.
Today the pony had his little rider here and after the ride I got in my own ride on the Big Bay. I don't really need to say anything except how happy and grateful and lucky I am to have this handsome gelding in my life. Last week at my daughter's lesson there was a 73-year old man learning to play polocrosse. When he got off at the end and stood there letting his muscles situate, I had the thought that I hope, desperately, that when I turn 73 I am climbing into the saddle and treasuring the horse that carries me. I suppose it's possible that it could be on Keil Bay, but if not, it's definitely possible it could be on Cody.
But for now, for today, I'm a happy horsewoman with a handsome, sound, brilliant bay and at least a few sunny days in a row to ride him!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
hoof notes, update on the Big Bay
I've been meaning to write a little about Keil Bay's hooves and how they responded to his new trimmer and her willingness to take his heels down further. We both wanted to address the contraction in the front feet as well as his deep central sulci areas which can become breeding grounds for thrush.
A week after the trim I tried to pack a folded square of gauze soaked in Banixx into the two front hooves - in the crevices that he has had since he's been with me due to the contraction of his heels. Usually I can get the entire piece of gauze in that crevice. A week after his last trim I could only get it halfway in - the crevice is closing up from the inside out.
Yesterday, about halfway into the trim cycle, I brought Keil Bay into the barn aisle to clean his hooves and take a close look at them. His frogs are no longer ragged and jagged in front but nice and flat with almost no central sulci. The crevice, as I call it, is nearly gone.
But the really wonderful thing is that the moment I picked up the first hoof, Keil Bay started licking and chewing, loudly, and he repeated this behavior as I went all the way around from hoof to hoof.
Keil hasn't ever been difficult about his feet, but he's never seemed so happy about the process either.
I should add that we put #78 stone into the shelter behind the geldings' stalls - so that any time they go in or out of the barn (which is at least 4x a day) they are walking on the rocks. They also tend to gather under the shelter when waiting for meals or if they want the shelter for some weather-related reason, so they've been getting a fair amount of time with hooves on stone. And they seem to love it. The donkeys actually ROLL in it!
We extended the #78 to the area outside/beside the shelter, as that too is a favorite hang-out spot. And yesterday, we added #67, which is a nice smaller size gravel, to the strip in front of the shelter and around the edges of the outside square of #78.
Tomorrow I'll get another load of #67 and we'll extend that outside edge to the area beneath and on both sides of the gate that leads from the small barnyard into the dirt paddock.
In addition to helping with the muddy areas we tend to get when it rains, we're providing lots of different terrains for the equine hooves here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how their feet change as we make our way from the barn outward.
We still have the barn aisle doorways to do, the other side of the barn outside Salina and the donka boys' stalls, four gateways, and then squares around each water trough. I'm also going to do a dedicated hosing/bath area in the smaller stone.
With all this stone work, can anyone guess what I wish I could get for my birthday?
(That's right - a baby dump truck!)
A week after the trim I tried to pack a folded square of gauze soaked in Banixx into the two front hooves - in the crevices that he has had since he's been with me due to the contraction of his heels. Usually I can get the entire piece of gauze in that crevice. A week after his last trim I could only get it halfway in - the crevice is closing up from the inside out.
Yesterday, about halfway into the trim cycle, I brought Keil Bay into the barn aisle to clean his hooves and take a close look at them. His frogs are no longer ragged and jagged in front but nice and flat with almost no central sulci. The crevice, as I call it, is nearly gone.
But the really wonderful thing is that the moment I picked up the first hoof, Keil Bay started licking and chewing, loudly, and he repeated this behavior as I went all the way around from hoof to hoof.
Keil hasn't ever been difficult about his feet, but he's never seemed so happy about the process either.
I should add that we put #78 stone into the shelter behind the geldings' stalls - so that any time they go in or out of the barn (which is at least 4x a day) they are walking on the rocks. They also tend to gather under the shelter when waiting for meals or if they want the shelter for some weather-related reason, so they've been getting a fair amount of time with hooves on stone. And they seem to love it. The donkeys actually ROLL in it!
We extended the #78 to the area outside/beside the shelter, as that too is a favorite hang-out spot. And yesterday, we added #67, which is a nice smaller size gravel, to the strip in front of the shelter and around the edges of the outside square of #78.
