I was searching the archives when I wrote my last post and it got stuck to an old thread from 2003 so Im starting fresh. Thank you all for your encouraging words and sharing your wealth of information. You brought up so many issues that I hadnt even considered. Ive printed all your replies and Ill be checking out all the links, lists & references youve sent. It will also be good info to have on hand when we see the vet next Monday. The mention of IR, Cushings and Thyroid have me most concerned, I have to question why my vet didnt even bring this up, she just said overweight. Ill pose this to her on our next visit and feel out her position on it. If she isnt receptive to looking into it Ill find someone who is. I had a blood test done when I first brought him home (3yrs ago) as a baseline. I imagine if we did another something like this would show up. Ill be diligent about his diet this may be the single most important thing I can do for him.
Judy asked about the supplement Ive been giving him born to win by Purina. Ive been giving him that along with grass hay. Heres the info on it. http://horse.purinamills.com/products/born_to_win.asp Susan and Sky gave me several more options. I did get the vet to concede on the 2 weeks stall rest. For almost 4 days hes been on 4 of cool damp sand and he doesnt seem ouchy at all. She said we can start taking walks tonight. I agree that exercise is very important. Once I see him walking on solid ground again Ill be able to evaluate his progress. Karen, Ill insist on the xrays if I dont see improvement. I hadnt considered it earlier and it wasnt suggested. She did use a Hoof tester but didnt get much of a response. Ill be more observant next visit You all seemed to concur that a good trim was very important. Safi is almost always barefoot except for a couple of rough rocky campouts when my friends requested I shoe him so they wouldnt have to cut their trip short if we got into some trouble. I succumbed to the pressure and he didnt seem any worse off for it. After the ride we pulled the shoes and he was fine. That was almost a year ago, he hasnt had shoes since. Im not opposed to shoes, slippers, and boots but certainly Id prefer to go barefoot if its an option. Our Farrier usually comes out every 8-12 weeks. I was surprised by Safis growth cause it had been less than 3 weeks since his last trim. It seemed like an awful lot of growth in a short time. Also the way he was standing with his front legs sort of parked out made his foot look longer. Hes standing straight with his legs underneath him now. The new farrier is certified natural Balance and I believe he studied with Gene Ovnicks who Skye mentioned. Im also hookin up with Robyn she lives locally and can recommend her farrier, shes also been very successful in trimming her own horse who had problems. Ill be so busy reading and doing research I may not miss riding too much. I did sign up to audit the Liz Graves clinic here. What a shame that Safi will miss it, but well both benefit from it. Thanks again, for taking the time to respond I know how valuable time is and I appreciate you giving so much of yours. Janine n- Safi --------------------------------- Be a PS3 game guru. Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.
