We have one over at a trainers and want to suggest things to help bring down the swelling besides poultice , which he will not leave alone. They will not use a cradle to avoid this. Any ideas?? Trotters specifically are prone to striking their opposite knee when going fast. We have discussed with the farrier things he might do to help prevent this.
Have the shoer shoe him absolutely level, by tape measure if needed, and the angle should be that of his shoulder. Don’t listen to tip him in or out; willing to bet if you measured the hoof wall on the offending foot, it isn’t level, but lower on the inside. If level shoeing and knee boots don’t help, you can try Go Straights. As to the poultice, looks like someone is stuck with icing that knee 3+ times a day, 20 minutes at a time or get something nasty to put on the bandage or get bandage savers or, in a pinch, a headpole burr with short spikes and wind that around the bandage loosely
Agree the most important thing you can do is make certain are 100% level even if you need to add a shim temporarily and that hoof length and toe length are optimal for the horse. .
Use a calipers and hoof gauge and keep records at each shoeing of the measurements. Since many horses have front hooves that are not a matching pair, (one is narrower and grows more heel-dish foot & the other is wider with a flatter sole) you cannot technically get a truly accurate measurement of angle on the dish foot. In this case, look from behind and make certain the pair of heel heights are even and the toe lengths are even.
Tipping the feet may keep them off themselves initially but leads to unsoundness in the long run.
Poultice is a favorite because it can be left on overnight for longer contact time. Ice 2x day is hard to beat for immediate reducing in swelling. We use both and we also use a Centurion electro magnetic boot. For knee use, you would put assn anchor standing wrap on the leg, then just velcro the boot on the knee for 30 minutes. They can actually walk in the stall with it, but we prefer to tie them near a hay bag or feed tub to keep unwitting teeth and lips off the boot. It has varied settings for use whether you are using it for acute swelling/injury inflammation reduction, or chronic or arthritic conditions. It is as effective as ice (sometimes more effective) for swelling without the mess (especially in our northern winters). You can do a monthly rental, or rent to own. It is a small company with too notch customer service. Our boot is 10 years old and we wouldn’t part with it.
[QUOTE=Claudius;6393442]
We have one over at a trainers and want to suggest things to help bring down the swelling besides poultice , which he will not leave alone. They will not use a cradle to avoid this. Any ideas?? Trotters specifically are prone to striking their opposite knee when going fast. We have discussed with the farrier things he might do to help prevent this.[/QUOTE]
I agree with these suggestions. As owner and trainer
of a pacer I do not deal with this this problem,however
I trained several trotters in my earlier years.I learned
a great deal from one of the finest horsemen in
Canada who raised and trained trotters,William Herbert.
If this problem persists there are a few other things
you may want to consider.First is going with a slightly
longer toe in front but not to much longer this and
perhaps just a tiny bit of toe weight.This will help do
two things.First it will help him or her to break over
a little slower in front and also it should help the
horse clear above the knees.
There is also as a second option elbow boots.This is
perhaps a little more radical but it will cause him
to go a little wider in the front.
For the swelling I have had great success with one
part DMSO and two parts absorbine jr.
White clay mixed with epsom salts works well
also.
Well I am not sure if any of this is much help but I
hope you correct this problem.Remember do not
try to do to much all at once.The majority of trotters
and pacers as well are not line gaited.Pacers are by
nature paddlers.When you do get this situation under
control please watch out for the possibility of
speed cutting.Trotters have a passer by gait.By
this I mean for example,when the back left foot
comes forward it will usually pass by on the
outside of the front left foot coming back.Speed
cutting occurs when the front left foot clips the
back foot as the front left is going forward again.
usually in the insibe of the lower part of the foot
i.e. pastern,coronet area.
we have had a lot of luck sweating the knee with preparation h after 20 minutes on the soakers.i just sent a knee knocking pacer back to his owner/trainer after 7 weeks.i got a lame one off the trailer…they got a sound horse back.the preparation h took the knee down quite a bit…and fixing the quarter crack and abcess went a long way to getting him of that knee in the first place!!good luck!
Get a 5 gallon bucket and a hose…
Cross tie horse in the aisle or washrack.
Turn hose on cold.
Sit on bucket with cold water running over big old knee.
30-40 minutes, 2x/day.
Then wrap with a furazone sweat, felt, saran wrap then cover with one of those rubber/velcro knee boots.
Ask me how many trotters I’ve rubbed.
Occasionally, this will turn into a big honking calcium deposit similar to a splint type thing. At that point, you can hose it till you’re blue in the face and it won’t ever go down.
As long as he stays sound, cold water and wraps are the best bet. All ice does is turn into cold which turns into hot water anyway.
My husband is a blacksmith that specializes in knee knockers, and we have 16 trotters who have been reformed from this in the barn. He actually does the exact opposite and will diamond the toe, drop the insides very slightly and use a half rim pad on the outside. You do have to realize that horses that go to their knees usually can go two starts and then will need to be checked again, making sure that the toes are kept short enough. We never use artificial go straights and most of the time can take the knee boots off completely. As for staying sound, most of my horses have been in the barn for well over three years and have had no issues.
For a big blown up knee I put them on the soakers 2x/day for an hour each time, dry it, then mix epsom salts with DMSO gel and slather it on. After three days I switch to painting it with Shinband.
i agree with all trot on the shoeing.i had a pacing mare several months back who pounded her right knee.never touched the other one.tried spreaders and that just made her more sour.so we shod her level on the right front and we tipped the left front just inside the toe and shimmed the outside heel.she never touched it again and i took the spreaders off.won 3 with her and sent her to the sale,they changed the shoeing and she got beat a distance for several starts and then she stopped showing up in the entries.
all trot…why the shin band?do you cool it out before you race with a sweat?i know it will tighten it down but do you get any scurf?
With Shinband is seems to vary from horse to horse depending on skin type. Some of my thick skinned animals can go a week or more under wraps painted up while the thin skinned ones will show a light scurf after only two days. If scurf is a problem I will keep painting until I start to see the beginnings of flaking, then wash the area with a mild soap (like castile), allow to dry well and rub in a good ointment (I use SNM Sports Salve). The next day you can gently rub the scurf off without opening the skin and either switch to a cold sweat or continue painting. I don’t wash the salve off because it is non-reactive with the paints I use and creates a barrier on the skin - but make sure your ointment doesn’t require all other chemicals to be washed off first.
As for race days, I paint them up right before they get on the trailer to head to the track. If you get into a program where you are cooling the knee out for three days post race, then switching to a paint for three days prior to next start the skin usually stays in good condition.
