Sassy 

Diet means everything to horses and ponies.

Oct 16, 2008

A new client, Teresa, had me come out to trim her pony, Sassy. Sassy is foundered and it is most likely caused by insulin resistance or Cushings. I took some before and after shots of her and the one left front hoof. She's pretty sore and walking gingerly. She did seem to be at least a little more comfortable by the time the trim was done. You will notice that she is overweight and I talked with Teresa about changing her living conditions and giving her prairie hay in a dry lot to help with her sugars. I do believe she can recover but it will take a more aggressive trim schedule and separating her off from her buddies in the pasture to regulate her diet.

Here she is before trimming. Notice how she is standing as well as her laid back ears. She just is not very happy. :(

      Here is her front left before trimming. Notice the sole is bulging somewhat. This hoof is better than the right. The right has separation of the wall from the toe sole. I do believe that it will take much longer to get her comfortable on that hoof.

      Now here she is finished. I was able to remove the flared walls but did not touch the sole at all and just took down the heels to a comfortable level. Notice the bars are trying to compensate for the foot by growing more outward. They should wear down some between now and the next trim. We'll see. I didn't want to touch them so she could have at least some support at the back of the foot. The last picture is of the side of the hoof (lateral) but it turned out blurry. You can still see that there are significant rings on the walls.

And here she is afterward. Her ears are still back some but she did seem a lot more happy. She was licking and chewing and was even licking Teresa's arm at one point. When we walked her back out to join the herd she was pretty short strided and sore. I suggested epsom salt warm soaks and unpasturized apple cider vinegar aosks to help with the soreness. She did trot out in the pasture on the softer grass. I'm hoping the next trim will continue to help her become more comfortable. I do think that she can recover...it will just take time. :)