Just as things started getting on track with ridden work and Carrie’s fitness, we were hit with a totally unexpected problem. She ended up with a pin in the bottom of her hoof…
One of the problems we’ve been facing down the field is that people seem to be trespassing, to put it plainly. With coronavirus and lockdown, more people have been passing by the field as it’s right next to a public footpath. Now it’s one thing having a horse (which is pretty common in that area) but we also have a donkey. Donkey attracts a lot more people and some parents aren’t bothered about their children coming into the field. I’ve found dog toys, food, cans, etc., over the years but thankfully the problem wasn’t too serious.
Anyway, Carrie was rolling the one day after a session and I noticed something bright on the underside of her hoof. I went over to her, picked up her hoof and saw a rememberance day badge/pin stuck there. I was livid…
Firstly, I was furious with myself fr not checking earlier. It’s standard knowledge that you should pick out a horses feet before any exercise but I didn’t do it. The thing is, we are in a small field where it’s pretty dry and not stoney. There isn’t anything to pick out usually. Lesson learnt though after this.
Secondly, I was grateful that the pin wasn’t stuck in her frog. It seemed close but thankfully there was no puncture there. I spoke to the vet and the farrier ho both said the same thing. Pull it out, clean the hoof and poultice it for a week (or thereabouts).
So away i went trying to scrub the hoof, poultice it which in theory sounded retry easy but I was out of practice so it took a long time to get it right. Unfortunately, that meant that Carrie got fed up and now has an issue with picking up that hoof (she snatches it away and we are working on that issue but she messed up my shoulder in the process. Horses man…).
We changed the poultice for three days and had a nightmare keeping it on. I put a poultice boot on, which was broken twice so that was useless. Leaving just a double bandage would start wearing away at the toe and the ground was wet. Finally, we used some duct tape which worked perfectly! Except for the fact it was a nightmare to get off. It took literally half an hour to get through it and the bandages.
When it did finally come off, I was horrified. Her hoof wall was all crumbly and the back of her hoof was wrinkly and looked like it was detaching from the foot. I freaked out and called the vet again thinking I’d caused a real problem but it turns out it’s ok to look like that. It’s because it’s wet (which I guessed) but as long as she isn’t limping then it shouldn’t be a problem. They did recommend leaving it unwrapped though and within a few days, it’s all gone back to normal!
So, although we’ve had a delay in her training, I’ve learnt a lot. Sadly we can’t continue with riding just yet because of my shoulder but fingers crossed, we won’t have to wait too much longer!
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