Every girl loves a new pair of shoes, especially when they fit.

I think for a while, after I first got Sage, with all of her problems and my own chronic illness, I thought I could fix her by being totally, extremely natural. The vets couldn’t seem to help her, but I was sure that Nature could. The pendulum swung by degrees, and over time, but it definitely swung. And now it has swung back into some kind of balance.

I tried for years to make the natural hoof care thing work. The first farrier I found for my newly bought 2 year old horse said if I wasn’t going to ride her on rocky trails, she wouldn’t need shoes. However, every barn that she was at had “rocky trails” because of all the rain and mud we get in the Pacific Northwest. Rocks are our defense in the war against mud.

I have now been through six farriers over the years – two of them – no, wait, three of them – natural hoof care practitioners. One of those trained alongside natural hoof care provider Pete Ramey.

But no one could change the inherent conformation and genetic proclivity of my horse. No matter what anyone tried, her soles remained flat. And sore. No amount of walking on hard ground or rocks ever changed any of that.

She was ok on soft ground, but that was it. She never “toughened up”, even at the last home which was laden with hard, rocky trails to and from the barn, traversed multiple times per day. My latest farrier even showed me the bruising on her sole in one of his first visits. I felt like a bad mom.

Additionally, over the past couple of years, Sage’s heels were kept brutally short by two natural hoof practitioners, something that left her sore after every trim. Or did it? It was a constant confusing situation: was she sore because of her soles, or was she being cut too short? On top of that I thought she may be insulin resistant; that too can cause sore hooves.

So, after taking care of her diet with getting off rich pasture and adding Dr. Joyce Harmon’s OB supplement, and along my most recent farrier’s blessing, we recently nailed two front shoes on her. The improvement was visible and immediate. I can longe her now without watching her grimace.

Furthermore, I can ride Sage without worrying about her favoring her feet; I can push her a little. We are off for a trail ride this week and will see how she does. If I notice any discomfort due to the back feet, I will slap shoes on those feet too. But, I have my farrier’s confidence in that she should be ok with just the front shod, with being half natural, keeping her two front feet off the rocks.

And keeping her mind on something other than sore feet.

My own feet are flat. Very flat. I had been through bouts of plantar fasciitis, more than once, until I found the right pair of orthotics. My feet are the feet that I was born with, and I cannot change that now.

Currently, there is a barefoot human movement, but I can emphatically tell you that I will not be joining in.
So, if you and your horse can go barefoot, super, more power to you. I think if you can do it it is ultimately the best, plus it will save you money. But Sage cannot go barefoot and be comfortable, and we are (happily) done trying after a concerted, vigilant effort for several years.

What I find really quite interesting is that we are back at the barn to which I first brought Sage when I bought her, where she was unloaded from a trailer full of loose poop – and where I first began my decade-plus journey with her. When I was a devout pharmaceutical rep and she was a messed up, stressed out two year old with abuse issues unbeknownst to me at the time.

Sage as a two year old, at the barn she is at now, shortly after purchasing her; she is now right across the aisle from the stall in this picture, 9 years later.

Ride, baby, ride. That is my new motto, and I wholly deserve it.

“The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” – Euripides

For more on our story, especially hoof care trials and tribulations, search the hoof care posts on this blog and see the website hoof care page. And if you read nothing else, read my article HOOVES THE HARD WAY.

Spike before the PSSM diet; just think what he will be able to do now!

I knew something was happening to me and I knew it was going to hurt. So I kept trying to move around. I wanted to roll and then once I got down I wanted to get back up. I kept trying to tell my person what was happening, but I couldn’t make her understand. She kept yelling into her little talkie thing and I could hear from her tone that she was frightened also.

And then my Doctor pulled up in his truck and my person yelled at him to hurry. My Doctor filled a syringe and plunged it into my neck. Then he tried to listen to my heart but I was starting to hurt something awful and couldn’t stand still for him. So he gave me another shot, which helped after a couple of minutes. But the pain was bad, and I was standing on pavement and when I moved my feet I could see the outline of my feet because the sweat was streaming down my legs.

My person moved me into a corral where the footing was deep and then my Doctor gave me another shot. I could feel my muscles seize up one by one and become hard as a rock. The first one to seize up was the left side of my back. I felt it raise up and become hard and it was very, very painful. After about 10 minutes it started to recede and then other muscles seized up, one by one. And each one hurt terribly when it seized. But I had lots of pain killer and muscle relaxers in me that helped get me through the worst of it.

My person had to have someone else take me from her as she thought she was going to faint.

My Doctor wasn’t quite sure what was happening to me or why. He had never seen anything like it, nor had the crowd of persons who had gathered to watch me. The episode from start to finish lasted about 2 hours. But there was no denying it was a muscle oddity that had happed to me. By the time he left, I was shaky and sore but the pain killers and muscle relaxers made me pretty comfortable. My person stayed with me to make sure I was going to be ok. I was glad because I was afraid the pain was going to return. But by morning I was feeling okay and hay was tasting pretty good. I was just a little body sore.