Tomorrow I'll get another load of #67 and we'll extend that outside edge to the area beneath and on both sides of the gate that leads from the small barnyard into the dirt paddock.
In addition to helping with the muddy areas we tend to get when it rains, we're providing lots of different terrains for the equine hooves here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how their feet change as we make our way from the barn outward.
We still have the barn aisle doorways to do, the other side of the barn outside Salina and the donka boys' stalls, four gateways, and then squares around each water trough. I'm also going to do a dedicated hosing/bath area in the smaller stone.
With all this stone work, can anyone guess what I wish I could get for my birthday?
(That's right - a baby dump truck!)
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
finally - some progress!
We left the hoof alone yesterday - and I switched to my other homeopathic "abscess" remedy yesterday afternoon since the first one didn't seem to be acting. This morning things with Cody were holding steady, but by mid-day I noticed he was not moving as much as he had been. I picked the hoof and flushed it with hot epsom salt water, and gave him another dose of the new remedy. Within moments he began to act very strangely - licking the arena footing, pawing with the off hoof, and then simply refusing to move.
I got his halter and lead rope and brought him into the grassy barnyard, and although he really didn't want to move, he walked out with me. But then resumed the licking on the grass! He was also jerking his hoof up periodically, as though it was hurting him. And then he seemed a bit wobbly. I gave him water, and he took a long drink. I'm really not sure what was going on - I came inside and called husband and we talked it through while I watched Cody from the back deck. After only a few minutes he stopped the licking, dropped a nice, normal pile of manure, and turned himself to face me!
I went back out and did some chores, keeping an eye on him. He was not moving as much still but had stopped the odd licking and jerking and went back to eating hay. In retrospect, I think the remedy might have "kicked in" - I usually give 3 doses total and sometimes the action doesn't start with the first dose. I've had the human equivalent of an abscess before and was given this same remedy - within minutes of taking it, I could feel the infection drawing tighter and getting more painful, and with the second dose, the "abscess" burst. Cody is fairly sensitive to physical things - although laid back in many ways. I wonder if today's dose, the second, triggered a drawing action that just plain felt weird.
In any case, late this afternoon he asked to go out with his herd and since I was out mucking I decided to trust his judgment. He walked carefully to the back field and stood with his best buddies, relaxing and clearly feeling good about being with them again. I decided to go ahead and give the third dose before I had to leave to take son to his class. Only a few minutes after we left, my husband called to say that the abscess had opened and was draining, and that Cody was moving almost normally again.
Thank goodness!
I got his halter and lead rope and brought him into the grassy barnyard, and although he really didn't want to move, he walked out with me. But then resumed the licking on the grass! He was also jerking his hoof up periodically, as though it was hurting him. And then he seemed a bit wobbly. I gave him water, and he took a long drink. I'm really not sure what was going on - I came inside and called husband and we talked it through while I watched Cody from the back deck. After only a few minutes he stopped the licking, dropped a nice, normal pile of manure, and turned himself to face me!
I went back out and did some chores, keeping an eye on him. He was not moving as much still but had stopped the odd licking and jerking and went back to eating hay. In retrospect, I think the remedy might have "kicked in" - I usually give 3 doses total and sometimes the action doesn't start with the first dose. I've had the human equivalent of an abscess before and was given this same remedy - within minutes of taking it, I could feel the infection drawing tighter and getting more painful, and with the second dose, the "abscess" burst. Cody is fairly sensitive to physical things - although laid back in many ways. I wonder if today's dose, the second, triggered a drawing action that just plain felt weird.
In any case, late this afternoon he asked to go out with his herd and since I was out mucking I decided to trust his judgment. He walked carefully to the back field and stood with his best buddies, relaxing and clearly feeling good about being with them again. I decided to go ahead and give the third dose before I had to leave to take son to his class. Only a few minutes after we left, my husband called to say that the abscess had opened and was draining, and that Cody was moving almost normally again.
Thank goodness!
