Vent: watched a shoe go from perfect to pancake in 3 months flat

I trimmed a mare back in March for a client near Lexington, and her fronts looked textbook. Three months later I come back and those same hooves are flaring out, sole flat as a board. Owner had been letting her stand in a muddy paddock 24/7 with no dry turnout. How do you guys get clients to stick to a dry lot schedule without them blowing you off?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray18927d ago

Wait, she just left her in mud all day with zero dry turnout?

jakeb2527d ago

... yeah I get what you're saying, @ray189. I had a horse years ago that I couldn't keep dry no matter what I did, and it was a nightmare trying to manage her feet after mud season. What finally worked for me was building a small gravel pad right outside the gate where she could stand off the mud, even if it was just for an hour a day while I cleaned the stall. Also started rotating her between two different paddocks so one had time to dry out while she was on the other one. Not a perfect fix but it helped a ton with thrush and keeping her comfortable.