Logan

Logan had several homes before coming off the dealer truck in February 2006. The owner loved him and purchased him after a three week trial period. It was agreed that I would trim his feet, they looked like they had not been trimmed in months.

Logan started to trip a lot after the first two weeks of riding and seemed to slightly favor his left forelimb. The owner and I decided to clean trax Logan after his first trim in February as he had a lot of infection in his frogs and white line. Soon after the clean trax soak he popped an abscess in his right front. This was why he had been favoring his left front as he had a slow festering abscess in his right front.

I started the owner on a rehab program to nurse his feet back to health. The vet conducted a lameness exam and no major issues were seen in his radiographs. I concluded that he had extremely weak frogs, digital cushions and lateral cartilages and would need a month of hand walking and light riding in boots and pads. This would stimulate the back 2/3rds of the foot without inducing trauma and would strengthen his soft tissue structures. The vet and the owner discussed shoes but the owner preferred to continue with a natural approach to rehab her barefoot horse.

Logan was hand walked for 2 weeks in boots and pads and graduated to light 'riding' in boots and pads during the next month; no trail riding was allowed. We clean traxed again about 2 more times as a preventative and to aid in keeping bacteria and fungus at bay. Desitin was applied in the central sulcus on a daily basis which helped to close it up.

In June Logan's feet were looking great and we decided to pour pea gravel in his paddock by the water troughs and in the muddy areas. The pea gravel minimized the mud in his environment and helped to toughen up his structures. He also loved to roll and walk in it! Logan is currently being worked 4 days a week and no longer trips or stumbles.