Friday, December 03, 2010
trim notes december 2010
Cody apparently had a small abscess blow recently in his right front! We never saw any soreness, lameness, or even slight offness. Trimmer says no treatment is needed - it is clear and healing already. My question is whether this might have been simmering in a low grade way and our turn-out routine brought it to a head, which imo would be a good thing. There's no way to know, but we'll keep watching and see how things go. Otherwise, his feet are fine.
Redford and Rafer Johnson have some thrush - we are probably going to treat them with CleanTrax to knock it out completely.
Salina has the most dramatic change this trim. Her concavity has gone from okay to great and all her frogs are particularly healthy. I definitely attribute this change to her increased movement in the turn-out routine, and to the diet change I made (from a senior mix 4x/day to an IR friendly mix 3x/day) - for the first time this fall I wondered if she might be getting slightly IR as she ages. I gave her a course of chaste-tree berry as we transitioned into fall, changed her diet, and increased the amount of turn-out. She is moving well and hooves are looking better than ever. Best news is that she is now able again to bend her knees for front hoof trims. I usually give her Bute the day before the trim only but have started a new course of treatment where I give her Bute am/pm Wed/Th/Fri then taper off with am/pm doses again on Sunday and Wed. I muddied the waters a bit by starting this at the same time I changed her diet and turn-out, so am not sure how necessary it is - but will tweak as needed and d/c the Bute if it turns out she doesn't need it for comfort during the trims. An additional note is that she used to do a minor amount of quidding with her hay, but I've noticed that has stopped - so between the fairly large amount of hay she's now eating (and chewing well) and the complete senior diet she was on, I suspect her trace mineral ratio was off - now I'm counting and balancing the hay for her, and this is likely making a difference too. A good example of how we must constantly monitor and be willing to tweak things with care and management.
Keil Bay's thrush is 95% better after his CleanTrax treatment. I may do one more treatment for him - would really like to see his frogs up front get to 100% - but he is moving well and not at all sore, so... will evaluate over the next couple of weeks and decide what to do. He also blew a section of hoof wall on his right rear - not sure if this is associated with his increased hoof wall growth this spring/summer/fall but my guess is again that the increased turn-out (which I should clarify - they now get access to the entire field about 20 hours/day, and their hay is spread all over the field so that they are in near constant movement as they forage and graze) has progressed the hoof wall "trimming" itself - our trimmer cleaned it up and his sole has created a thickened area to compensate. This should work itself out this next 6 weeks as his wall regrows.
Apache Moon has "great feet" as usual. You just can't improve much on pony hooves!
Very interesting hoof notes this time - I love seeing what happens when I make a big change in the care routine.
Some additional diet/nutrition notes I want to document for my own self here:
1. I added 10g lysine to both Keil Bay's diet and Salina's - several months ago - with excellent results. Then I switched the source of lysine and the results seemed to fade. Back to my original lysine source last week and I have seen another huge improvement in Salina's top line and overall condition. Her muscling looks fantastic right now - she easily looks 10-12 years younger.
2. I increased the copper and zinc levels I supplement to account for the new hay and for the pasture (heretofore not tested since we generally feed hay year-round) - this year we had a richer/longer season of grass and I am sure that threw my ratios off. I had noticed some bleaching of color in coats, which corrected itself incredibly quickly once I upped the copper and zinc.
3. Getting ready to put Salina on her winter course of Phyto-Quench, which eases her through the winter months.
4. Getting ready to add glutamine supplement for Cody after work only to help with his PSSM/muscling issues.
**I highly recommend Eleanor Kellon's online nutrition courses if you are interested in learning more about equine nutrition, supplementation, and treating various equine conditions with a good understanding of the whys and hows.
Redford and Rafer Johnson have some thrush - we are probably going to treat them with CleanTrax to knock it out completely.
