Sydney Has a Hole in His Hoof

But at least he has a shoe back on.

I am trying not to be grouchy about this whole thing, but I've not been very successful. It just seems as though when I get one of my horses ready to move up a level or move on to something bigger and better, something happens to set us back.

Oh, well. Moving on …

The area of the sole and wall that Dr. Tolley dug out has healed well with no sign of heat or abscess, but we're not back to work quite yet. On Thursday, I took Sydney to a farrier across town, my own was unavailable. Brad Allen is a long time farrier in this area and now operates out of his own shop, Rosedale Farrier Supply. He sells farrier equipment as well as feed, tack, and other things like fly spray and Betadine. In the back of his store, he has a sizable space for farrier work. It's quite nice with large mats spread across the floor, a power fan, and most importantly, shade!

He cut off Sydney's wrap and closely examined the work Dr. Tolley had done. While the hole wasn't tender per se, the whole sole was very sore. Brad didn't even need to use the hoof testers to get a reaction; his finger pressure alone achieved that.

Without a shoe to keep Sydney's sole off the ground, he is more than likely bruised. While the wrap was essential for fighting any infection, it also kept the foot wet and sweaty which contributed to the soreness. Even though he had an Easyboot on, he was still bearing weight directly on the sole of his foot. Brad felt that once Sydney got his foot back off the ground and the hoof dried out, he should return to soundness fairly quickly.

When I checked on Sydney last night, he was much sounder than the day before. I turned him out for the first time in two weeks. He enjoyed a mad gallop and then did some trotting around. While I cringed at the slight head bob, at least he wanted to move around. While at his lamest, he hadn't wanted to walk around very much and a trot was a no go.

I suspect that I might be able to do a light ride today. I'll pop him on the lunge line for a few minutes first to see. Luckily (?) we've had extremely hot and dry weather (100℉ with 10% humidity) which is helping to dry out and harden his foot.

I can easily slide my thumb into the hole.

That's a lot of nail holes; this shoe has been on and off three times in the last two weeks. My farrier is scheduled to return in less than 4 weeks. I have no idea how how he'll nail on the next shoe.

From the underside, everything looks great. The slight orange color is just staining from the Betadine soaked gauze.

He's back in bell boots. I can only pray that he can keep this shoe on. if he catches it from behind and tears it off, there will be nothing to re-attach it to.

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