But the next day my person had a new word in her vocabulary – PSSM. She explained it to me but I was busy eating and didn’t pay much attention. But this much I did understand – no more sugar cubes or molasses treats and no more grain!!

I was forced onto a low sugar, low starch and high fat diet. Very strange at first and not at all to my liking. But I’m getting used to it. And I can do things that I haven’t been able to do since I was a youngster!! I can walk out with the best of them….before I was a slow walker and couldn’t keep up with the other horses. Now I get into the swing and enjoy sticking my nose into the butts of the other horses. And I can trot!! A big, swinging trot that I can’t remember doing in years! No more nagging pain when I try to extend and no more choppy trot!! Can’t wait to see how it feels to go down a line of jumps…it was fun before but a little painful….

Bet I can jump the moon now!!

All the best,
Spike

This young gelding was in a fray with other geldings this week and got his leg stuck in barbed wire; then, of course, he panicked and ripped his leg to pieces. The geldings were all trying to get to a mare in season who was on the other side of the fence separating the two pastures. The mare herself was backing her butt up to the fence. The damage to the gelding’s leg is so severe that he is now sentenced to complete stall confinement for FOUR weeks and THEN he can start to be hand walked.

Barbed wire meets horse

I don’t think I want the job of walking him that first day out…

Apparently the fence has been there undisturbed for over 9 years (this used to be a dairy farm so it was originally put up for the cows). Unfortunately, the run of extreme good luck has just run out.

Sage was once in a fray with barbed wire – it had been covered by blackberry bushes and hidden from view. I think even the barn owners had forgotten about it. In any case, she must have acted more like a cow and not panicked too much because her worst injury was some scraped skin off of her hind legs and superficial wounds (still painful). We were very, very lucky. Your heart beats fast when you get a call from your barn, but it beats even faster when you hear the words “barbed wire“.

Fences may make good neighbors – but not when its barbed wire and you are separating horses. Please send your good thoughts for a speedy recovery for this gelding.

UPDATE 8/9/10: The barn management made a speedy removal of the entire length of barbed wire fencing and then installed instead a fence that is hot wired. So the horses are all hanging around, grazing safely as a herd in the field; the gelding himself is still in stall confinement but is doing well and getting lots of attention. He should make a full recovery.

One could say that the barbed wire should not have been there in the first place, but I prefer to focus on the fact that the barn made immediate remedy to the situation after the horrific incident happened. I have been to a number of boarding facilities, and I can honestly say that not all would have moved as swiftly…

this handsome halter model was recently diagnosed with PSSM

A friend of mine, who makes my new favorite halter, recently had a traumatic experience with her seven year old Quarter Horse, “Spike”. Spike is a spun gold horse (my favorite color ) with a heart of the same. The event was complete with trembling, sweating, and complete collapse on the ground and a whole lot of emergency veterinary intervention. It was one of those intrepid times when you do not know if your buddy will be around on this earth the next day. My friend’s horse is young, and a great joy in her life, and his passing would be greatly mourned.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

It turns out that “Spike” most likely has PSSM (polysaccharide storage myopathy), the Quarter Horse version of EPSM (the term used for the disease in the draft horse breeds; at the end of this post I list some resources for more information on PSSM). A veterinarian who is intensely involved in research of EPSM/PSSM wrote my friend that she could have a muscle biopsy and/or genetic testing of hair to confirm the diagnosis. However, the vet suggested that if a horse has had as severe a tyeing up episode as Spike had, he is more than likely a candidate and should be treated and fed like one.

Being treated and fed like one basically means the special diet of restricted starch and sugar and higher fat along with consistent exercise. Since most horses eat too much grain and sugar, and do not move around enough during the day (standing in too-small paddocks or turn-outs), this regimen of care is not a bad thing.

So I tried to be positive and upbeat for my friend.

Grieving The Loss Of An Illusion

Then I realized, however, that it may be too soon for that. For most people, there needs to be a grieving period first, one where you mourn the loss of the once-healthy horse that you thought you had. Additionally, you may need time to get over the shell-shocked feeling of the rug being pulled from under you.

And the $700 vet bill…

You scramble to find the sure answer, the magic bullet, to prevent the disease, the colic, or this PSSM monster from ever attacking your innocent horse again. I have been in similar situations, ranging in severity from a week of near-death colic to milder but frustrating and disconcerting hoof issues, equine ulcers, rain rot, and more. I have come to hold a certain odd but undeniable sense of gratitude for the sickness(es) of my horse for what I have learned (and gained) from having gone through it all.

I am the first to admit, though, that it can still be scary, and not particularly welcome, to have another health challenge pop up.

