Good News!

As usual I had gotten myself way more worried than necessary (but with good reason... I can't help but be paranoid about foot problems in horses). Gwen got x-rays today and her feet actually look pretty good (considering the amount of rotation she has!). My farrier has done an excellent job with her. :-) No more rotation, no indication of a navicular problem (thank goodness!) and interestingly enough the vet I saw today said he didn't see anything on the old x-ray films either that looked like a fracture to the navicular bone. So... I don't know.

Gwen's problem is *probably* that some bit of sand or dirt or who knows what has worked its way into the separated area along the hoof wall, on the inside heel of her left front foot, and caused an infection. Her foot is packed full of smelly pink antibiotic stuff, and I have medicine to give her for the next week. Her foot's all wrapped up and has to stay clean and wrapped til she gets her shoes put back on Tuesday morning (which will then cover that separated area...the separation has always been there).

I know only horsey people will understand that...it's pretty serious stuff. Horse feet are full of bones, and there's not much room for swelling. When a horse founders, the swelling causes the coffin bone to rotate downward, which, if bad enough, can end up coming through the sole of the foot (this is why my first horse Thunder died). It's a truly horrid thing, and an awful name for a bone anyway. There's also another bone, the navicular, that is prone to problems in some horses...so far looks like Gwen is ok there.

So here's hoping for a full recovery, or at least as full as she can get considering all the pre-existing problems. Her feet look SO much better in the new x-rays than in the old ones. The bone angle hasn't changed but the way her hoof has been re-shaped and re-angled, it looks so much healthier now, and there's a lot more distance between the sole and the tip of the coffin bone (thank goodness!!!)

"She's got a lot of sole," the vet said approvingly, and I think that's true no matter how you spell it... :-)