Below is the
story of Barb and her 3 babies. I was called after the vet diagnosed Phoebe
as foundered and recommended films be taken. Barb had horses for years
(and fed only alfalfa hay/sweet feed for years as well!) but when her Phoebe
went down-her world came crashing to an end. This story is about all three
of her horses and the troubles she's had...I'll let it speak for itself...
"Let's talk Dudley, a mini I brought home to be a companion. The moment he
arrived it was apparent he had problems-he could not walk. I was told be a
vet and two farriers that it was just his conformation because minis have
certain issues.
So for two years I had him trimmed and would ask how does he look under
there? Because I trusted in their knowledge and years of experience, I
believed he was good. Then one day he stopped moving at all. Dudley
became sad and withdrawn. His feet were hot and just began to look "Not
right". He would hide out away from the other horses. Again I'd ask the
farrier what's up? Maybe he has an abscess they'd say so I'd soak his feet
trying anything to help him. With no relief in sight I became quite concerned.
Dudley, it turns out, did not have a conformation defect as I was led to
believe but had in fact become quite laminitic. He developed slipper toe but
I've never had any x-ray's taken of him. Nancy has been working on him for 7
months and it's so good to see him free-roaming without shoes or drugs! He's
happy and healthy and moving again! (Dudley used to hide from Nancy but
now he comes in by choice and waits his turn when he needs a little trim...oh
and of course his cookie when he's done!)
Then there's Willie, my 23 yr. Old thoroughbred who's shoes I had pulled
over 10 yrs. Ago. Getting the farrier to pull them was like being at the
dentist. I was told that because of his breed his feet would fall apart. (In
contrast Nancy says breeds don't matter-he has four feet right?) Well they
didn't fall apart but they did developed huge cracks -3 or 4 per hoof- and
split terribly. They were so bad-from the coronet all the way down to the toe
and all around the hoof. When I asked the farrier why I was told this was the
way he wore his feet-his wear pattern they called it stating each horse has his
or her own unique wear. In other words-some horses chip-some split and his
was to crack. Some of his cracks were wide enough to put a coin into. I
really believed it was Willie's way of wearing his feet down. Oh yeah-let's
not forget his club foot. What the h*** was that foot trimmed as? A stilt?
But we are again on the right track with Nancy's natural hoofy hoof trim.
After several months of regaining correct balance and applying a mustang
roll he looks better. The cracks have begun to disappear and he moves more
balanced-it's such a difference.
I saved the best for last; phoebe my beautiful 5 yr. Old sweet arab-cross who
stole my heart at birth. She came to me in bad shape but ended up a horse
lovers dream.
One morning I found her in the field lame and unhappy. She was not the
phoebe I was used to; waiting at the gate with a whinny and a big kiss. After I
cried and gathered myself, I made a call to the vet. While waiting for him I
examined her further and realized she had some type of trauma to her body.
Then I found three boards in her stall completely kicked off the wall. Maybe
she was cast-but her pain was of great concern. The vet arrived and gave me
the news that would change our lives forever. I remember him saying 12-18
months and feeling heartbroken. He said my wonderful sweet girl was
foundered. While I stood in shock and tried to question how and why he
proceeded to explain how we would fix her. Lots of drugs and corrective
shoeing, and lets not forget the stall rest! This was unacceptable to me as
well as phoebe. So after sitting in a dark stall, holding her and weeping
uncontrollably, I knew i had to find another opinion. Someone out there
knows more and feels our pain...i cannot leave this horse in nor can i drug
and shoe her...i needed to find another way...
I made a few phone calls to friends and was told of someone who does a
natural trim and is a bit of an expert in the knowledge of healing hooves. I
remember thinking does that mean founder too, because you would think your
vet knows all-what he says must be law!
But that first meeting with Nancy gave me such hope and I knew by the way
she handled Phoebe and talked to us both that we were gonna beat this. (By
the way, Phoebe liked her right away and that was important to me!)
It was not easy, walking buckets of water to her out in the pasture while she
lay for hours at a time. I kept trying to get to her to move, so she could heal as
I was told. We struggled through that first set back when I was told on her
second trim that she had sole penetration. "Don't pick it-don't even look at
it...just love her" Nancy said so i did. What was the point in getting an x-ray
if you could see the bone sticking out at the point of the frog? But Nancy
fitted her in boots and that got her moving some. We prayed and prayed,
calling Nancy every other day with tears in my voice. After 7 months she is
only getting better. She has a normal looking sole now and her "healing
angle" is 1/2 inch from the toe. She trots in the field and hangs out with the
guys...happy on her new feet. I've start to ride her lightly now and I hope our
nightmare is behind us. I've learned so very much from Nancy. We must all
listen to our horses, feed them differently, and keep them in a more natural
way. We did this all without drugs, shoes or stall rest. There is hope and it
can be done...Phoebe is living proof. Please pay attention to what your
horses feet are telling you! If you listen...you will hear them.
Nancy, I am so impressed and grateful for all you have taught me. You stayed
with me in some really dark moments and helped me keep it together. I know
Phoebe's pain was your pain: you carried her in your heart and prayers. I
called you every time the pain of watching her walk or not walk got too
unbearable and that call always helped! To look out the window checking on
Phoebe and seeing her having a bad day used to make me physically ill. How
did these horses ever get along without you? I have peace of mind now in
knowing that when I call you for help you'll be there. And the honesty when
you didn't know-but would search for the answer...my god, where would we
be had we not found you? Thank you for your patience, knowledge and
determination to get us all fixed...god bless.