A Golden Horse And A Silver Lining

Ultimately, my friend’s sweet horse will be healthy and happy with his low-sugar, higher fat diet and lots of turnout and consistent daily movement. And isn’t that what a lot our horses have been trying to tell us all along anyway, what they have been colicking for, foundering for, and dying for? The silver lining in all of this is that my friend’s horse may well end up healthier than many of the horses around him. Those horses may not have a diagnosis of PSSM, but they continue to chow down on molasses-covered grain and spend too many hours in their stalls.

Silver linings are always there if you squint hard enough.

Resources For More Information On PSSM/EPSM:

PSSM – Could My Horse Have It?

Info on PSSM from University of Minnesota Equine Center, home of Dr. Stephanie Valberg, DVM

Desert Equine Balance blog

A Horse Named Doc

Info on EPSM from Dr. Beth Valentine, DVM

Equine nutritionist Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD

What Can You Learn From Chronic Illness If You Are A Human? My blog post from Becoming Sage.

treat your horse's back with love & respect

I am now well on my way to riding regularly again, finally. After almost nine months hiatus (perhaps a good thing for Sage’s back if you agree with the data revealed in Stormy May’s movie, Path Of The Horse), I have a saddle that passed the saddle fitter’s discerning eye (mostly) and a horse with no more sore feet or rain-rotted coat. It took me a long time to find the right saddle and go through the saddle fit process, but it was well worth it. Since I view the saddle as a bridge between Sage and myself, I wanted to make sure that it held the promise of many comfortable – and safe – crossings for both of us.

Buy The Text And Then Get To Class

I had started off my quest by buying and reading Dr. Joyce Harman’s book “the Horse’s Pain-Free Back and Saddle-Fit Book”. I still lacked the confidence in myself after reading it to feel comfortable purchasing another saddle on my own, but it was superb background information and will be a great reference manual for future saddle issues and purchases. I did end up hiring a saddle fitter and going through that process, and having the hands-on instruction made a world of difference for me. Its all about pressure points and distribution of weight and pressure, and seeing it up close and personal with my own horse and various saddles, with a trained expert by my side, was definitely educational.

I am still not ready or willing to give up the occasional bareback ride with a pad, but I do admit that there is an added level of security inherent in riding in a saddle. During this process, I switched from Western to English (actually ended up with a used dressage saddle) and the difference in weight when lifting it up on her back is very welcome indeed! Also, I can feel pretty comfortable that I am not damaging Sage’s back when I ride her, something that I was never quite sure about with my big Western saddle after I learned that it could be ill-fitted. It was probably not wide enough for her (even though it was Full Quarter Horse bars), and I couldn’t risk screwing up her back after all the work that we did last year with Dr. Suzan Seeyle on fixing past damage.

Do The Best That You Can & Your Horse Won’t Sue You

My saddle fitter was not 100% thrilled with everything about my saddle, but then again, she was trained as a lawyer and is pretty particular, something I was paying her to be. Her one big recommendation was for a special pad. I do not have too many options with Sage’s relatively small real estate for a saddle, and an even smaller budget, so I did what worked for me and from all accounts looks like it will work for Sage.

Dr. Harman suggests that you should approach saddle fitting as a challenge or a puzzle, and think of the satisfaction you will get when you put all the pieces together. And she herself points out that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just as close to perfect as you can get. Your horse will thank you for the effort with many pleasurable crossings!

After more than eight long months, I am finally able to get back up in a saddle on Sage’s back. I had sold my gorgeous but heavy and ill-fitting Western saddle late last summer, and I then began riding bareback. That experience, combined with a centered riding lesson, inspired me to try riding English. It was a long, harsh winter though, one in which I took my time finding the right saddle.

I used my non-riding interactions with Sage to increase the bond between us, figure out and resolve her long-standing hoof issues, and tackle months of rainrot. I also re-trained her with a lightweight halter after dumping my once-esteemed rope halter.

Yes, I say re-trained her because as I found out, she had not really been responding to me with the rope halter – she was responding to the rope halter. The very first day she had the lightweight halter on instead of the rope halter, it took me more than 15 minutes to back her up between two poles, previously a very simple exercise. But there were no more knots “encouraging” her to do what she was asked. Now, after a lot of hours of bonding and re-establishing some respect and trust, I can say “back” and point to her shoulder and back she goes, willing and able and pain-free. Never have I been more sure of a change in course than I am about giving up the rope halter.

In keeping with all these changes, I also took this time to hire a saddle fitter (after reading Dr. Joyce Harman’s superb book on saddle fitting). That was the easy part; finding the actual saddle was a bit more difficult. But, I did manage to find one recently, and it passed the saddle fitter’s keen scrutiny with only the need for a minor modification. After a cold, wet winter and with me having no access to a covered arena, Sage has emerged from the wet cocoon of winter with a well-rested back, and I, a little bit wiser.

And we are ready to continue on our journey.

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer” ~ Albert Camus