Christmas day, as I am tearing around the kitchen in a state, expecting guests, Horsey Daugher decides to take Lily out for a ride. Last time Lily was ridden was late November, before snowfall, Daughter took her for a short stroll with a little canter up the road. THe road is not paved. It was a 15 minute ride. Since then, Lily has been a field ornament.
Daughter heads out, I contemplate the roast. Phone rings. It's the kid. She's calling me from the horse pen (too lazy to walk back to the house) 'YOu better come out here, Lily is really lame!"
Sure enough, hind left ankle swelled like a soccer ball, and pronounced staggering limp. No doubt a twist. Ground is very gouged and uneven in horse pen. I ask if we should bute her. Kid says no, then the weed will think she's better and start running around like a lunatic. We decide to wait and see if swelling goes down or gets worse.
But, before we leave kid says, "have her feet always been like that?"
"Like what?"
"Purple."
"That's the natural colour of her hoof." I say.
"No. It's not. Horses do not have purple pigment in their feet! That's bleeding in the hoof wall."
Sure enough, in all 4 feet, purple smudges halfway up the hoof. Vivid. WHy on earth would a mostly unridden horse have this much blood in her hoof walls? THe ground isn't frozen and hard. She isn't worked hard, practically not at all. It makes no sense.
Call farrier who come out a few days later because he is curious. He says he has seen hoof bruising, but nothing like this, and not on all 4 feet at once. Bruises most often show up on the sole and not hoofwall. He checks white line which should show damage if this is founder, but the white line looks good. Her hoof shows no deformity that might occur with founder. She is not overweight, is not cresty, has had no access to grass (obviously) and gets no grain in her diet. The ONLY potential problem is the hay, which is easily 40 to 50% alfalfa.
I am not very happy with this last load of hay. HUbby gets hay from one guy and well gee they've been buds since way back and it would be awkward if we quit buying from him, blah, blah, blah. Well if we say we want grass hay and get 40% alfalfa, we've got a problem on our hands!
Lily's ankle cleared up and she is back to running and bucking and being a goof. She at no time prior or after her ankle swelling, showed any signs of being sore in the feet. Despite still being purplish, she does not hesitate to move, never did.
Have any of you experienced anything like this, know what causes it and what the long term effects might be? It is a puzzler. We got different hay, which I am still not crazy over, but it has zero alfalfa.
Daughter heads out, I contemplate the roast. Phone rings. It's the kid. She's calling me from the horse pen (too lazy to walk back to the house) 'YOu better come out here, Lily is really lame!"
Sure enough, hind left ankle swelled like a soccer ball, and pronounced staggering limp. No doubt a twist. Ground is very gouged and uneven in horse pen. I ask if we should bute her. Kid says no, then the weed will think she's better and start running around like a lunatic. We decide to wait and see if swelling goes down or gets worse.
But, before we leave kid says, "have her feet always been like that?"
"Like what?"
"Purple."
"That's the natural colour of her hoof." I say.
"No. It's not. Horses do not have purple pigment in their feet! That's bleeding in the hoof wall."
Sure enough, in all 4 feet, purple smudges halfway up the hoof. Vivid. WHy on earth would a mostly unridden horse have this much blood in her hoof walls? THe ground isn't frozen and hard. She isn't worked hard, practically not at all. It makes no sense.
Call farrier who come out a few days later because he is curious. He says he has seen hoof bruising, but nothing like this, and not on all 4 feet at once. Bruises most often show up on the sole and not hoofwall. He checks white line which should show damage if this is founder, but the white line looks good. Her hoof shows no deformity that might occur with founder. She is not overweight, is not cresty, has had no access to grass (obviously) and gets no grain in her diet. The ONLY potential problem is the hay, which is easily 40 to 50% alfalfa.
I am not very happy with this last load of hay. HUbby gets hay from one guy and well gee they've been buds since way back and it would be awkward if we quit buying from him, blah, blah, blah. Well if we say we want grass hay and get 40% alfalfa, we've got a problem on our hands!
Lily's ankle cleared up and she is back to running and bucking and being a goof. She at no time prior or after her ankle swelling, showed any signs of being sore in the feet. Despite still being purplish, she does not hesitate to move, never did.
Have any of you experienced anything like this, know what causes it and what the long term effects might be? It is a puzzler. We got different hay, which I am still not crazy over, but it has zero alfalfa.
