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- 2 yo Juli on Thyme and Jocelyn
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- Thyme and Trainer Debbie Smartt
Years ago, our thoroughbred Thyme, came to us in the midst of recovering from starvation. His vet showed us he had arthritis in his hocks and suggested he only be ridden gently on trails, no more than 1 hour a week. With 24 hour turnout and flax to help with the inflammation, Thyme was sound within a few months.
A year later, with his weight and health restored, he began re-training as a hunter 6 days a week. During all this time, he was sound on bare feet. Instead of wearing down his feet, he was growing hoof so fast, he needed trimming every 2 weeks. At the time, we had a master barefoot trimmer. Thyme was 14 years old, a gifted children’s horse for hunting and dressage (3rd level), bomb proof, and I sold him that summer to a young girl.
3 years later, Thyme was dumped at our friend’s stable. He was out of his mind, frightened of everything, underweight, lame with navicular on his front feet, and messed up on his hind end with arthritis. Note: it is amazingly difficult to cause navicular of this severity in such a short amount of time. This farrier not only did a very poor trim, he also attached shoes that were too small for his feet. The combination was destructive to Thyme’s health.
Our friend hoped she could restore his feet and use him in her lessons program. She successfully helped Thyme’s mind calm down and to put on weight. However, she was unable to provide the necessary environment and hoof trim required for healing navicular. After a year, Thyme showed little improvement and her vet said to retire him. So, he was given back to us. Hurray!
Our 1st steps toward Thyme’s healing: remove the shoes, trim down the bars, put on 24 hour turnout, and encourage lots of movement. 2nd step: use EFT and SRH.
At first, without the shoes to help mask the pain, Thyme was even more lame. His bars had cut through the sole within less than an inch of his hoof wall, which was more than 3 times the length they should be, and very close to killing him. It was very simple for us to trim down the bars.
Although it was painful, removing the shoes was necessary to allow the hoof to properly expand and contact as Thyme moved. The more he moved, the more circulation would be able to activate his healing.
To further compound Thyme’s lameness, his soles were dropped, indicating his coffin bones were also dropped. Again, barefoot, lots of movement, and appropriate trimming can reverse this issue.
So, Thyme and I had a list of things to tap about: 1 – the pain; 2 – raising the coffin bones; 3 – raising the soles; 4 – letting the bars come down out of his hoof (when the bars aren’t trimmed, they grow up into the hoof and press on the navicular bone); 5 – reduce the inflammation on his navicular bones; 6 – recede the bars back to proper length (the pressure from too much bar caused them to cut forward through the sole); 7 – believe and see himself pain-free and sound once again. I used SRH to help Thyme “feel” the improvements taking place and tapped on this list for several days before switching to focusing predominantly on tapping thanksgiving rounds each day.
Every day, there was visible improvement in his comfort. I consistently praised him and celebrated his getting better. He seemed to enjoy my enthusiasm and he thrived on my attention.
In less than 6 months Thyme was sound at every gate, including his beautiful floating trot. The coffin bones were nearly back to proper level as was the concavity in the sole. The bars were nearly back to proper length, too.
Oh yes, Thyme’s backend issues… between tapping and movement, he is sound there, too.
Serenity Equestrian Center and Feathered Dream Drum Horses are family owned and run. Serenity’s Equine Therapy program is not a therapeutic riding school, but focuses solely upon the emotional wellness of the visitors. Visit (right click) Serenity Equestrian Center to learn more about SEC. Proceeds from Gayla’s personal coaching at EFT Lady and Prayer Lady support the feeding, housing, and clothing of SEC’s herd. Private donations also support the herd’s needs and go toward the playground and building funds. Make a Donation at PayPal. Thank you!
Tags: EFT, EFT Lady, Feathered Dream Drum Horses, Gayla, Prayer Lady, Serenity Equestrian Center, Serenity’s Equine Therapy, Veterans
