Misty

"My little mini needs help ... "

August 31, 2010

This is Misty. She is a miniature horse I've been trimming for over six months. I've seen the x-rays and was told she was 10 degrees or more rotated. When I first met her she had very tall upright hooves. I'm guessing that the hoof capsules were twice the height they should be and over time I have been able to reduce the height as well as take the heel down and bring back the toe. I trim her every 4 weeks. She really never has become comfortable and has on bute every other day for the entire time I've trimmed her. Her owner said she wasn't happy with how the last farrier was trimming her and said that he wouldn't take the toe back like the vet had told her it should be. He drew her a picture. She had a very bulbous toe like a slipper. There is a lot of false hard sole and the frog is very recessed up in the hoof. Each time I trim I try and remove what I can but since she is kept in a barn alley way her hooves are never wet and its sometimes takes me quite a while to trim her because they are so hard. She wears a grazing muzzle when she is allowed out on grass for a couple hours a day. The pony has never really been too overweight but had symptoms of IR when I first met her, fat pads, puffy eye orbitals, etc. I found out today that Misty gets two cups of Nutrena Safe Choice twice a day and then six apple treats a day. I investigated the ingredients and found out the Safe Choice is 14% protein and that the main ingredients of the treats had alfalfa and molassas and it also has 14% protein. So no more of those... I also told her to make the main feed source be the prairie hay and only feed one cup of the pelletsd feed to see if that would help at all. Misty is in an active laminitic phase right now with heat in her hooves and legs and a bounding pulse. I just know that by changing the diet that this will subside.
The last time I trimmed her I felt it was time to get pretty aggressive with bringing the toe back since the heel had really became crumbly and acted like it wanted to be lowered. I felt this was a good sign that the hoof was changing for the better and time to change the breakover since the toe was really out there. I had tried in the past and I was really getting back into the laminar wedge but her hooves were still very oblong shaped. SO this last trim, 4 weeks ago I decided it was time to remove a large amount of that slipper toe. I got back into the laminar wedge and some old blood pockets, old bruising I'm guessing, were visible and I rasped through them. So it appeared to the owner that I had cut her too short this time and that I went back too far and made her sore. I really didn't take away any height at the toe and was reasonably conservative on the heel.
The owner today really didn't want me to trim anything since a few people she had talked with said that I had trimmed her too short. I printed out a picture of what laminar wedge is and explained that I must still trim the heel to keep ahead of the growth and continue trying to keep the coffin bone from pointing downward. I started off by taking pitures with my camera and then showing her on my camera what I needed to trim off and how it corresponded with the picture I showed her. She agreed to let me trim the heel so long as it was just a little bit and then I could come back more often to keep lowering it. She doesn't like to see the mini in pain so she wants me to go slow. I am respecting her wishes and was extremely conservative about lowering the heel this time but still felt it was beneficial to her.

Here is the dorsal view. You can see where I've previously rasped back the toe on previous trims. Today I did not rasp the toe and I just rolled the edges in the quarter and pillar.

Before...........................................................After

Here is Misty's lateral view before and after the trim. The hairline angle before is about 15 degrees...not good. Notice how tall the heel is. Her pastern is very upright because the heel is too tall. When I first met Misty she had toes that were slipper-like that made her hooves about three inches further in front than they are right now in these pictures. I knew that they had to be brought back in order for her to start using her heel. I brought the toe back so that the dorsal wall could match the angle of the pastern. I'm going to leave it alone for now until it needs to be rasped back again at a future date.
Now after the trim the hairline is actually at 30 degrees. I had to crop and rotate the photo to show this since right now she is not wanting to put her heel on the ground. The tendons in the back of her leg need to stretch some and then she will start using her heel.

Before...........................................................After

Here is the heel before and after the trim. Notice how tall the heel is...it should only be 3/4" from the hairline at the heel to where the heel meets the ground. I am guessing without measuring that it is at least two inches before the trim. I probably took away a good 3/4" this trim. I did not remove any toe height and just lowered the heel and tapered it into the toe. The entire hoof capsule will need to be shorter but on this angle as I continue to trim her.

Before...........................................................After

The oblique view shows how tall this little hoof really is. The heel is growing like crazy between trims. My new plan is to go back every two weeks to stay ahead of this growth and make sure it stays in check.

Before...........................................................After

The real sole before the trim is actually way up inside the hoof. Until all the walls are at their correct height for her hoof will it be normal. The collateral grooves are very deep and the frog is very unhealthy. This trim I really paid a lot of attention to the heels and really just left a lot of the solar area and toe alone. I did take away some frog in the heel but since she has been so sore you really can't do too much at one time.

Before....................................................After

Here is Misty after the trim. Notice how she is standing with her front hooves out in front of her. She is really trying to stand so that the stress is off of her poor toes. She's a cute mini and I have a good feeling that she can recover. Her owner is very concerned about her and doesn't like seeing her in pain. I reassured her that she can call me any time so I can help if Misty needs an epsom salt soak. I have a feeling she will start abscessing here before too long once she starts on the path to healing.