Horse has pain in shoulder, mine is lower.

[radman]

Shoulder problems are really quite rare in horses. By far, the knee, ankle and hoof regions are much more common. Find a decent horse vet who is capable of proper x-rays, and can do a good exam with possible nerve blocks to diagnose the problem. You will want a good physical exam including evaluation of gait, hoof testers (kind of like a large pair of pliers for squeezing the hoof) and proper nerve blocks if needed. Once the area of pain has been localized then the proper x-rays can be taken - if needed. A through workup takes time and patience. Most horse lameness is musculoskeletal in origin and not due to a nerve injury or problem.

 

[TerryinMD]

Mike,

Ugh!! I know the area. Twelve years ago I commuted between Atlanta, GA and Rockville, MD for 6 months before moving back to this area. I flew into BWI and had to drive to Rockville. Took the back roads to avoid as much traffic and construction.

When we were looking for a new home, we had to move out to Western Maryland to have some property and afford something decent. At first, the stupid realtors showed us nothing but townhomes. Hell, my first garden on our current property was bigger than most lots in the DC area!! Ack!! Bad memories!! /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Hey, drifted off the subject again.... what was it.... oh, yeah - horses. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Terry

 

[dmccarty]

CowBoyDoc, Mike, and others, you guys had it right on the nose. So to speak. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

We had another vet check the horse today. I had mentioned your comments to my wife who passed them on to the stable and vet. The problem was the last shoeing the horse received. That was also when the problem started. The hoof was filed so that the horse was walking on "tip toes". A furrier will be out Weds to level the hoof and reshoe....

What REALLY irritates me is that this was deliberate. The Pebbles was moved to a new stable a month or so ago. The OLD stable owner was trying to steal the horse. She asked my wife a couple times to bring the title for the horse to her. Yeah right. The old owner has been playing other games as well. I think she set this up to get us to sell the horse to her for nothing since it was "lame." The old stable has lost six or so boarders over the last months and the owner has been telling other people lies as well. She told one of the instructers to never come back since she was responsible for her, the stable owner, loosing the horse. And she did not mean the rent money either....

So guys, I owe you a more than a few beers. At least a good dinner! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thank you very much for the help. It is very much appreciated. I owe Mr. M.C. a dinner to for keeping TBN up and running. This place is a treasure. You can qoute me on that as well! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thanks again,
Dan, Wifey, and especially Pebbles the Horse! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

Glad it turned out ok Dan. Most of the time lameness in the front is in the feet. In the back it's more commonly the hocks. It takes all kinds in this world unfortunately. It wouldn't be the first time that kind of crap has happened.

 

[DAP]

Mike, they say the rule is 1 acre per hourse minimum. Did this work out ok for you? Or was it an absolute necessity to get 3 more acres, assuming the 3 new ones are for the horses also.

 

[MikePA]

I'll know for sure next year once the new 3 acres is in pasture. This will give us almost 4 acres for 3 horses, hopefully that'll work out well. Since the parcel was 3 acres (2.65 actually), that's what we had to buy.

 

[cowboydoc]

Dap,
One acre for horses is a little misleading. That doesn't necessarily mean that you can put three horses on three acres and they will be fine. It all depends on how the grass is. Under ideal conditions with good grass, good water to it, fertilizer every year, weed control, etc. then yes you can feed a horse per acre for about six months out of the year. NOW comes the catch. The other six months out of the year if you don't keep your animals off of it they can destroy it so the next year there isn't enough feed for it. What this means is that to keep them off the grass you either have to keep them penned away from it or you have to feed them pretty much free choice hay so they leave the grass alone. Usually you need to supplement the other six months of the year with grain as well.

 

[MikePA]

We plan on moving them between the 3 acre pasture and 2.5 acre pasture which should allow each of the pastures to recover and give us an opportunity to fertilize the idle pasture.