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Tess - Ridden Track
Name: Tess
Livery Type: Ridden
Arrival Date: 3rd March 2023
Age: 13
Breed: Cob
Height: 14.3hh
Medical Issues: None
Rehabilitation: Hoof and body, lack of muscle
Tess is here for standard ridden livery at our second yard on the woodland track. She has a history of EMS and Laminitis but has been barefoot for some time prior to her arrival.
1st April 2023:
Tess arrived lacking some muscle along her back and bottom which makes her back look quite dipped. She also generally lacks muscle over her shoulder and bottom, so we're keen to see some more muscle devolvement.
Feet wise, you can see she has quite a weak hoof wall and poor quality hoof horn which has broken off in places due to increased movement and self trimming. Therefore, she is missing some water line and her natural weight bearing points at the front of the toe. Unfortunately this mean she is weight bearing on the sole entirely as opposed to her natural weight bearing points, which can cause some soreness and discomfort. From the side view, you can see some of her outer hoof wall has broken off with more movement being introduced.
25th April 2023:
Tess is making great progress on track and is already starting to build some muscle along her back and bottom. We hope this will continue to improve with a species appropriate diet and additional daily movement in place.
1st April vs 25th April 2023:
6th June 2023:
Body update - Tess has gained more muscle along her top line, over her bottom and around her shoulders and has also gained some healthy weight too. We're really pleased to see she has bulked up to a nice weight and is gaining muscle all over her body, without the need for grass or bucket feeds.
She still has a very long way to go with her feet, and we are seeing slow rate of growth between trims at the moment. We refer to this as the hoofs being 'stuck' which tends to happen when a horse has previously been shod, or in this case, the diet needs addressing. We plan to continue with regular 6 week trims to keep the hoof balanced and she will remain on track with on adlib meadow hay. This tends to just be a waiting game.
29th August 2023 - Hoof Update:
With the increased daily movement that track life brings, some of her hoof wall and waterline snapped off which unfortunately meant she has been weight bearing on the sole instead of the weight bearing points found at the toe.
Although she has managed okay in the woodland with more forgiving ground, she has been sore over harder or stonier surfaces.
With a species appropriate diet in place and no access to grass, you can see we are starting to see some subtle improvements in the overall health of her hoof and hoof wall growth.
Her heels have widened nicely and her frog has lengthened also. Although the outer hoof wall is growing slowly, we are seeing new growth and she very nearly has an intact waterline at the toe which should continue to improve over the next few months.
Changes like this are often timely but the improvements in hoof quality, soundness and general function will be well worth the wait.
7th January 2024 - Hoof Update:
Tess had her most recent trim two days ago and there are some very positive improvements to note. From the photos below you can see that the horn quality has improved nicely and the previous cracks and chunks missing have also grown out. The outer hoof wall has grown down with an intact water line and she now has weight bearing points that have full contact with the ground.
You should also be able to see an event line three quarters of the way down the outer hoof wall, marking her arrival and a change in diet or management. Although her progress has been slow going and she is several months behind what a 'typical' hoof tends to grow in 10 months, she is healthier, sound and enjoying life which is what matters most. We're looking forward to updating you in a month or two after some more positive changes.
March 2024 - Body Update:
March 2025 - Update:
When a horse has been in a compromised state for a very long time, it normally takes just as long to undo the damage that wreaked havoc on their bodies. It isn’t as simple as waiting approximately 9 months for a new hoof capsule to grow; we truly do have to peel back the layers one by one, allowing them to heal. Hoof pathologies such as Tess’s are not just the result of a ‘small bout of Lami’ but years of management that put strain on her body from head to tail.
So, whilst everything’s healing, it is still all incredibly fragile. We describe this as ‘widening the line’. The line represents the overall health of your horse and the life, management or dietary stresses that their bodies can cope without largely compromising their health. The thinner the line, the sicker the horse. When we refer to widening the line, we’re referring to positive diet or management changes. Now, imagine a course of antibiotics is wider than the health line of your horse. What then? This is exactly what has happened to Tess recently.
This past year, Tess has had some breathing issues, a small injury to her lip and some digestive problems amongst other things like wormer. Injury aside, these are the type of things that crop up when a horse begins to heal, peeling one layer back at a time. However, when antibiotics, steroids, health bumps or hay changes come with too much strain, it does further compromise an already compromised horse. In a healthy horse, these once every now and then things shouldn’t come with any significant repercussions.
Despite the set back with her hooves, she has maintained a really nice weight and no longer shows signs of EMS. She does have ongoing gut and breathing issues that we are working to get to the bottom of, that we believe are two reasons her hooves aren't wonderful. Tess is the only horse in our care experiencing these issues too.
Whilst we know this is just a set back and to trust in the progress, we wanted to share with you the reality of healing. It is ugly, rarely straight forward, often stressful and always comes with it’s own set of surprises. We know that Tess is on a species appropriate diet, living in a herd, getting high-quality hoof care and is moving every day. There are some things we want to tweak to help her continue heading in the right direction, but ultimately, we know that providing her with the time and patience to heal fully is just as vital as providing her with the environment to do it in. Setbacks happen. Reflect and restart.
