A good person... but not what I'd do.

This is a good person. She (I think it's a she?) has rescued two starving horses and is bringing them back to health. I'm not flaming her at all - but I don't think I'd go about it in the same way. Of course, what I would do if I were in her shoes is all based on what I've read on The Internet!, and we all know that Truth flows from The Internet!

First, she had the vet come out the day after she got the horse. That's good. But the vet floated teeth and gave shots the same day? And the vet said not to feed the horse any hay? Is that right? I'm pretty sure that no hay is a great way to colic a horse - but it's senior feed, maybe that makes a difference. But shots, possible sedation, and floating? No way.

Second, she got the mare's feet done. That's good. The front right before and after pics look good (although I'd love to see solar views and side views too). But I really don't like the way her trimmer did the back right. I've read (on The Internet!) some horror stories about thinning the walls too far up, and the basic reasoning for why that's a bad thing makes sense to me.

Basically, the only reason to rasp the flaring off the walls that high up on the hoof capsule is to make the hoof look good for the owner or trimmer. The only part of the hoof that the trimmer can affect* is the part that touches the ground - if you put a good mustang roll on that back hoof, and kept the roll up to date, the huge ugly flare would grow out on its own. And weakening the entire hoof capsule by thinning that flare isn't a good thing, and can possibly lead to bad things.

That's all just my opinion, of course. I'm really glad that person cares enough to rescue those horses, and I hope her dream of starting a rescue works out.

*Of course the trim, in a sense, affects the whole hoof. But what I mean - a good trim on an overgrown or distorted hoof isn't going to magically fix the entire capsule. It's going to give the capsule a chance to grow back in correctly. The part of the hoof that we see is the past, and there's not much we can do to change the past.