22 Month Old Paso Fino Colt

Background:

We went to see a Colt who was being sold as a possible Stallion prospect, by a person who had too many horses and needed to sell two. The owner had owned the Colt about three months, never had a Paso Fino before, and knew nothing about the breed.

When my husband and I saw how thin the Colt was, and how neglected his feet were, we talked it over with the owner and explained that the Colt would need corrective shoeing, and was NOT, in our opinion, a Stallion prospect. The Colt exhibited no gait whatsoever. We made an offer, it was accepted, and we brought him home on January 27, 2001.

We immediately took photos of his hind feet and sent copies to both our veterinarian (an equine specialist), and our master farrier, who often work together on cases like this. We heard back from our Vet, right away. He asked that the Colt be brought up to the clinic for possible X-rays as there was a lot of swelling present on both hind coronary bands, which might be indicative of ringbone formation. We made an appointment and delivered the Colt to the clinic a week later, on Feb 15, 2001.

By this time we had the Colt almost three weeks. He was doing well on his new diet, and much of the coronary swelling had subsided. After an examination. it was decided that no X-rays were needed. The Colt should be trimmed and shod with extra outside "bench" or "edge" on the insides of both hind shoes, and the shoes should extend past the heels and not be cut off, to end at the heel (as a normal shoe would).

The reason for the extended edge is to support and encourage growth of the hoof wall to be where it SHOULD be. The reason for the extra heel length on the shoe is to help keep the feet and joints more properly aligned, as well as for posterior support for joints that had been misaligned for at least a year.

About The Trim Photos:

The close-up (black background) photo of the left hind shows bloody bruising from tears inside the hoof caused by abnormal joint and hoof angles. These areas did not actually bleed while being trimmed... this is accumulated "old" blood that looks particularly fresh on white hoofs.

About The Shod Photos:

Due to diminishing daylight the evening the shoes were set, the shod photos were taken two days later. The first steps on the "new feet" proved a bit difficult, as the Colt was "crossing over", or "two-tracking" with both hind feet, on every step. We thought the Colt might interfere, or cut his inside pasterns with the extra inside edge of the shoes and need to wear bell boots, but he soon seemed to get the hang of it, and was walking fine after a few trips up and down our driveway. He has not had any problems and continues to improve, even gaiting at times. One more item to note is the difference in hip height. When we first got the Colt, the highest point on his back was his withers. Now, even though much hoof length was removed, hip height was increased by proper joint alignment.

Prognosis:

Weare extreamly pleased with the amount of correction acheived with this first shoeing. The full correction will take approx. eight to twelve months. The next shoeing will take place on or before April 24, 2001.

Comments may be placed on the BB or on this page . Specific questions for Terry please email