The Vet visits the Drafts of Ferrell Hollow Farm!

I called my specialist vet, Dr. Wright, of TN Equine Hospital, out to take x-rays of Siegfried, Buddy and Slim today. The results we found were surprising to both of us!

Siegfried, 23 y/o Percheron, has had a history of chronic laminitis for 20 years, and I thought that is what had been plaguing him lately, despite a strict management for Insulin Resistant horses and some very expensive supplements! X-rays of his front feet show significant high and low ringbone, with his left front foot the worst. X-rays of his hocks showed only minor arthritis. While I has thrilled that laminitis is not an issue right now, I was crushed that the ringbone was so signifcant and has caused him so much discomfort as of late :(

Slim, 22 y/o Percheron, has been showing signs of significant arthritis since he arrived in late December and has been difficult to trim on his front feet. X-rays of his front feet show severe high and low ringbone, the vet said one of the worst cases he has seen :(

Buddy, 11 y/o Percheron, I already knew he had a right hind fetlock and hock fracture with severe osteoarthritis, but I wanted x-rays done to see where we stand right now. He has responded well to the joint supplement I have had him on and has had many more sound days than lame days! X-rays of his front feet show a chip in the left front fetlock, which was surprising news :(

Mary, 26 y/o STB, has severe hoof canker and has been seen by Dr. Wright more than once for it over the past year. I wanted him to assess where she is now and discussed a possible new topical treatment that might be available to help her.

While having the vet out usually results in a large out of pocket expense, in this case, provided much needed diagnostic tools to not only diagnose the horses issues, but alter how they are managed, in this case with supplementation changes and new anti-inflammatory drugs to get them as comfortable as possible when they are getting their feet trimmed.

Ringbone is bone growth in the pastern or coffin joint of a horse, and in severe cases, the growth can encircle the bones, giving ringbone it's name! It is not uncommon to see degrees of ringbone in large horses who have had long working careers. It is often difficult to return a horse with ringbone to soundness and in many it leads to retirement.