03/02/2025
Kicking off 2025 strong with a 3 part post!
Shetlands..often known by another name, Sh*tlands..
Everyone either has one or knows someone who does. And I think they are great! As an owner of 2, one bought as a youngster and one a rescue I wouldn’t be without them. They are a vital part of my herd and the herd agrees. Mine are incredibly fortunate, they get treated for the most part, the same way as my bigger ponies, with a couple of necessary differences.
However some are not. I’d like to tell you a little bit about a couple of my client’s ponies. (permission granted to share pics and info)
This will be a 3 part post!!
Firstly, meet Graham! He was in a home, which met his needs, to a degree. He was fed and exercised. (loose, followed another hacking)
However certain things went amiss, handling, and hoofcare! 2 very vital things for any pony, let alone a shetland who was prone to getting laminitis! When I first met Graham mid last year he was very adamant I was a threat to his safety. He would swing any and all legs at me, and if I was close enough he’d try with his teeth. Most people would laugh it off as cute, and while yes I suppose it is.. It’s also very dangerous, as although those feet are tiny they pack a punch if they connect with the wrong bit!
His new owner has worked so hard with him and now he enjoys being handled and we are doing extremely well with his hoofcare.
At the beginning, his poor feet were incredibly neglected. His heels were so horrendously long and upright and very nearly touching! It was impossible to even see what was going on with the frogs and bars let alone get tools in! The first few visits were hard, trying to find a balance between doing what I could to make the poor chap more comfortable, whilst not scaring him too much or taking too much too quickly. (A whole other battle!)
By my last visit, mid December (6 weeks schedule) we had made some good progress, I could now see he had some laminar wedge growing out, a lot of sole to exfoliate, and bars running all the way around his frog!
This was the trim that highlighted for me the need to write this post. It has taken us some time to get to this point, and yes no doubt others would have done things differently. However I wanted to always work to Graham’s level of comfort. That was a level priority with getting his hooves into a better condition.
Feb rolls around and he was trimmed this last weekend. Wow what a difference. He came up to see me without throwing legs, took treats straight away and stood beautifully for his whole trim! I managed to use all the required tools, adjusted his frogs and was able to reduce the height of his bars to clear some of the sole which was stuck. Luckily nothing was trapped underneath! His hind hooves are now completely clear of laminar wedge and a lovely shape and some really strong structures coming down in the new growth. His front hooves still have a way to go, but the new growth is coming down at a lovely angle and looks really well connected.
Graham has really fallen on his hooves in more than one way! His owner has plans this coming year to ensure he is never at risk of developing laminitis again, and we will work together to achieve this!
I’m so incredibly grateful to his owner for allowing me to share their story and to help illustrate the incredible importance of not only routine hoofcare, but handling too!
The moral of this story is yet to come.. But all will make sense after the next post..
Equine Podiatrist in Cornwall. Trained with Areion Academy.
