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[RC] Vets/chiros/farriers/saddle-fitters--so many experts, so many opinions! - Mary KraussI sent this note to a friend the other night, and thought I'd send an excerpt to Ridecamp as well: Dear ______, I think I told you Bruiser yanked a shoe on a ride--again. Yesterday we had out, one after the other, the vet, the shoer, and the saddle-fitter! The vet is the chiropracterish one you told me seemed ok. She says that Bruiser's reluctance to go downhill is probably related to obesity. She noticed that he seemed fine basically but that his whole hind end is really, really tight and knotted up. She thinks a lighter horse will be a less knotted up horse. (I'm going to get a book on massage techniques.) She suggested lots and lots of long slow rides with weekly hill workouts and just about zero food. Her suggestion re: his tendency to yank shoes was to use bell boots. The only thing I didn't care for was her tendency to think the worst and challenge me regarding every bit of his history. I mentioned that he used to do dressage; her response: "so, was he worked in collection for an hour then jammed back into a stall for the rest of the day? That would explain the tight hindquarters." My answer, "Nooooooooo, actually he lived in a large paddock and spent about six hours a day stalled. He was trail-ridden frequently, and he wasn't over-collected in lessons--we quit before he was out of training levels--all we did was try to get him to think about moving forward rhythmically." Then I mentioned that I was hoping he could manage a 25 miler someday but wasn't hopeful for much more than that given his build (huge horse). Her response, "you really can't just take a horse in this condition out and run him up hills for miles and miles." My reply, "well, actually, we've spent four months working up to a single, flat 15 mile walk. He works lightly 2-3 days/week with one longer, usually flat, ride (7 or 8 miles) on the weekend." I didn't dislike this vet exactly, and I didn't distrust her expertise, but, sheesh. She sure got me on the defensive. Having said that, I suspect she was correct about the things she was called out to check. Her best guess regarding Salima's increasing lameness is that her toes are too long. My farrier waited upon her recommendation before re-shoeing either horse, but he wasn't thrilled with the idea of cutting Salima's toes back as far as the vet wanted. He brought 'em back pretty far, sighed and said, "see those knees?" I said, "you mean how they're leaning over her toes?" He said, "exactly. That's why I don't like bringing her so short...., but, sometimes you commit one sin to prevent something worse. Let's see if the lameness clears up." So now I get to hang out for a week wondering if she's going to blow a ligament because she's leaning so far forward.... Sometimes I hate loving horses. Well, that's our saga. What an adventure these horses are. G'night everyone, Mary K.
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