Salina has the most dramatic change this trim. Her concavity has gone from okay to great and all her frogs are particularly healthy. I definitely attribute this change to her increased movement in the turn-out routine, and to the diet change I made (from a senior mix 4x/day to an IR friendly mix 3x/day) - for the first time this fall I wondered if she might be getting slightly IR as she ages. I gave her a course of chaste-tree berry as we transitioned into fall, changed her diet, and increased the amount of turn-out. She is moving well and hooves are looking better than ever. Best news is that she is now able again to bend her knees for front hoof trims. I usually give her Bute the day before the trim only but have started a new course of treatment where I give her Bute am/pm Wed/Th/Fri then taper off with am/pm doses again on Sunday and Wed. I muddied the waters a bit by starting this at the same time I changed her diet and turn-out, so am not sure how necessary it is - but will tweak as needed and d/c the Bute if it turns out she doesn't need it for comfort during the trims. An additional note is that she used to do a minor amount of quidding with her hay, but I've noticed that has stopped - so between the fairly large amount of hay she's now eating (and chewing well) and the complete senior diet she was on, I suspect her trace mineral ratio was off - now I'm counting and balancing the hay for her, and this is likely making a difference too. A good example of how we must constantly monitor and be willing to tweak things with care and management.
Keil Bay's thrush is 95% better after his CleanTrax treatment. I may do one more treatment for him - would really like to see his frogs up front get to 100% - but he is moving well and not at all sore, so... will evaluate over the next couple of weeks and decide what to do. He also blew a section of hoof wall on his right rear - not sure if this is associated with his increased hoof wall growth this spring/summer/fall but my guess is again that the increased turn-out (which I should clarify - they now get access to the entire field about 20 hours/day, and their hay is spread all over the field so that they are in near constant movement as they forage and graze) has progressed the hoof wall "trimming" itself - our trimmer cleaned it up and his sole has created a thickened area to compensate. This should work itself out this next 6 weeks as his wall regrows.
Apache Moon has "great feet" as usual. You just can't improve much on pony hooves!
Very interesting hoof notes this time - I love seeing what happens when I make a big change in the care routine.
Some additional diet/nutrition notes I want to document for my own self here:
1. I added 10g lysine to both Keil Bay's diet and Salina's - several months ago - with excellent results. Then I switched the source of lysine and the results seemed to fade. Back to my original lysine source last week and I have seen another huge improvement in Salina's top line and overall condition. Her muscling looks fantastic right now - she easily looks 10-12 years younger.
2. I increased the copper and zinc levels I supplement to account for the new hay and for the pasture (heretofore not tested since we generally feed hay year-round) - this year we had a richer/longer season of grass and I am sure that threw my ratios off. I had noticed some bleaching of color in coats, which corrected itself incredibly quickly once I upped the copper and zinc.
3. Getting ready to put Salina on her winter course of Phyto-Quench, which eases her through the winter months.
4. Getting ready to add glutamine supplement for Cody after work only to help with his PSSM/muscling issues.
**I highly recommend Eleanor Kellon's online nutrition courses if you are interested in learning more about equine nutrition, supplementation, and treating various equine conditions with a good understanding of the whys and hows.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
the Big Bay does it again
I am SO EXTREMELY proud of Keil Bay. His trimmer and I decided that it would be useful to do a deeper treatment of Keil's hooves, especially the fronts, to address the on again/off again thrush issues he has.
We decided to go ahead and use CleanTrax. After reviewing many home remedies, a number of commercial remedies, and seeing the results from the things I've tried (generally good results but we tend to hit a wall at some point no matter what I do), I felt it would be worthwhile to go for the fairly major treatment protocol and see if we can resolve this issue.
CleanTrax is used in human medical treatments for several issues, including finger and toenail infections, flushing the bladder, severe bedsores, etc. It is non-necrotizing to tissue, which was important to me - many of the otc remedies for thrush are extremely damaging to healthy hoof tissue.
We tried to make the experience as pleasant as possible, setting the Big Bay up in his clean stall with fresh water, a huge manger of hay, and a bag of baby carrots that I planned to use as needed to keep things fun for him. We stayed with him, which helped keep him from moving around much. He spent a fair portion of the time chewing hay with his eyes half-closed as I stroked his neck and shoulder.
If you GO HERE you can see the soaking protocol we used. I wasn't sure how Keil would take to the very tall blue soaking boots I'd ordered. I considered doing a run with plain water, but then decided that it might be better to just do the treatment, expect the best, and at least if there were issues, we'd have treated the hooves while managing whatever might happen.
I'm happy to report that there was absolutely no problem at all. Keil had his hooves picked first, then I assembled our supplies while husband walked and trotted Keil Bay in the arena - the footing tends to polish off the hooves and really cleans them out.
