Someone's Feeling Good.... Maybe Too Good!

Here is a piccy of Huey's hoof after a trim today ... We had to take a bit more wall off.. BUT, instead of being able to insert a hoof nail the full length into his wall, its less than HALF way, and even less then that in some parts!..... YAY!! He's coming along very well.. And YAY for Biotin supplement and Hoof Aid.... the 2 prong attack is going great and he's healing well...

He's also feeling very good. He did not want to stand still waiting for the farrier to arrive today. He squealed, struck out, threw in a few bucks and half rears - all while I was holding him... After he fidgited his way through his trim, I decided to turn him loose in the arena for a free lunge session.

WELL... boy did he blitz it around the arena! Sand flying everywhere, and not a lame beat to be seen... I think I'll free lunge him atleast twice a week now - for a bit of fun and exercise. He had his tail up, snorting away the whole time. Show off!

Piccies of the hoon session:

Further Treatment Starts Today!!

Huey's Hoof Aid finally arrived yesterday! And I also picked up another new 6'9 combo rug for him today. This one has 180Grams of polyfill, so good for when it starts getting colder.

I started his treatment with it today ... Supposed to paint it on the sole, the frog, the entire wall, ans 1cm up the coronet into the hairline ... It's supposed to help with rapid growth of the hoof thru stimulation of the coronet band...

If it works, even a little, it would have been worth it .... He's still a bit sore. But seems to trot okay most of the time in the paddock. Gets a bit sore when he's hooning around the paddock at faster speeds though ... (Which is understandble - still a large portion of his hoof missing!!) ... There has definitely been some growth in the 4 weeks he's been on the Biotin supplement. So THAT was definitely worth the $65 outlay ...

So basically, I'm fixing his hoof in a 2-prong attack. Internally, via the biotin supplement he's been taking for near 4 weeks. And externally: via the Hoof Aid ointment. I've heard good things, and combined with Biotin, we should be back to normal sooner than expected!

He's also booked into the farrier on the 25th of October - so I'm looking forward to hearing what the guys have to say about the current state of his hoof...

Keep those fingers crossed he's improving!

We're Getting There!

We almost have full coverage over the ribs, yipeeeeeee!! Still a way to go (and his hip still protrudes a bit), but there's some massive improvement in 3 weeks. I've also had several people comment that he's a differrent horse now. Even his whole expression has changed. He's getting that sparkle back in his eye, and he's obviously starting to feel pretty good (hoof pain aside)... As you can see in both pics above and below, he likes his food! Who needs to breathe when hard feed and hay are a-plenty!? Not Huey, that's for sure. hehe.

His hoof is coming along too - there's been some new growth from where all the seedy-toe was dug out ... So that's great. I'm still waiting for the Hoof Aid to arrive. Let's just say I will never order from the same company again. But all that aside, he's starting to look great!! I can unrug, re-rug and do his hoof dressing without tying him now - I know I should, but oh well... He no longer tries to pull his hoof away from me. At first, it was a struggle to wrap it by myself as he was constantly putting his hoof away. Now, he's happy to leave it resting on my leg until I've wrapped it and put it back down. At the moment, he's just getting it wrapped and hte cavity packed with iodine soaked gauze. I gave it a copper sulphate irrigation the other day, but am no longer packing it with bluestone.

Annnnnd here he is modelling his brand new rug! A 6'9 purple/navy no fill combo. It fits him quite well, and has a long drop. I figure he'll need the extra drop once he puts on more weight and starts to biuld up muscle when back in work. He'd just finished his hard feed and was started to work through his hay. Spoilt pony!

And here he is, looking cute in black and white :o)

Quick Update..

Huey seemed to be movely quite freely today - he was trotting and cantering around the paddock with little to no soreness. As soon as I took Red out for a ride, he charged down to the back of the paddock to spend some time wooing the Arab mares next door to his paddock. haha.

I've also ordered him some "Hoof Aid" - which is supposed to be good for things like this and stimulates hoof growth through increased circulation of the coronet band ... For $28 including postage, it's well worth a shot!! Especially if it helps him recover quicker.

As I was coming back from the ride, Huey was still wooing the mares. As he saw us approaching, he threw up his head and called out, then came cantering across the paddock to greet us (maybe his best buddy Red moreso, hehe) ..... Seems that he's starting to feel much better, which is great. I put the iodine poultice on him again today, and I think I'll only wrap for a few more days - the cavity seems to be dry and clean now - so I may wait until the Hoof Aid arrives, and then send him out uncovered and let the hoof breathe. If the shoe doesn't stay on (and it's still very firmly attached) - I'll look at getting him an easy-boot for support.

Life is Hard

Have a look at him now!!

Still a ways to go yet. He still hasn't got full coverage over his ribs and hips - but he's starting to look fantastic ... I'm trimming and thinning his mane in stages (hence, why it looks choppy). Mainly so it doesn't annoy him - he's got enough to put up with right now, including me undressing and redressing his hoof poultice every couple of days ...

I think I'll get the farrier out again next weekend to check on the progress.... Huey doesn't seem to be lame anymore. He's understandably sore, but not lame and walking quite freely... So I'm very pleased about that - his road to recovery might be easier on him than I first thought.

His new rug hasn't arrived yet - a 6'9 navy/purple no fill combo. So at the moment he's wearing one of Red's no fills which is quite obviously too small for him, hehe ... But waterproof, and it's been raining quite alot lately. It will keep him warm and dry, so that's all that matters.

His whole expression has changed since arriving. When he got here, he looked tired and depressed. Now, he looks bright, and loves his scratches. He's also learnt very quickly that his demon-horse behaviour is not appreciated, and he's been an angel ever since. Occasional ear pinning, but a sharp 'AH' and he's over it ...

He's a very easy keeper. He's now getting 1 biccy of excellent quality lucurne hay, 2 and half scoops of oaten chaff, 3/4 scoop of rice bran, 3/4 scoop Barastock Cool Command (i LOVE this stuff); plus his 3 scoops of biotin supplement and 1 scoop of equilibrium blue......I wouldn't call this a huge amount of food, but he's steadily putting on weight and looking gorgeous!

He's such a good boy. Can't wait till he's fully recovered.