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Reagan
Tennessee Walking Horse gelding
Initial Assessment
Reagan is a classic victim of the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. Prior to moving to California last November, he was "lite shod", with long toes, underrun heels, and from the looks of his feet, possible pressure devices. He arrived in California with acute laminitis. We were lucky -- we were able to begin working on him BEFORE he suffered major dorsal wall displacement, and with a palmar angle of about 6 degrees...in other words, his initial x-rays did not show coffin bone "rotation", nor was he appreciably mechanically tipped. Sole depth was not alarmingly thin, but absolutely shows room for improvement.
While Reagan's shoeing is clearly part of his problem, the actual metabolic event which triggered his laminitis attack is somewhat of a mystery, and therefore management of any and all factors which could potentially exacerbate his condition will be critical.
(Completely off of the subject, who in their right mind drops loop reins and takes a picture of a horse??)
Recommendations
Emergency diet of bermuda grass ONLY for 7 - 14 days until Reagan's comfort level stabilizes. Thereafter, diet balancing to establish appropriate trace and major mineral ratios, appropriate amino acid ratios (particularly lysine and methione), as well as 30mg added bitoin. Because we must relieve the separating forces on the wall and allow the sole alone to bear the horse's weight in order to ensure Reagan doesn't suffer any "rotation" of the coffin bone, boots and pads are mandatory until further notice. Pads may require relief under the coffin bone for maximum comfort.
Once Reagan's condition has stabilized, I would very much like to see him begin jiaogulan therapy. Jiaogulan is a nitric oxide enhancing adaptogenic herb which helps to increase circulation in the distal limb. The results I've experienced in the field are nothing short of phenomenal. For more information on the use of jiaogulan in laminitic horses, please refer to Dr. Eleanor Kellon's website dedicated to Equine Cushings, Insulin Resistance, and Laminitis here:
http://ecirhorse.com/
Trim
Trim will be little more than beveling the perimeter of the wall to relieve it from primary support. We can afford a *slight* adjustment to palmar plane -- no more than 2 degrees(in increments of no more than 10mm per adjustment) over the next 6 to 8 weeks. No sole material will be removed, and the bars will be left wholly in tactfor now, unless they exceed the height of the outter edge of the sole plane; at that point, they will be relieved by no more than 1/8".
Notes
Jan 29 10:
Reagan is doing great! He has built a beautiful, concave sole on both front feet. His wall quality has improved dramatically, and his formerly crumbling heels have now formed a nice, healthy heel triangle. As the new wall grows down, I expect we'll see that very underrun heel stand up. He still looks a bit rocked back, but we absolutely can't afford to invade the sole at the toe, so we'll just have to wait for the heel to become healthier for that to resolve. This is tremendous progress in such a short period of time! He is now going very comfortably without his boots in his pen.
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