Then I scrubbed the hooves with plain water, dried with a towel, and we put Keil into his stall.
My husband mixed the solution and put it into the soaking boots, and I stood with Keil (with halter and lead rope) with some carrots. He enjoys when I tuck the baby carrots into the hay and let him root around for them - he also enjoys me finding them when they fall to the bottom of the manger. But in no time at all, Keil had two tall blue boots on, with some wild aqua vet wrap helping keep them secure.
We listened to NPR, praised the Big Bay, and stayed right there with him for the first 45 minute portion of the soaking. When 45 minutes had passed, we had to remove the soaking boots, put plastic bags on the front hooves, then shift the soaking boots to the back feet. I'm fortunate that I have a husband who is willing to jump right in and do this kind of thing without blinking an eye. He remains calm, is good at manipulating vet wrap and following my constant instructions, and as it turned out, Keil was perfectly happy to have me at this head feeding carrots, praising, and cheering husband on through the process.
By the very end, when we had plastic bags on his back hooves and were merely counting down until we could take them off, Keil was ready to be done with it all, but even when he was finished and we opened his stall door to the paddock, he didn't rush out. I think he actually enjoyed the attention. Not to mention the bag of carrots!
One of my favorite sites for natural hoof care is Linda Cowles' Healthy Hoof.
She gives so many great tips, and has many good articles on barefoot hoof care.
We decided to go ahead and use CleanTrax. After reviewing many home remedies, a number of commercial remedies, and seeing the results from the things I've tried (generally good results but we tend to hit a wall at some point no matter what I do), I felt it would be worthwhile to go for the fairly major treatment protocol and see if we can resolve this issue.
CleanTrax is used in human medical treatments for several issues, including finger and toenail infections, flushing the bladder, severe bedsores, etc. It is non-necrotizing to tissue, which was important to me - many of the otc remedies for thrush are extremely damaging to healthy hoof tissue.
We tried to make the experience as pleasant as possible, setting the Big Bay up in his clean stall with fresh water, a huge manger of hay, and a bag of baby carrots that I planned to use as needed to keep things fun for him. We stayed with him, which helped keep him from moving around much. He spent a fair portion of the time chewing hay with his eyes half-closed as I stroked his neck and shoulder.
If you GO HERE you can see the soaking protocol we used. I wasn't sure how Keil would take to the very tall blue soaking boots I'd ordered. I considered doing a run with plain water, but then decided that it might be better to just do the treatment, expect the best, and at least if there were issues, we'd have treated the hooves while managing whatever might happen.
I'm happy to report that there was absolutely no problem at all. Keil had his hooves picked first, then I assembled our supplies while husband walked and trotted Keil Bay in the arena - the footing tends to polish off the hooves and really cleans them out.
Then I scrubbed the hooves with plain water, dried with a towel, and we put Keil into his stall.
My husband mixed the solution and put it into the soaking boots, and I stood with Keil (with halter and lead rope) with some carrots. He enjoys when I tuck the baby carrots into the hay and let him root around for them - he also enjoys me finding them when they fall to the bottom of the manger. But in no time at all, Keil had two tall blue boots on, with some wild aqua vet wrap helping keep them secure.
We listened to NPR, praised the Big Bay, and stayed right there with him for the first 45 minute portion of the soaking. When 45 minutes had passed, we had to remove the soaking boots, put plastic bags on the front hooves, then shift the soaking boots to the back feet. I'm fortunate that I have a husband who is willing to jump right in and do this kind of thing without blinking an eye. He remains calm, is good at manipulating vet wrap and following my constant instructions, and as it turned out, Keil was perfectly happy to have me at this head feeding carrots, praising, and cheering husband on through the process.
By the very end, when we had plastic bags on his back hooves and were merely counting down until we could take them off, Keil was ready to be done with it all, but even when he was finished and we opened his stall door to the paddock, he didn't rush out. I think he actually enjoyed the attention. Not to mention the bag of carrots!
One of my favorite sites for natural hoof care is Linda Cowles' Healthy Hoof.
She gives so many great tips, and has many good articles on barefoot hoof care.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)