When it rains, it pours...

And thunders, compete with computer, T.V and other electronic frying lightning.
Yes the computer was plugged into a surge protector. A friend of ours had some things get hit too. It finally stormed. Wind and lightning and a bit of hail made us all believe we were finally getting some sort of rain. But it only amounted to 1/8 an inch, despite all the commotion.
That was in July. It is almost impossible to blog on my phone and between traveling to Oklahoma and Canada, here, there and everywhere I just recently got around to getting a useable internet connection again.

Many things has happened this summer. Before I go on to those I'll tell you, because so many have asked. Moose is doing well. We had a little scare when he choked, strained a muscle in his neck and wouldn't eat. He now gets his grain all wet down and no solid grains.

One of my favorite of course is my farrier business. I never get sick of looking at horses legs and feet. I never get sick of the horses owners calling me and telling me how much better their horses are after I bring them back to proper angles or remedy a lameness.
One thing I say often: Never judge another farrier for his(or her) work because you never know where they started.

So far starters here are some pictures. Today's blog subjects are all founder.

 

Becky, a foundered mule. 

 

X-Rays of Flash. A 15 year old arabian gelding shod 3 weeks before by another farrier and x-rayed the Monday before I got there at the request of the other farrier. You can see where the toe isn't even touching the shoe.and there's almost no sole depth.

 Flash. The foot in the x-ray is the left front (closest in the picture) the other hoof lost the shoe a day or two before. Note again how the toe isn't even touching the shoe.

 Fancy, a foundered mule with an extreme contracted deep digital flexor tendon. This is why she appears knuckled over.

All of these animals are from different owners. Some kept putting it off, others didn't know there was any hope and some it was neglect on other farriers part. All are on a six week or less schedule for their feet being done to avoid them becoming the mess they were in these pictures.

Did any of them survive? How did they get this way?


Becky.

She was once a mule in a pretty nice little driving team. She foundered and was out on quite the few acres and became pretty wild. We managed to trick her into an area and made a squeeze chute out of two panels, sandwiching her between them.


Then we broke out the big tools. Our Dewalt sawsall.

I kept the pieces of hoof it was pretty cool. The dogs all keep trying to steal it out of my shoeing trailer though.

When the whole deal was done. It was kind of a crude job but we didn't have a whole lot to work with when it came to her right front. The heel was so collapsed. Next time.

Fancy.  Her owner acquired her not long before I came by. He said she spent many hours laying the pasture and not moving much or braying. I already hacked off six inches that had curled back towards her leg.

 I was hitting a solid chunk of dead hoof so I went to the trusty hacksaw.

The finished product. Her owner reported her last trim as cruising up and down the pasture and braying at him when he comes outside in the morning.

Flash.

He ripped the front right shoe off that had been on for three weeks by another farrier. The other farrier requested that the owner get x-rays. It doesn't take a vet to show me that about two inches of toe need to be taken off to maintain the hoof-pastern axis.

Front left, lateral.

 Front right, lateral.

After. Reduced the size of the shoe by almost two sizes. Removed the laminar wedge at the toe and returned the hoof-pastern axis to something more normal. Pad and silicon soft pour in packing material under it. Next reset more of the laminar wedge will be removed. The toe is off the shoe due to the pressure placed on the laminae and hoof wall previously. Next trim we should have something more to work with and hopefully nail a shoe to. Although I love most horses barefoot this horse's goal is to be comfortable. He came to me pretty darn lame and trotted off to visit his buddies in the pasture.

So thats it for today. Feel free to ask questions. All the animals here are doing much better.