shoeing changes for charlie

Charlie had his first shoeing appointment since moving yesterday, very exciting! His new farm is still inside our normal farrier's service area, thankfully, so he's staying on basically the same hoof care plan.

friendly kitty at doozy's barn!

Tho, as mentioned a few posts ago, he sprang a nasty case of thrush about two weeks ago -- so I was eager to get the farrier's input on how to handle. 

skittish kitty at doozy's barn!

I'd been treating with Tomorrow paste, basically a mastitis treatment for cows. And the new barn manager had been kind enough to keep up the daily treatments while I was out of town in Chicago for a few days last week. 

and charles, at his luxury resort lol <3

Charlie had originally been very sore on the foot -- quite prominently lame at the walk, and pointing that toe. Such a drama queen...

trying to get a grip on this thrush tho.... 06/14 treated with Tomorrow

But after all the regular attention he's gotten wayyy more comfortable, whew! Tho I was still curious what the situation would look like underneath the leather pad on his shoe. Like, how deep did this thing really go?

this stuff --- apparently the Today stuff is also good. the narrow tip in particular is great for getting down into the crevices

Fortunately, once the shoe was off things actually looked decent enough! To the point where the farrier didn't think Charlie really needed soaking or anything like that. Just keep going with the Tomorrow, she suggested every other day. She also shared that Thrush Buster seemed to work well enough for low grade cases, but generally finds the applicator tip on the Tomorrow to be more useful.

about a week later, 6/23, not visibly very different but a lot less sore
update since this pic: we nixed charlie's pads yesterday to open the whole thing up, doesn't look terrible tho

We opted to not replace the leather pads on Charlie's new shoes anyway, tho. I'd already been toying with the idea --- normally I pull them off over the winter to let the horse's sole get a bit more air and exposure... But with Charlie's precarious soundness last year, we didn't dare make such a big change.

treated

And who knows, if he seems to have trouble staying comfortable, nbd, we'll just add them back on again. I'm optimistic, tho. 

and half-heartedly stuffed with a thrush-buster soaked piece of gauze lol. pro tip: maybe use less gauze than you think if you try a similar approach hahaha...

This new farm is set up so nicely relating to footing and ground conditions, not to mention how much closer everything is (no more walking a quarter mile down the gravel driveway to his turnout!), it honestly seems like he could have a very good chance at being sound with less intense shoeing!

farrier thinks he's gained weight since moving <3 <3

Actually, I might not have specifically shared, but we pulled Charlie's hind shoes at his last appointment - before he even moved. Longtime readers will remember how last summer Charlie went through a relentless cycle of stepping on his own self behind and constantly twisting off his hind shoes --- naturally stepping on the clips in the process, half the time. 

bonus treatment for charlie's other little ding, lol --- moxidectin for his summer sore

For some reason, he didn't twist a single shoe all winter, but I think his hooves get a little harder during the more dormant season. As soon as they start growing again in the spring, it's like they get more shell-like and tend to crumble. And once he twisted off that first hind shoe of the season, I figured it was worth a shot. 

area was already kinda schmootzy since i'd started treating with swat first. 06/14

Not gonna lie, Charlie was intensely sad for the first 2.5 weeks. And I wondered if it was really wise to pull his hinds esp on the same day he got trimmed up front, knowing that he often walks away from a trim feeling sore anyway. It felt like a mean one-two punch, ya know?

summer sores are characterized by almost perfectly circular ulcers that crust and weep but never heal. 06/16

But then he honestly kinda rallied, and has been basically fine ever since. Well, aside from the whole thrush thing. Which, imho is mostly an environmental thing relating to the crazy dry / wet cycles we've been having anyway. 

can't tell if we either killed off the first one so it sprang a second, or if the whole infection or whatever is just spreading... 06/22

Charlie has worn some variation of complicated expensive shoes basically the entire time I've owned him. He's been shod all the way around since his first appointment with me, and spent the majority of every year in either full or rim leather pads. Not to mention staying drilled and tapped for competition seasons... 

it can never just be easy, charlie!

Go figure, tho. Things change! Charlie is officially now sporting the same pedicure as Doozy: plain shoes up front, and just a clean little trim behind. I might actually be spending less money to shoe both horses right now than Charlie has typically cost the whole time I've owned him lol....

enjoy another shot of the stalker cat as reward for the gross wound pics ;) 

Tho being real, farriery is not an area I'd consider trying to be more thrifty or whatever. My horses get the shoeing they need for their jobs / wellbeing / quality of life. Like I fully expect that Doozy will eventually be shod all the way around, esp if the jumps ever start going up. 

But I also like being able to do less to their feet vs more, if you know what I mean. And who knows, maybe this will be just the ticket for Charlie? He's being such a pest these days lol, I think he's generally feeling quite well and FULL of himself... Who knows, if we can get this thrush knocked out, maybe we can start sneaking in some saddle time???

Cross your fingers for us!