I have a cousin that loves Morgan horses. She had a mare for many years and decided to have her breed to get a baby out of her. She got a gelding out of it. She used to board them in the city and when she retired she moved to the country. After a few years in the country her mare which was about 20 years old by this time started having problems with her feet. She may have changed feed to quickly or may have had the ferrier change the angle of the feet to quickly or maybe the horse was slightly foundered from a combination of the two and was overweight....anyways, the horse started to get abcesses in the feet and they would break through and the horse would get another one and another.... She had the vet give her antibiotics for the horse and bute for pain but the horse died of infection the souls of the feet were literally falling off. Now three years later, her gelding which is only 12 years old is in the same condition. She took the horse several miles in a trailer upon her vets request to take it to a facility that they could do a procedure in which they drill holes in the soles of the foot to release the abcess, but when she got there the vet and ferrier told her the horses soles are falling off and it's too late to do anything but put him to sleep. Is there anything she could try to do herself to save the horse? Any old time remedy she could try as a last resort? All the vets and ferriers have given up on her and the horse is'nt that old to have to go. I need advice fast! Please... Thank-you

-- Michelle Halverson (phalvers@ccisd.k12.mi.us), May 23, 2001

Answers

If ALL the vets and farriers agree after having seen the horse, it would be best to follow their advice. (I know off no treatment that does not envolve a good farrier and "corrective" shoes or boots.) Most hoof problems are painful, you mentioned the use of Bute for the one horse, and it may be a kindness to the horse to end it's suffering. Since this happened twice, they may want to reconsider their managment practices to avoid future problems. Please have them consider the welfare of the horse over their own feelings or needs.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle Mn. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), May 23, 2001.

This is weird I about 10 min ago just read a artical about a women who had the same problem with her arab. The artical is in the gallopin gazette [ may] if you like I will send you the copy. Here is what she did [ they wanted her to put hers down to] she switched to grass hay instead of the oat hay she was using, a vet had her feed 1lb ground flax seed and 2lbs carrots and 2lbs bran a day, this was to get her in a calorie burning mode.the horse improved then 3 months latter relapsed she had a absess so the women used a product called animalintex and a davis medicine boot, put the hot pad on hoof wraped it with vettape and put it in boot and next day absess had burst.She says every time it absessed this helped.bute was upseting bowel movments so at this point she almost put her down but then she tried putting davis barrier boots on hoofs and she has been fine for 9 months, she uses a sole pack with the boots.Hope this helps.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), May 23, 2001.

Please get an opinion of a good racetrack veterinarian, Thoroughbred racehorses, not Standarbreds! If necessary, call the track yourself, and find the name of the most respected and longest practicing track vet in your area. I used to do 1000's of miles of endurance riding, and frequently had problems that the local vets were helpless with to solve, I would trailer my horses an hour and a half away to see Doc Genoviese, he could fix anything! If he didn't know, he got on the phone and started calling people who would know what to do. Track vets have the equipment necessary to perform all types of leg and foot surgery, which your horse will need. Remember, racehorses are worth millions of dollars, and their vets are the best, they have to be to stay in business!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), May 24, 2001.

Dear Michelle,

While Annie gave You good advice for seeking a second opinion, this case sounds too far advanced for that.

It sounds like a form of laminitis which was not caught until it became too advanced. I'm guessing the gelding suffered a wound to the sole which went undetected. An infection set in causing pus buildup eventually separating the laminae within the hoof. The continued abcesses would tend to support that conclusion.

A horse can survive without a hoof due to traumatic injury. In this case though, there's the complication of infection and the real probability of tetanus in the future. It would be asking alot of the horse to fight that kind of battle. Euthanasia seems the kindest choice.

If Your cousin still has horses or considers replacing her gelding, please encourage her to seek the advice of a trusted EXPERIENCED horseperson. They can review her husbandry routine and perhaps indentify the cause for this catastrophe with both Morgans.

My family bred Morgans, so I certainly understand and share her love for the breed. They're great horses! I'm very sorry she has lost two good companions.

If I can be any help...

Randle

-- Randle Gay (rangay@hotmail.com), May 25, 2001.

I had to write and thank-you's for all your help, but she decided to put the horse down. The bone started to come through the sole and it was time. The biggest problem is we only have one horse vet and two ferriers that are anywhere close to our home town. We are very limited for resources or people that are actually qualified to do any procedures that could have helped. The ferriers and vets gave up on her and did'nt treat the horse properly in the beginning stages and by the time they realized it was a big problem it was too late. I wish I knew of some way to come up with a cure for this problem I read so many letters of other people all losing there horses of the same thing. It breaks my heart. I have three horses of my own and luckily mine have been staying pretty healthy. Michelle

-- Michelle (phalvers@ccisd.k12.mi.us), May 26, 2001.