Veterinary and Farrier Evaluations

Today the vet came out and evaluated Highboy with me.  It is difficult to do a complete evaluation at the track, because the horse is very excited and adrenaline can cover a lot.  Now that Highboy is at Bit of Honey and getting used to the routine he is settling in a bit, and we were able to get a good baseline for where we are starting with him.

The first thing that is obvious with Highboy is that he is thin, about a 3 for the Body Condition Score.  You can see a great poster and explanation of how this score is determined at   thehorse.com   

Prominent hips and spine

He is thin, but also weak in his hind end, with a lameness I was unable to see at the track.  The lameness did not get worse with flexion tests, so that indicates it is not a joint problem in the hind legs.  Because of this weakness and the pain in his lumbosacral spine he is a prime candidate for rehabilitation, and fortunately he landed here where it is our specialty!  He is to be my personal horse, and we have no deadlines to meet, so Highboy can come along at his own pace, healing and learning as he goes.  Ideally we'll be jumping in a couple years, but to start we will be doing at least two months of ground work to address his body condition and back muscling.  

As discussed in the last post, race horses are usually fed a very high carbohydrate diet of oats.  Part of "letting a horse down" off the track is getting them onto a more balanced diet with more protein and amino acids so that they have the nutritional building blocks for muscle to get more weight on them.  The idea is that racing horses should be light and fast, not carrying extra weight around that will slow them down.  So, to increase Highboy's weight and put some muscle on him he is now eating 4 lbs of beet pulp (which is then soaked in water), 4 lbs of alfalfa pellets, 4 lbs of Safechoice, 2 cups of Platinum vitamins, and 2 scoops of Cosequin  glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate.  This is divided into two meals, and Highboy has unlimited access to grass hay, a salt block, and water at all times.  He is comically figuring out how to eat mash.  It was puzzling to him the first day he was here with lots of dribbling and smooshing of mash, but now he's getting the hang of it. 

Another change to be made is Highboy's feet.  He arrived in aluminum racing shoes on all four feet, but was a bit overdue for re-shoeing.  After talking with the vet and farrier we decided to see if he would tolerate (and hopefully thrive) barefoot.  If a horse can go barefoot it is often the better way to increase circulation through the foot, improve neurological proprioception, and keep the horse's gait more natural (or in Highboy's case return him to a more natural gait).  Some horses don't tolerate barefoot, especially if they are working on hard footing or rough terrain, and thoroughbreds are particularly notorious for having thin soles that just bruise and hurt if left barefoot.  Highboy's feet seem pretty good, so we're going to see if he can go barefoot for the added benefits.

LF hoof with aluminum racing shoe

LF after shoes are removed and hoof lightly trimmed

Highboy is also settling into the routine of stall at night, small paddock in the morning, and pasture in the afternoon.  This elaborate routine helps him mentally because after the regimented life of the track a routine feels familiar, but it also allows him a lot of walking and munching and gradual movement.  The idea is that he will slowly start to build up his own muscle as his diet can accommodate for it, and as I add in rehabilitation exercises we can target some of his weaker muscle groups.  In the meantime Highboy is learning about standing quietly at the hitch rail.  He's learning how to walk politely at my side, not dragging me around.  The beginning stages of this in-hand work feels like I'm practicing flying a 1000 lb kite that periodically tries to climb in my lap, but it gets better every time I handle him.  He got a little over-excited during the trotting in-hand when the vet was working on him, but we reestablished the space I needed to not be squished and finished just fine. 

The vet did a dental on Highboy, and fortunately his teeth looked pretty normal for his age of newly four years old.  One of the perks of getting a youngster!  When I palpated his jaw joint (the TMJ), he reacted quite strongly to having both sides touched at the same time, and he did the same when the vet checked.  This is an indicator of lower back pain, which Highboy also has.  To palpate each TMJ individually did not elicit a response, so that was good for his mouth.  His whole body is pointing to his lower back, saying that area is painful to touch as well as under muscled and weak.  His physical therapy will focus largely on this area, strengthening his core muscling and major muscle groups of the haunches so his spinal muscles can relax and unclench, hopefully reducing his pain and further allowing his haunches and core muscles to take the work load of carrying his body.