FARRIER COULDN'T HELP, SO OFF TO THE VET

The farrier came out yesterday to examine Luna. He didn’t find anything wrong with the hoof, and at the time, she wasn’t showing any signs of lameness. He examined the leg and she showed a little tenderness in her leg, and said Luna’s problem is probably navicular and she would need to be taken to the vet and have the leg x-rayed. Since Luna did not show lameness, after the farrier left I tried taking her for another ride. However, we got about a quarter mile down the road, and she started to limp again.

I called my vet today and set up an exam for Luna at 2:30pm on Monday. I am hoping for the best. If it is navicular, it can’t be fixed, but we can maintain the leg and keep her comfortable, but the problem will eventually get worse and the harder it will be to maintain. I will have to decided what is okay for Luna and what is also the humane thing to do.

I am not very surprised that Luna developed a navicular problem. For 10 years I rode her every day, all day long. Luna loves to be ridden. When you saddle her up, she is ready to go, and has a very hard time standing still because she is ready to move. I guess it’s fare to say that I literally rode the legs right off my horse.