I got Chewed Out ! Yup - Me.
08/03/08
Here's a great big hellooooooooo to you.
The July Horse Head Hoof Pick Winner , wouldn't you like to know happens to be .......................
IRENE GAVNITZ of Tipton Iowa Congratulations Irene. Lucky you.
Ok , So i got chewed out the other day. I shoe for a Vet in Milpitas Ca. and while shoeing her horse one day a young woman with her horse in hand came and asked me to look at her horse due to some lameness issues and she's an endurance rider. So i looked the horse over , somewhat pigeon toed and a few other issues that i didn't like much with the feet so we decided to shoe the horse. During all this i was asked for my opinion of the horse regarding Endurance riding , my opinion at the time was maybe alittle bit harsh but i said the horse would not probably ever be a champion and probably wouldn't hold up , apparently i said "Would NEVER hold up". Whew !
Well i didn't shoe the horse after the first shoeing and the woman went ahead and attended 5 50 mile endurance rides on the horse. So far so good the horse is holding up.
So i'm shoeing for the Vet the other day and this girl ( the endurance rider ) approached me with her horse in hand again ( i hadn't seen her for 8 months ) and she says to me "Remember me"? my reply was "Of course". She continued with i've ridden this horse through 5 of the 50 mile endurance rides and he did pretty good. She continued with " i almost took what you said to heard about my horse not ever holding up to endurance competition - and that i should watch what i say to people with my opinions ". Truth be told !
It must have been that i felt the horse was pretty seriously out of balance and most likely had bad joints and right now i just don't remember exactly what the horse looked like , but if i made such a bold statement to this woman i probably would still stand by my opinion today. She hasn't done any 100 mile rides on the horse and if she starts pushing this horse through 100 mile competitions , it's very risky in my opinion . As already mentioned i'm most likely still stand by my evaluation of her horse. If it were me i wouldn't push the horse into 100 mile rides, not if i don't want to risk lameness.
Some horses can tolerate lots of abuse to the joints and legs while others just aren't able to survive the punishment. Every horse is different . When it comes to horses i feel i'd rather err on the side of safety rather than keep pushing the horse to the limits.
Why is competition so important sometimes that it overlooks better judgement possibly, in this case maybe a horse coming up permanently lame ? I used to compete in the Olympic Weightlifting Events - i did well enough. But i've seen the results of competition when pushing and pushing. I've seen weightlifters twist elbows like a chicken wing , i've seen Jerry Orlando rip both knee caps right off the tendon and had the knee cap roll right up his leg - he went down in shock and screamed for 5 minutes , and the list of catastrophies is long. I had a friend loose a life from taking steriods to be stronger and feed his need for MORE POWER. The sports world is full of drug abuse to achieve the dream , the goal , the vision ahead. It's not much different when it comes to horses in my opinion.
This rather nice young woman , can keep riding her horse , keep pushing and perhaps actually finally enter the big 100 mile ride , but i still don't think the horse will hold up to the "Competitive Level" of 100 mile rides , I still think the horse will blow before it ever wins a 100 miler. I think the question for me becomes , what is it that becomes more important - my will to win or what's best for the horse's future. Does it all come down to what i want or should it be what's best for the horse. I think that's a decision everyone makes for themselves.
I certainly hope if the horse gets pushed as hard as it's going to need to win 100 mile rides that it holds up for her - i hope she proves me wrong , they both have my best wishes.
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Quick change of pace . Here's a pic that i hope you never have to see for yourself. I was called out to shoe this horse about 9 months ago and this is what i saw , I haven't been called back so i don't know what condition this horse is in , i just hope it's ok. I've seen this kind of thing lead to so much deep flexor tendon stretch that the fetlock joint of the horse was almost hitting the ground - the horse ruined beyond repair.
Here you go . Prepare yourself , i don't want to be sued for causing heart attacks.
This following photo was the best i could do with this horse the first time. See if you can understand the red lines .
To the left you see "Excess Hoof" That's extra hoof that i couldn't rasp off the first time - the hoof should match up with that red line. Next you see the pastern angle , it's just a bit steep but the hoofwall doesn't match up with the pastern angle - see the "Grain Of Hoof Stretch" red line , it should be in line with the pastern angle red line.
When setting the coffin bone angle along with the pastern angles i don't use the toe of the hoof wall and a hoof guage , i have found it's not accurate . What i use as the closest guage of angles , next to XRays , is to use that grain in the hoof right there ( Mid Point of hoof - not the toe , not the heel - but mid point ) right there where the red line is drawn that says "GRAIN". When you can get that mid point grain angle to line up with the pastern angle you'll be about spot on for angles .
So here it is August , a few more good months of riding , hope you are doing well and the horses are too.
As usual , happy and safe riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com
Consultations are still free ( FREE ) Free Free Free Free - ok you get the idea . You can send photos for evaluations and hoof care guidance or just to show me what and how you're shoeing your own horses. It's my pleasure - TRY ME !! i dare ya !! (-:
John "TheFootDoctor" Silveira
Here's a great big hellooooooooo to you.
The July Horse Head Hoof Pick Winner , wouldn't you like to know happens to be .......................
IRENE GAVNITZ of Tipton Iowa Congratulations Irene. Lucky you.
Ok , So i got chewed out the other day. I shoe for a Vet in Milpitas Ca. and while shoeing her horse one day a young woman with her horse in hand came and asked me to look at her horse due to some lameness issues and she's an endurance rider. So i looked the horse over , somewhat pigeon toed and a few other issues that i didn't like much with the feet so we decided to shoe the horse. During all this i was asked for my opinion of the horse regarding Endurance riding , my opinion at the time was maybe alittle bit harsh but i said the horse would not probably ever be a champion and probably wouldn't hold up , apparently i said "Would NEVER hold up". Whew !
