I’m not really sure her racing history as her trainer hardly spoke english so I couldn’t get much information out of him, but he said she “hurt her knee.” He didn’t give me any more details and didn’t even tell me which knee it was on.
If hauling her out is a problem, here are two good sports med experts that travel to Poolesville:
Dr. Jill Copenhagen: https://bwfurlong.com/peak-performance-equine-services/ (goes south for the winter)
Dr. Sean Bowman: https://piedmont.vet/team/sean-bowman/
Neither will be cheap but you should get some answers at least. They both also do acupuncture and Dr. Copenhagen also does chiro. IIWM I’d spend my money on diagnostics first though.
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I saw someone mention him upthread, but Cooper Williams is the most fantastic lameness evaluator I know of and we are SO lucky to have him in MD. You can be very straightforward with him about what you can afford and he doesn’t waste time on shots in the dark. I have yet to personally know of a horse he was unable to figure out. I went to Leesburg instead of trusting my gut and going to him with my last headscratcher and I regret it. The only benefit of Leesburg over NB or Cooper is that they work with you on payments. She is adorable and lucky to have you, hoping for a great update!
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I just uploaded some pictures of her feet below
I second? third? Cooper Williams. He’s worked on three of my horses I had in training in Maryland - I wish I could get him where I am now. He was kindly blunt with one I had evaluated and I really appreciated his truthfulness with that one.
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What caught my eye was the rider in the first photo. She is very tight and stiff. The lack of softness is hampering the horse. She looks totally different in subsequent photos on a loose rein with a longer back. There is a lot of discussion about what is,or might be, or might not be the problem. How do you fix it, where should you take her, how much will it cost?
She needs some basics, starting with her hooves. No hoof no horse? I also have the impression she hasn’t been getting much work. She can’t hold a frame, she is sore, maybe it’s her hocks, could be this, could be that. Who knows what really happened with prior owners? The PPE says she was lame and couldn’t be ridden. If you take her for a lameness exam where do they start?
You are starting with a nice horse who is sweet, loves to be groomed, is very into baths and treats. Give her plenty of time at walk and trot and throw in the chiro etc. I agree with Warmblood1. You could eliminate issues that are due to her overall condition. That gets you closer to the root problem.
I’m glad you have her, that she likes to be pampered, and you want her to have a good life. She will be someone’s perfect horse.
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She’s a sweet mare and you’re chipping away at it! She looks way better in the recent video. I agree that a haul into your local clinic for a full workup will be money well spent.
But I’ll also suggest finding the best local bodyworker you can and bringing them in, too. There’s a very athletic, very unhappy young OTTB in my barn. Did months of kissing spine rehab, no change. Bone scan following that indicated neck issues, did multiple rounds of injections, there was a slight improvement that lasted a few weeks. As a last resort the owner got the really, really good local bodyworker out and he is suddenly like a different horse.
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Hey guys. One of you recommended Sean bowman so I called him out and he came to see India today. Did a flexion test and under saddle evaluation. He said she passed the flexion test and was sound under saddle. I could see she was ever so slightly short stepping in the trot.
But I guess I was wrong.
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