Week 8: Finally Sound

                It has been two months since Finn came off of the track and he is officially sound! I took two failed shoeing attempts to relieve the pressure on his p3 bone but it seems that a simple steal shoe with a rim pad is working!

                Now that Finn is sound I have begun my work with him under saddle. We have begun with basic work at the walk; asking him to stretch his neck and loosen his shoulder. From my first ride on him prior to adoption he has been a willing learner, but with extra energy from his time off he is becoming more excitable. I have been working him in a breastplate with a martingale attachment to discourage him from putting his head straight up in the air and he seems to have figured it out quickly 

        Finn is beginning to gain muscle and weight as a result of careful meal planning

              Outside of riding we have also been working on Finn’s nutritional plan. Currently he is getting free choice hay, 2 quarts of hay pellets and a weight gain supplement. The supplement that I have chosen is Cool Calories™. The bonus to this supplement is that is encourages weight gain without providing extra energy. Besides the weight supplement, Finn is also on a mild joint supplement and a hoof supplement. As time goes on I will report on the changes that I see in these areas. 

            As the training begins I am reminded of how well put together this gelding is. His large shoulder and swinging walk (when sound) provide me with a lot to work on! Many who meet him comment on his great appearance and his good mind. I have had a couple advanced level eventers drool over him! 

                 Here is Finn after the rim pads. He is sound but still shows some shoulder stiffness.

Here is Finn with full pads on, three days after the pedal ostetis diagnosis. Notice the head bob and irregular gait. Note: I was asked by the vet to ride him in this video since he will not go on a lunge line and this was the easiest way to see the lameness.

Week 5: No Foot No Horse

      Even though it hasn't been long since my last post I decided it was time to chronicle Finn's feet. A I discussed in post two upon Finn's first shoeing we found that he had significant sole bruising in his front left feet. He also has a slightly "clubby" foot. The term club simply means that his foot is slightly upward and, also that his P1, P2 and P3 bones are not in the correct alignment.

             Above you can see 3 feet in different phases of the correction process. The feet from left to right are in order of worst to best. 

     In Finn's case, his club foot is almost undetectable by a naked eye but is made obvious by digital imagery. Upon his last set of x-rays we also found that he suffers from Pedal Ostetis. This condition causes the demineralization of the P3 bone also known as the coffin or pedal bone. Luckily it seems that we have caught the condition early and with the help of corrective shoeing he should be sound.

 front feet after first off-track shoeing 

 hind feet after first off-track shoeing 

 removed aluminum race shoes 

removed aluminum race shoes

     Tomorrow the farrier is due to come out and preform his own examination of the feet and begin the corrective shoeing process with a pour in pad and new shoes. As you can see above Finn was raced in aluminum shoes that sported toe grips and clips in the front and rim pads in the back. The toe grips likely caused increased pressure on the toe area thus exasperating his toe bruising and eventually triggering the Pedal Ostetis. The vet also noted that he only sports less than a centimeter of sole to protect his coffin bone. 

    Despite obvious challenges the vets and trainers supporting me through this training process believe that with work and time Finn will develop into a fantastic riding horse. In the meantime Finn has been cleared for walking under saddle and individual turnout. Once his new shoes are on and the pads are poured I plan to begin his training at the walk. I will be focusing on bending, rhythm and acceptance of the bit for the next couple weeks. 

Although sore Finn continues to shock barn-goers with his calm personality

Week 4: The First Month

    It has been a long and very rewarding first month of training for Corofin. Originally I selected him for his good conformation. He has nice straight legs, a strong back and a nice neck. Although aesthetically pleasing, more importantly, I thought these traits would help in the sport of eventing. 

    Above you can see Finn, as we now call him at the barn, after his last race. Although good looking I found it important to begin pointing out areas in need of improvement. Foremost, I feel that he needs more hind-end muscle as well as a more defined top line. As time goes on the areas of weakness are sure to change and require different courses of action. 
   At the time of purchase Finn had been off of the track for approximately 12 days, unlike some other OTTB's (off the track thoroughbreds) he seems calm and collected. His sane mind told me that he would probably handle the switch to a busy boarding barn well and, that he very well might take to training nicely. Medically Finn did have two small faults. First he had two non-acute bone spurs on the front of his pasterns that did not effect his movement. Secondly, Finn suffered from bruising of his front left sole, probably from running on a poor racing surface. Because of this bruising Finn has been put in a small individual paddock at the barn and is being given the opportunity to heal before his under-saddle training takes place. 
  In the meantime I have come to enjoy his goofy personality and good manners in the barn, I have begun introducing him to new things around the barn in hopes of making him more prepared to confront 'scary things' under saddle. 

Corofin races at aqueduct