Well i didn't shoe the horse after the first shoeing and the woman went ahead and attended 5 50 mile endurance rides on the horse. So far so good the horse is holding up.
So i'm shoeing for the Vet the other day and this girl ( the endurance rider ) approached me with her horse in hand again ( i hadn't seen her for 8 months ) and she says to me "Remember me"? my reply was "Of course". She continued with i've ridden this horse through 5 of the 50 mile endurance rides and he did pretty good. She continued with " i almost took what you said to heard about my horse not ever holding up to endurance competition - and that i should watch what i say to people with my opinions ". Truth be told !
It must have been that i felt the horse was pretty seriously out of balance and most likely had bad joints and right now i just don't remember exactly what the horse looked like , but if i made such a bold statement to this woman i probably would still stand by my opinion today. She hasn't done any 100 mile rides on the horse and if she starts pushing this horse through 100 mile competitions , it's very risky in my opinion . As already mentioned i'm most likely still stand by my evaluation of her horse. If it were me i wouldn't push the horse into 100 mile rides, not if i don't want to risk lameness.
Some horses can tolerate lots of abuse to the joints and legs while others just aren't able to survive the punishment. Every horse is different . When it comes to horses i feel i'd rather err on the side of safety rather than keep pushing the horse to the limits.
Why is competition so important sometimes that it overlooks better judgement possibly, in this case maybe a horse coming up permanently lame ? I used to compete in the Olympic Weightlifting Events - i did well enough. But i've seen the results of competition when pushing and pushing. I've seen weightlifters twist elbows like a chicken wing , i've seen Jerry Orlando rip both knee caps right off the tendon and had the knee cap roll right up his leg - he went down in shock and screamed for 5 minutes , and the list of catastrophies is long. I had a friend loose a life from taking steriods to be stronger and feed his need for MORE POWER. The sports world is full of drug abuse to achieve the dream , the goal , the vision ahead. It's not much different when it comes to horses in my opinion.
This rather nice young woman , can keep riding her horse , keep pushing and perhaps actually finally enter the big 100 mile ride , but i still don't think the horse will hold up to the "Competitive Level" of 100 mile rides , I still think the horse will blow before it ever wins a 100 miler. I think the question for me becomes , what is it that becomes more important - my will to win or what's best for the horse's future. Does it all come down to what i want or should it be what's best for the horse. I think that's a decision everyone makes for themselves.
I certainly hope if the horse gets pushed as hard as it's going to need to win 100 mile rides that it holds up for her - i hope she proves me wrong , they both have my best wishes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick change of pace . Here's a pic that i hope you never have to see for yourself. I was called out to shoe this horse about 9 months ago and this is what i saw , I haven't been called back so i don't know what condition this horse is in , i just hope it's ok. I've seen this kind of thing lead to so much deep flexor tendon stretch that the fetlock joint of the horse was almost hitting the ground - the horse ruined beyond repair.
Here you go . Prepare yourself , i don't want to be sued for causing heart attacks.
This following photo was the best i could do with this horse the first time. See if you can understand the red lines .
To the left you see "Excess Hoof" That's extra hoof that i couldn't rasp off the first time - the hoof should match up with that red line. Next you see the pastern angle , it's just a bit steep but the hoofwall doesn't match up with the pastern angle - see the "Grain Of Hoof Stretch" red line , it should be in line with the pastern angle red line.
When setting the coffin bone angle along with the pastern angles i don't use the toe of the hoof wall and a hoof guage , i have found it's not accurate . What i use as the closest guage of angles , next to XRays , is to use that grain in the hoof right there ( Mid Point of hoof - not the toe , not the heel - but mid point ) right there where the red line is drawn that says "GRAIN". When you can get that mid point grain angle to line up with the pastern angle you'll be about spot on for angles .
So here it is August , a few more good months of riding , hope you are doing well and the horses are too.
As usual , happy and safe riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com
Consultations are still free ( FREE ) Free Free Free Free - ok you get the idea . You can send photos for evaluations and hoof care guidance or just to show me what and how you're shoeing your own horses. It's my pleasure - TRY ME !! i dare ya !! (-:
John "TheFootDoctor" Silveira
Good for you, John for speaking out.
Always use the phrase: "In my opinion, or even, If it were my horse, I would/wouldn't, etc. Had a similar situation with an off the track TB that I trimmed for almost 2 years. He was presented to me initially as a rescue, navicular syndrome suspected (radiographs were inconclusive...no obvious bone deformation) but the boy was lame then, standing basically on his RF toe with a "stilletto heel"to boot on one foot and flat and flared on the LF from all the strain. He also had a myriad of whole body issues (suspected sacroial tears as well)so he was a mess. Good natured and cute, the owner stuck it out until he was body and hoof sound enough to do first novice dressage fairly well, but had a long way to go. I personally felt he had some old upper body tissue damage that was just irreversable, that had caused him to change his stance and resting weight bearing so that the mismatched fronts eventually made him lame enough for them to do something.
Anywho, he was put up for sale and I was asked my opinion as to how he would fare at low level eventing/jumping and I gave "my honest opinion" that I didn't think it would be fair to the horse in his condition and that extensive body work with massage/chiro/vet may help but not to push. This particular person (who I might add was not small) decided against buying him and the owner "went off" on me. I had been given permission to converse with potential buyers and she knows that I am honest when asked.
Since then the horse has been placed and I hope that he is kept on a regular sched of trimming and gets some help with his other issues. We can only do what we can do...at least I can sleep well at night
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Thanks again Heidi. You sound like my kinda person.
john
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