| Lameness in Your Mini Horse Lameness is an area where skipping good veterinary diagnosis and expensive diagnostic procedures can be a mistake. Always insist on nerve blocks, even when you, or even your vet, think you're sure of what the problem is. Abnormal findings on radiographs don't necessarily correlate with pain. There are also many causes of pain that don't show up on a radiograph. Radiographs should only be done after the painful area has been localized by correct nerve blocks. Countless horses have injections, shoeing changes and other therapies that don't work because the problem was never diagnosed. Speaking of lameness, a common cause is trying to cut corners on farrier visits. The horse's considerable weight is balanced on a very small surface area. The system works amazingly well if you think about it, but it won't for long if you skimp on foot care. Save here by pulling shoes when the horse isn't being worked, or using boots instead of shoes, but don't stretch out the trim interval. Hoof or joint problems caused by neglect are expensive. They're also 100% preventable. |
