So here’s what I did for the time being…looked for buckets at the dollar tree and found something even better. Flimsy plastic so you have to layer 2 or 3 but they work well for the price.
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Ok, I finally have a foot workup appt on the 27th. Asked the receptionist to let me know if anything opens up, even on short notice. I forgot that we do have a roundpen sized paddock around back that I forgot about, so that part of the 6mo rehab won’t be a problem, thank God. She has sight of other horses from there too.
Her walking was better than it was yesterday when we were on hard/rocky surfaces though I get the sense it’ll be a process of gradual improvement.
One thing I’m noticing in our groundwork is that it seems very hard for her to turn to her left. When we do the labyrinth, she has a lot of trouble making the turn I drew in red, and will try to step backwards and then go forward again as opposed to bending as she does when she turns right. See crude illustration:
Thoughts on how to make bending easier for her would be appreciated. I try to do carrot stretches but it’s not worth the treat to her - she’ll turn her head but she doesn’t stay interested enough to justify stretching in her little horsey brain.
Most horses are stuffer to one side than another. If she’s showing resistance on something this simple it’s pain or discomfort. I would stop expecting her to bend that sharply left. It’s a very sharp turn.
Creating a straight horse requires a lot of quiet lateral work in hand and also requires a sound horse. A horse in pain is not going to go straight or bend in both directions equally.
Dial it back to something she can do.
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Is she on any NSAIDs? Previcox maybe?
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With sore front feet, even if better, don’t do real tight turns like this. It is hard on the feet (and whole forelimb really). That might suggest her left front is more sore. She wants to shift weight backwards first. Work on bending on a bigger turn. All horses are stiffer on one side but the reaction you describe seems more than just stiffness to me.
Anyone who has ridden road bikes any distance knows that steel is more shock absorbing than aluminum. Aluminum shoes have a place, but your farrier is incorrect in his reasoning for aluminum shoes (but it is a common misconception—I’ve heard the same thing from one vet, but just had this same conversation with my current vet and he brought up bikes because he knows I used to do cycling racing).
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Actually some of the latest research shows that they CAN develop overnight, or within a few days.
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This, in the scheme of things, is a non-issue. A million possible factors between horse & handler could be affecting this, and there’s a chasm between finds it “very hard to turn left” and doesn’t curl like a dressage horse around the inside leg.
Can she generally “turn left”? Yes? Great. That’s literally all she really needs to do right now to meet Good Girl status. The rest of it seems far too cerebral & nit-picky.
I love teaching my amateurs but sometimes, especially the novice-ier ones (& doubly-especially the academically-minded ones), get way too up in their heads about horseback riding. They have read every book and are convinced that if they could just understand how X relates to Y there will be a lightbulb moment and they will be able to move on to Goal B. Nah fam. Horses aren’t that linear.
OP I’ve been quietly seething for you throughout this thread & am rooting for you along with everyone else here, but I do think we need to establish what horse behaviors are mountains and what are molehills… or what the rest of us call “quirks”. I actually went back through the thread and tried to find the Very Bad Behavior, and found a lot of anecdotes about how sweet, safe, sane, not spooky, follows you around the pasture, best horse to bridle ever… like, there’s lots of good stuff here!
Then we learn she got shoes yanked (yowch), feed accidentally dialed to 11, and is working in a ghost-town of a barn. In response she’s pawing to China in the crossties, occasionally girthy with ulcer flare-ups, and “balks”. And that you still aren’t feeling a “connection” despite all the sweetness and pasture following and coming when called.
(In my mind, a true balk means an explosion will occur if the issue is forced. Otherwise it’s just a refusal to move forward and a classic Got Your Number move that would have been nipped in 5 minutes flat if you had a proper support system and they should have noticed the behavior frequently occurs on hard/rocky ground and gone, Huh, maybe her feet hurt)
Perhaps I missed something (it is a long thread and I missed some spots in the middle) but she just sounds like a sensitive red mare that you absolutely cannot: Rip shoes off of, dial up feed, and expect to feel all at home in a deserted barn right after moving in. And who maybe Came From Some Things and needs a mental break to reset.
I do not see anywhere (and again, may have missed) that suggests she is in extraordinary pain that warrants an extraordinarily invasive surgery. Like — that surgery will not be fun for her, that rehab will not be fun for, and the whole thing is riddled with opportunities for this to go even further south AND bankrupt you in the process.
I know you’re on a timeline but I honestly can’t imagine putting this poor mare through surgery after all this. She deserves a break. She deserves lower expectations. She may very well be driving herself crazy just trying to please everyone.
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Extremely well-said.
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^^^ And I think pretty much on the nose.
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^^^ We have a winner, folks.
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Saddler and vet both clocked her as being in pretty significant pain among exams.
I think you’re getting the wrong idea re: the observation about turning: I don’t care if she never has a banana bend like a dressage horse, we’re not even under saddle - but I brought it up because it’s another sign of discomfort and extremely limited range of motion and I want to help her as best I can with the underlying issues causing turning to be so hard for her. If I can barely turn my neck, for instance, that’s a problem - it means something serious is going on. Freeing up the tension in said neck so that I can look fully, or in her case turn normally, improves QOL. That’s what I’m getting at.
It is often not something serious, it is just where she is. Do some carrot stretches. see what happens.
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If she’s in that much pain what pain meds is she on? Bute? Equioxx? Muscle relaxer like Robaxin?
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I’m going to try with a more high value treat than her usual favorites but right now she doesn’t even want to try carrot stretches on that side. She’ll turn her head/neck a little bit and that’s it. 
I’m going to be talking to the doc about getting a rx once she comes over for the feet. I’m thinking I’m going to put her on bute or equioxx, vet on the phone said muscle relaxer may not be the best bet because the pain is more bone pain and not really localized in the LD as I thought. Rx painkillers start the insurance clock so I’m waiting for buteless to come in the mail at the moment so I can at least have her on something and have been doing very light massages.
I also wanted to say yes! I’m glad that’s shining through. I have a lot of complaints about the overall situation and a lot of stuff is very overwhelming right now but like… I’m doing this and I’m hacking it and I’m sinking money into her because she’s a good horse. She’s very sweet, very gentle, and I feel safe on her. All she does when she spooks is hop to the side and I’ve dealt with far worse. She’s very brave. She’s been in pain and still doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. The worst she does in heat is spray pee everywhere like an ocelot which is frankly just very funny.
I think a lot of my posts give the impression that it’s hopeless because frankly I’m sensitive and a lot of the time I get in my own head and am like ‘this horse hates me!!’ because her style of showing love isn’t what I’m used to from the geldings I’ve known but I’m lucky to have her and I am attached to her even if I don’t feel totally connected yet like I do with my dog. She’s worth it.
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This is a really, REALLY high bar. I’ve owned dozens of horses in my life. I’ve loved and connected with each and everyone one of them, but even the most affectionate “dog like” of them all don’t even come close to the relationships I have with my dogs. Horses just aren’t wired that way and we shouldn’t put that expectation on them.
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Be careful with any nsaids with a horse with ulcers. Equioxx is easier on the stomach. Buteless can also cause stomach irritation. I always made sure to give an antacid with it.
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Yeah, that was the other reason aside from insurance I didn’t immediately jump to medicating - I’m really worried it may cause a resurgence.
What is this about buteless though? I haven’t heard that before.
