I think I should expand my consulting business to include “horse health specialist.”

With all of the special requirements Isis has for managing laminitis and insulin resistance, I’ve learned more with her than all of the years I’ve had horses. Low carb grain. Grazing muzzles. For months, last year through the beginning of this year, we struggled with keeping the grazing muzzle on her. Finally after we get that to stay on no matter how many times she rubs it against the fence, she trips and falls with me during a lesson… And thus began the second phase of intense frustration. She recovers from the second episode of laminitis, only to trip and fall. We recover from the bruises and scrapes, and then are left wondering why she tripped. Was the tripping caused by muscular-skeletal issues, sensitive feet, neurological problems, or some combination of any of the above?

The one piece of good news was that her problem appears to be muscular-skeletal and sensitive feet, and not neurological (BIG relief). “Team Isis” tried for several months to coincide the farrier and chiropractor visits. It helped, but it didn’t resolve the issue. She still tripped. The only other option was to try using shoes, preferably glue-ons to preserve her feet and not use nails.

Following in the fine tradition established with her grazing muzzle grace, we can’t keep the shoes on her. Yet again, Isis’ shoes are off. And she is ouchy when moving out in the field, near the barn, on almost any hard surfaces. I can’t work her until either she is trimmed again or she has new shoes. The shoes, clips, and glue have to be ordered from different Web sites and take a week or so to arrive. A rush order boosts the shipping to cost almost as much as the shoes.

I’ve had it. I’ve ordered a year’s worth of shoes, glue, clips, and spare tools. No more waiting on orders and losing weeks to waiting on package.

The Amazing Bay Mare(tm) appears to have figured out how to not only get her grazing muzzle off, but also how to pull shoes off within 72 hours of them being glued to her feet. My farrier has applied the shoes twice, and both times she has gotten them off. Best guess is that she is over-reaching, hitting the back of the shoe, and eventually ripping them off.

The first set of shoes came off almost immediately. One was found in her stall, the other in the pasture after mowing. The second time the shoes were lose within 36 hours. A day after the shoes were applied, I went to the barn. The barn manager, with a very straight face, told me that her shoes were off again. I nearly fainted. Not a good joke after working so hard to keep them on. He joked that maybe I should use some duct tape to keep the shoes one… After I brought her in from the pasture, cleaning her feet revealed that the shoes were indeed loose. So I took his advice, and duct taped the back of the shoes. Repeating this kept the shoes on for an additional three days.

If you have never watched the Holy Grail, then you have missed out on one of the classics of British humour. Here, for your viewing enjoyment, is a link to an abbreviated version of the movie created with Legos.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail