Jack's X-ray.....hmmmm.....What Now?!?!

Ok, so we called in the big guns today. Jack is lame and wouldn't even walk down a small hill - apparently too painful to put weight on front of hoof.

The hoof that is really giving him problems is the front right (x-ray on left). You can see the coffin bone looks misshapen. (See above cross sectional of hoof for location of bones) Compare it to the coffin bone in the left hoof (Right x-ray). A look on the outside of Jack's hooves and the casual observer would know they are messed up!

But it's not just his feet! Jack's coat continues to get duller and bleached out spots are showing up; he's slow and lethargic; sweats standing still! Is that any way for a four year old thoroughbred to act?

We are still searching for answers. There must be a piece to the puzzle we just aren't seeing! Tomorrow, the doctor will come out and draw blood: once in the AM and once in the PM and test for insulin resistance and Cushings.

I'm still left with the current immediate dilemma of whether to shoe or not shoe. Vet says put shoes on (and this will help the symptoms of lameness); barefoot trimmer says "No! It would only be covering up the problem."

There's more going on than lameness here. So what would you do? Do you believe shoes can cure symptoms of horse lameness issues with no long term repercussions? Should we forget about his other symptoms (of lethargy, dull coat) if he can be made to walk ok? Or do we try to get to the root of the problem, no matter how long (or potential painful to the horse) and find out what's going on in this horse, thereby curing his hoof problems? Have you ever had to deal with this kind of situation?

Schooling Show at Los Vallecitos Riders

Today was Tango and Jesskia's first schooling show and they were both did such a great job! We got up early this morning and headed over to San Marcos (CA) for the Los Vallecitos Riders Open Schooling Show.

They were in a tough category (riders 18 yrs. and older) with seasoned riders! As you can see, they looked great and came away with some ribbons to prove it!

Couple of areas we need to work on back home in the training arena...

We might try a dropped, flash or figure eight nose-band on Tango, or even a different (maybe Myler) bit, because he keep chewing and chewing his bit!! (and, yes, he just had his teeth done so that's no excuse!)

And, he was pretty excited so it was difficult to distinguish between "trot" and "extended trot" - they both looked about the same speed - fast! I think as Tango becomes accustomed to shows he'll relax and enjoy it more. But transitional work within each gait should be part of his on-going training schedule.

Schooling shows are a fun change of pace for both rider and horse, and challenge them to develop a wider range of abilities and deeper confidence in themselves.

Congratulations to Jessika and Tango!