So! Given that Charlie has been lame for like a month, and is like, old and stuff.... I've decided to breed my next partner. And will also probably buy a 3yo in the meantime while I'm at it.
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| michael knows more about horse shopping than you, and he's not afraid to say it |
Just kidding. As I wrote last time.... I'm *not* horse shopping. I'm trying to help my best friend recover from his massively unfortunate encounter with...
gravel.
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just kidding lol we're talking about horses with holes in their feet, and, omg, the supplies.
so. many. supplies. |
I did actually buy some hoof boots tho -- but that's for a later conversation bc it's premature in Charlie's recovery to try them on, and so I don't even know if they actually fit yet... Stay tuned!
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| the face of a horse who 100% expects you to solve his problems, plz thx and hurry the fresh fuck up <3 |
What I'm really here to say is... Ugh, this horse <3 He's just so happy to be feeling better. I swear, he stalks me from his stall while I stage and prep the area for soaking his foot and replacing the bandage... Then straight up drags me to his foot bath.
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| michael helps too <3 |
He plunges his foot into the hot water, and immediately dozes off into happy relief. And that foot
does not budge until I specifically tell him bath time is over.
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| charlie really wants to touch the cat haha |
He's also already walking so much better. Tho, we know his hoof is going to go through some changes while he heals, so Charlie is just going to have to cope with some restrictions...
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| he's the boss! |
But he's well enough now to actually want to move around a little bit. So I've been letting him wander (supervised) around the barn each evening before I change his wrap. All the other horses are in too, so he can visit with his herd mates and say 'Hi!' to everybody else...
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| dude check out that drainage spot tho, ugh fucking gross why is it GRAY?? |
#Enrichment, y'all. It matters.
Tho let's be real, he's still not super comfortable yet. So one or two laps up and down the barn aisle is plenty at this point. Hopefully in the next week we can think about letting him out for a little roll + romp again... But not quite yet.
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| products!! |
In the meantime, it's a question of management. Charlie's rescuer from a few nights ago came through again (omg <3) with this reusable wrap that I've used on some other horses.
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| testing! place hoof here! |
My experience with this wrap is very limited so far, but I honestly am inclined to like it. The price is nice, the fit is flexible, and the material seems solid.
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| "huh??" -- charles, snoozin in his foot bath |
For Charlie's first night using it, I gave him a complete wrap and put the reusable shell on top. My idea being... if the shell fails for whatever reason, Charlie is still protected with a complete wrap.
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| notable: not a single hoof splash, that hoof has not moved a millimeter in more than 15min |
But I'm hopeful. I don't think this wrap will stand up to the depth of mud we often see in our fields -- particularly around gates and round bales. It just gets too deep, ya know?
It should be great for his stall, tho, and hopefully will reduce the amount of duct tape needed per wrap. Maybe, lol. We'll see.
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| picture is from the first test, i added a layer of duct tape underneath and ditched the foam pad that comes with the wrap for our final configuration. will update after tomorrow! |
I'm going to check in with my vet on the protocol, too, anyway. Original plan indicates ceasing soaking and switching to a new bandaging protocol (with topical antibiotics), but as far as I can tell, there's still active drainage. I'm eager for antibiotics bc... reasons and stuff... but just want to double check.
So we'll see what my vet says about wrapping and boot options in conjunction with whatever protocol we adopt going forward.
TGIF, y'all. Ride your horses!!
Oooo grey??? Keep the media coming. I'm glad he's feeling better
ReplyDeleteyea i really don't understand that color LOL, tho admittedly the lighting in the barn at night isn't great, and there was a lot of betadine on that poultice pad originally so.... i dunno lol
DeleteI wonder if you could use a big syringe to help lavage some of the goop out through the hole? Is that even a thing people do for abscesses? Seems like it should be.
ReplyDeletethat is definitely a thing people do, and i have the perfect little syringes for it too.... but when i asked my vet about it, her response was a bit tepid. she didn't think it would necessarily hurt, but wasn't convinced it would be super helpful either. her concern was about unintentionally forcing open areas of tissue that we ultimately want to close up.
DeleteUgh, poor guy is DEFINIATELY having a time of this. I feel your pain so much, fingers crossed he gets better quickly. As someone who has been in the same boat for *cough* multiple years lately, I understand. I am greatly looking forward to an update on that wrap though! For...#reasons.
ReplyDeleteha i will let you know about the wrap! it is technically a disposable wrap so i'm not expecting it to work miracles... charlie also has a slightly larger foot than the other horse i tried it on, so it may be that he's a tougher fit. my concern is that it'll get lost in deep mud, but who knows -- we shall see!
DeleteUgh, poor Charlie! I'm glad he's starting to feel better though. And also, insanely jealous that he will stand with his foot in the bucket. My kids are terrible foot soakers.
ReplyDeleteI used that hoof wrap on Shiny and also liked it. She wasn't at the going out stage so can't say how it would do with mud. But it stayed on nicely in the stall.
This is the one she turned out with after her incidents with the stall splinters: https://www.breeches.com/products/easycare-easyboot-zip?currency=USD&variant=40815260532903&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&utm_campaign=16154084305&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&device=c&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAiA_vKeBhAdEiwAFb_nrY4_ZRX9jbGZH2IWoP5RBnPOVlmM_goWcAGKA2wwpwKA758jCWAvWxoCtuEQAvD_BwE
i'm insanely grateful that he'll just stand like that. honestly i'm convinced it just feels like... really good, haha. we actually just moved into the next protocol of treatment, so we're not soaking any more.... and i almost kinda pleaded with my vet to be like "but.... he really likes it tho!" lol...
Deletealso re: the easyboot, i actually picked up one of their cloud boots for eventual turnout. am highly skeptical that it'll fit yet (bc i suck at measuring) so cross your fingers for me!
Update - purchased a pair of these zip boots bc (shocker of all shockers), the ones I bought weren’t the right size. Womp. Measure twice, buy once, kids!!
DeleteCan Charlie talk to Quaid about soaking feet? And that wrap?! I’m going to find one. I’m glad that Charlie is feeling better
ReplyDeleteso far the reusable shell is doing a great job! esp in his stall, and it's definitely protecting the wraps. i haven't been brave enough to downgrade the wraps tho, just in case the shell fails. but each day i feel a little more confident that it'll keep doin its job! and ugh charlie is such a saint, i'm so grateful that he *wants* me to help him
DeleteI am a veterinarian - Epsom Salts is definitely the correct "soak" and will suck out all the gunge in the hoof. Sadly, the horny tissues in the sole take time to regrow. Speak to your farrier about rebuilding the sole and shoeing with a leather plate to prevent damage as the sole regrows. Maybe 6 months of special farriery.
ReplyDeleteHa 6 months of specialty farriery sounds so pleasantly transient! In reality Charlie has lived in leather pads for the better part of 6 years, with the exception of our wettest winter months (like right now), when he’s in leather rim pads instead of full pads!
DeleteYou fooled me with the first picture and paragraph!!
ReplyDeleteha!
DeleteWhen you find a hoof boot that stands up to deep, sticky mud, you let me know. A couple different friends have said bye bye to their boots on the trail.
ReplyDeletethe boot i purchased is not recommended for using in riding
DeleteYou and Charlie are so lucky to have each other <3
ReplyDelete