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Samson

Navicular & Navicular Syndrome


November 16, 2005
November 21, 2005
January 4, 2006
February 9 , 2006
May 29, 2006
June 15, 2006 - X-Rays
July 10, 2006
August 2 , 2006
September 7 , 2006


Transitions....

Two and a half months have gone by. Samsons feet are looking good, but he's still slightly off on both front feet.

Several things slowed Samsons transition down, and Vicki and I are fessing up so that others can learn from our mistakes.

At about this point Vicki and I began discussing things that would speed the transition process up. In retrospect we both agree that I should have been more persuasive because while I mentioned them several times, I did it in a way that inferred that they were optional.

The Areas That Would Have Had A Significant Rehab Impact Are:

Environment - Samson was in a good sized paddock that he shared with Scout, and had a high and dry stall with mats for when the weather was bad. The downside is that the footing was 4 inches of ground wood chips. They seemed like a great idea, and Vicki picked them up regularly, but they held moisture. Samson ended up having thrush, so the moist wood - while better than mud - wasn't as good for feet as something like pea gravel or packed road base.

Boots - Samson had atrophied frogs and weak heels, and while we talked about using boots with pads more frequently, I didn't push it, and Vicki initially though that going barefoot would toughen his feet up faster. He wasn't dramatically off without the boots in his paddock, but they would have gotten him moving more correctly and thus would have accelerated his rehab.

Soaking for Thrush - I mentioned soaking with Borax or Lysol several times, but Vicki liked using the purple topical and... I didn't push itsoaking didn't happen until later on.

What We Did Right

We did a LOT right!

This trim worked well for Samson, and his feet shaped up fast and looked great.

His diet was great.

He had a paddock pal, Scout, who bossed him around and made sure he got lots of excercize.

Vicki rode often enough, considering how wet the winter was, and was religious about using the purple thrush topical.


 

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