Good news, bad news.

With all the craziness that's been going on in my life (good crazy, not bad) it's about time that I throw myself 100% into horse ownership. Because of the timing of his purchase it still hasn't completely settled in that he's MINE and I will admit to leaning on my training wheels more than a few times out of fear of screwing up my horse. Case in point, I wanted to take a MUCH more proactive role in his care, starting now. He's been on and off sound since I bought him. I wanted to figure out why and although I had come up with my own conclusions of what I thought the best course of actions was to take, my sophomoric prognosis needed some backing. More so, we needed to make sure that any of the really scary boxes couldn't be checked while we evaluated the possibilities (talk about a rabbit hole).

We decided before we did any more farrier-related adjustments, we should have a few xrays taken of the problem foot. Of course, the idea of this happening sent me into a tailspin of worry, but I knew I had to find out one way or another. Would I be kicking myself for not getting a more thorough PPE? Would he be fine? Would he ever be sound? *This is just a small sampling of the mind of an anxious-worrier. We loaded him up with another horse that was going for a follow-up appt and headed over on Wednesday morning. Always the consummate gentleman, Riley was more than happy to keep his squirrel-y travel companion calm. Two cute (flashy) chestnuts on board!!!

We arrived at the clinic, checked in and waited for the vet to arrive. She gave us a call when she pulled up and told us to unload Riley first. It started down-pouring and we hurried to unload him. He (of course) trotted soundly across the driveway into the clinic, grrrrr. I wish I had taken photos of how he acted at the clinic. He was soooo quiet the vet asked me if I was sure he was only 4. He reacted positively for the hoof testers (we knew he would) and the tech set him up on blocks for the x-ray. He stood perfectly still while the tech positioned his front two feet on 4 inch blocks of wood, then proceeded to stand there (at one point, with a back foot cocked) as if this was a new party trick he was showing off. He's such a silly guy. I could hardly think straight and felt a little nauseous waiting to see the picture, but much to my relief everything looked (again to my uneducated eye) normal. Next she took a solar view to check for any gas lines or anything else creepy. Again, everything looked normal and she couldn't even find a spot of infection/abscess. Phew. But now what? She asked me what my plan was for him and I explained that I don't have an agenda and that all I care about is getting him sound in whatever time frame that takes. She seemed happy with that answer and recommended pulling his shoes, getting a trim with that in mind and letting his hoof grow out. This was the plan I was hoping for. With my limited experience with hoof maintenance, it was always my gut feeling that he needed time to grow a better hoof. His back feet are lovely, plenty of heel, nice angles with strong, concave soles with sturdy walls. I know he has it in him to have decent feet!

We packed him up and on the ride home I called the new farrier to update him. He originally said he wanted to see the film and speak to the vet (I think he was assuming there would be a more serious issue), but he said he liked her assessment and that when he came out, we'd come up with a game plan. The new farrier, we'll call him P, came highly recommended from the woman I board from and is known for being very good with problem hooves and barefoot trimming (one of her horses is barefoot and the other suffers from very similar problems to Riley). He did a thorough assessment of his feet and again asked me what my plans were. He agreed that pulling the shoes to let his hoof grow was the best idea. He warned me that it can be very hard on owners to see their horse gimping around, and he asked me if I was going to be okay with that for awhile. He also said (as did the vet) to keep him in work as long as he's relatively comfortable. Relatively, because he might be ginger on certain types of footing, but to be mindful of that and try to accommodate as much as possible. Obviously, neither suggested that I do anything over gravel, concrete, or high impact for awhile. P said that his foot might not show any real signs of change for a few trims, but that he wants to keep him on a 4 week cycle (since his hoof is growing at an alarming rate). His rudimentary assessment was that Riley has thin soles (probably a result of all the wet weather we've been having + grass), he is flat-footed, which could likely improve, and that because of the way he was previously shod, his heels have collapsed furthering the flat footed-ness. Here are some photos post-trim:

His feet look quite different from one another here. They're actually more symmetrical in real life. You can see the growth line from when he moved to the new barn in March.

RF, cross section. Just to give you an idea of just how horribly flat-footed he is.

Side view LF. The growth on his RF looks really weird in this picture, but looks less dramatic in a close up. A pretty distinct change in the angles of growth over the last 4 months.

Solar LF. This is the problem hoof. The top arrow indicates where two abscesses have blown out. The arrow on the left indicates a soft area that my old farrier dug into to check for an abscess. He was understandably sensitive to the hoof testers there. I think there's hope for this hoof yet!

RF side view. Poor under run heels. It will be really interesting when the balance changes over the next few trims.

RF solar. Flat as a mid-western girl's hair.

My wild OTTB, snoozing before his treatment.

So for now, the plan is to get him on Farrier's Formula (double strength), Venice Turpentine for soles and trims every 4 weeks. I'm thinking about getting him some Delta boots for riding, but I might hold off until after the next trim. While I wait for the turpentine, etc to arrive, he's getting Keratex almost everyday. His turnout situation has changed slightly to give him some reprieve from the footing/being chased/weather, so he's in during the day and out at night for a few weeks. Hopefully we'll see some decent improvement. I don't have any plans to ride him right now. He's far too sore, but we'll re-evaluate next week... in the meantime I'm going to see how he does in the sand arena (it's nice footing) and just work with him on the ground. I'll try to take some video to show how he's moving. I don't think that being out of shape will help his cause any so there's no reason he can't develop a little fitness, and it will be another way for Riley and I to strengthen our bond.

All things considered (he's literally had 6-8 rides on him ever), I think he looks really nice:

Riley -- 4 year old OTTB.

 And for a little comparison, before and after photos. Riley was found at the track sitting in stall getting pooped on by pigeons for a month or so after he didn't show any promise as a racehorse. He was a hot mess right after the track!

Please send any suggestions you have our way. I'm so curious to get feedback! Also, any fun non-riding related activities for us would be great too. Luckily, there's a barn full of horses for me to ride, so hopefully I won't lose all my ability over the next few months.