Laminitis! Moli's background
I wish I go could back and figure out just when Moli's problems with her feet started. Maybe with what I know now, I could do something to stop the damage, or at least start the healing sooner. It has now been somewhere around two years since I started seeing signs, but only a year since I started to believe it was something that would seriously effect what Moli could continue to do. My search for answers turned up laminitis as the most probable cause of the problem. I don't know what started it, and probably never will, but the first signs were in her feet, although I didn't realize that they were saying something serious until almost a year after the first vet visit due to lameness.
The first trip to the vet was out of concern for a bout of lameness that I couldn't attribute to anything in particular. It was in Sept of 2008. The local vet took some blood, and the tests came back normal He also took some x-rays, which showed a slight rotation in her right front, but he wasn't overly concerned about it because it was so slight, and he didn't feel it was causing her lameness..
After getting the X-Rays, I called my Barefoot Practitioner - Mark Geldness, whom had been working with me to get my horses transitioned to barefoot. Mark immediately adjusted his trimming to try and address the rotation, and helped me to continue the process in the interm. By this time in my learning, I was trimming myself and Mark was coming by every fourth months or so to make sure things were staying in balance and to give me tips if he thought I needed them. Mark is very knowledgable, and always looking for new information. He works with Pete Ramey and has studied under him for years. When my first farrier got ill and could no longer shoe my horses, I went through several others who just didn't seem interested in what my horses needed. I referred to the shoeing method as "slap and go" and felt they were really just trying to get as many horse as possible done each day and did not take the time to discuss methods or listen to me when I had concerns. I feel it was this practice that caused undo stress on Moli's entire system and could have very well led to the issues we are dealing with today. When I met Mark I felt so relieved that I had finally found someone who was not only doing what he loved, but was willing to share the knowledge he had in order to be able to reach more horse owners and get the word out about what he is passionate about. Mark believes (as does Pete Ramey) that empowering horse owners with the knowledge and skill they need to maintain their own horses feet is important for both the horse and the owner. I certainly have learned more about horses and caring for them since I started using the barefoot trimming method then I did in eight previous years of horse ownership.
Looking back at these X-Rays now, I see that Moli did not have enough sole depth then (hind sight!) This story to be continued....
The first trip to the vet was out of concern for a bout of lameness that I couldn't attribute to anything in particular. It was in Sept of 2008. The local vet took some blood, and the tests came back normal He also took some x-rays, which showed a slight rotation in her right front, but he wasn't overly concerned about it because it was so slight, and he didn't feel it was causing her lameness..
After getting the X-Rays, I called my Barefoot Practitioner - Mark Geldness, whom had been working with me to get my horses transitioned to barefoot. Mark immediately adjusted his trimming to try and address the rotation, and helped me to continue the process in the interm. By this time in my learning, I was trimming myself and Mark was coming by every fourth months or so to make sure things were staying in balance and to give me tips if he thought I needed them. Mark is very knowledgable, and always looking for new information. He works with Pete Ramey and has studied under him for years. When my first farrier got ill and could no longer shoe my horses, I went through several others who just didn't seem interested in what my horses needed. I referred to the shoeing method as "slap and go" and felt they were really just trying to get as many horse as possible done each day and did not take the time to discuss methods or listen to me when I had concerns. I feel it was this practice that caused undo stress on Moli's entire system and could have very well led to the issues we are dealing with today. When I met Mark I felt so relieved that I had finally found someone who was not only doing what he loved, but was willing to share the knowledge he had in order to be able to reach more horse owners and get the word out about what he is passionate about. Mark believes (as does Pete Ramey) that empowering horse owners with the knowledge and skill they need to maintain their own horses feet is important for both the horse and the owner. I certainly have learned more about horses and caring for them since I started using the barefoot trimming method then I did in eight previous years of horse ownership.
Looking back at these X-Rays now, I see that Moli did not have enough sole depth then (hind sight!) This story to be continued....
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