Barb-Phoebe-Willie & Dudley
story of Barb and her 3 babies. I was called after the vet diagnosed Phoebe
as foundered and recommended films be taken. Barb had horses for years
(and fed only alfalfa hay/sweet feed for years as well!) but when her Phoebe
went down-her world came crashing to an end. This story is about all three
of her horses and the troubles she's had...I'll let it speak for itself...
"Let's talk Dudley, a mini I brought home to be a companion. The moment he
arrived it was apparent he had problems-he could not walk. I was told be a
vet and two farriers that it was just his conformation because minis have
certain issues.
So for two years I had him trimmed and would ask how does he look under
there? Because I trusted in their knowledge and years of experience, I
believed he was good. Then one day he stopped moving at all. Dudley
became sad and withdrawn. His feet were hot and just began to look "Not
right". He would hide out away from the other horses. Again I'd ask the
farrier what's up? Maybe he has an abscess they'd say so I'd soak his feet
trying anything to help him. With no relief in sight I became quite concerned.
Dudley, it turns out, did not have a conformation defect as I was led to
believe but had in fact become quite laminitic. He developed slipper toe but
I've never had any x-ray's taken of him. Nancy has been working on him for 7
months and it's so good to see him free-roaming without shoes or drugs! He's
happy and healthy and moving again! (Dudley used to hide from Nancy but
now he comes in by choice and waits his turn when he needs a little trim...oh
and of course his cookie when he's done!)
Then there's Willie, my 23 yr. Old thoroughbred who's shoes I had pulled
over 10 yrs. Ago. Getting the farrier to pull them was like being at the
dentist. I was told that because of his breed his feet would fall apart. (In
contrast Nancy says breeds don't matter-he has four feet right?) Well they
didn't fall apart but they did developed huge cracks -3 or 4 per hoof- and
split terribly. They were so bad-from the coronet all the way down to the toe
and all around the hoof. When I asked the farrier why I was told this was the
way he wore his feet-his wear pattern they called it stating each horse has his
or her own unique wear. In other words-some horses chip-some split and his
was to crack. Some of his cracks were wide enough to put a coin into. I
really believed it was Willie's way of wearing his feet down. Oh yeah-let's
not forget his club foot. What the h*** was that foot trimmed as? A stilt?
But we are again on the right track with Nancy's natural hoofy hoof trim.
After several months of regaining correct balance and applying a mustang
roll he looks better. The cracks have begun to disappear and he moves more
balanced-it's such a difference.
I saved the best for last; phoebe my beautiful 5 yr. Old sweet arab-cross who
stole my heart at birth. She came to me in bad shape but ended up a horse
lovers dream.
One morning I found her in the field lame and unhappy. She was not the
phoebe I was used to; waiting at the gate with a whinny and a big kiss. After I
cried and gathered myself, I made a call to the vet. While waiting for him I
examined her further and realized she had some type of trauma to her body.
Then I found three boards in her stall completely kicked off the wall. Maybe
she was cast-but her pain was of great concern. The vet arrived and gave me
the news that would change our lives forever. I remember him saying 12-18
months and feeling heartbroken. He said my wonderful sweet girl was
foundered. While I stood in shock and tried to question how and why he
proceeded to explain how we would fix her. Lots of drugs and corrective
shoeing, and lets not forget the stall rest! This was unacceptable to me as
well as phoebe. So after sitting in a dark stall, holding her and weeping
uncontrollably, I knew i had to find another opinion. Someone out there
knows more and feels our pain...i cannot leave this horse in nor can i drug
and shoe her...i needed to find another way...
I made a few phone calls to friends and was told of someone who does a
natural trim and is a bit of an expert in the knowledge of healing hooves. I
remember thinking does that mean founder too, because you would think your
vet knows all-what he says must be law!
But that first meeting with Nancy gave me such hope and I knew by the way
she handled Phoebe and talked to us both that we were gonna beat this. (By
the way, Phoebe liked her right away and that was important to me!)
It was not easy, walking buckets of water to her out in the pasture while she
lay for hours at a time. I kept trying to get to her to move, so she could heal as
I was told. We struggled through that first set back when I was told on her
second trim that she had sole penetration. "Don't pick it-don't even look at
it...just love her" Nancy said so i did. What was the point in getting an x-ray
if you could see the bone sticking out at the point of the frog? But Nancy
fitted her in boots and that got her moving some. We prayed and prayed,
calling Nancy every other day with tears in my voice. After 7 months she is
only getting better. She has a normal looking sole now and her "healing
angle" is 1/2 inch from the toe. She trots in the field and hangs out with the
guys...happy on her new feet. I've start to ride her lightly now and I hope our
nightmare is behind us. I've learned so very much from Nancy. We must all
listen to our horses, feed them differently, and keep them in a more natural
way. We did this all without drugs, shoes or stall rest. There is hope and it
can be done...Phoebe is living proof. Please pay attention to what your
horses feet are telling you! If you listen...you will hear them.
Nancy, I am so impressed and grateful for all you have taught me. You stayed
with me in some really dark moments and helped me keep it together. I know
Phoebe's pain was your pain: you carried her in your heart and prayers. I
called you every time the pain of watching her walk or not walk got too
unbearable and that call always helped! To look out the window checking on
Phoebe and seeing her having a bad day used to make me physically ill. How
did these horses ever get along without you? I have peace of mind now in
knowing that when I call you for help you'll be there. And the honesty when
you didn't know-but would search for the answer...my god, where would we
be had we not found you? Thank you for your patience, knowledge and
determination to get us all fixed...god bless.
Barb-Phoebe-Willie & Dudley
Phoebe & Willie
Dec. 07
Dec. 07
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Mission Impossible!
9 mos. after sole
penetration
9 mos. after sole
penetration
