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Jazz

The TB With "Mushroom Feet"

3/2005  "Honestly, Linda, I really feel bad even having you work on Jazz, because he had horrible feet, so I'm setting you up for failure with him."

" I know Jazz can't go barefoot. Our vet and farrier joke, call him "Mr Mushroom Feet" because his feet are really rotten. He pulls his own shoes at 4 to 5 weeks!"

I love to tell Jazz's story, because he's proof that many "Bad Footed" horses have great feet; their problem is a Shoe Allergy...

Jazz' barefoot adventure story began back in March 2005, when owners Gail and Shelby asked me to help them get their horses barefoot.

I have several clients who I really trust, and have a deal with them where I get their horses feet balanced and teach them how to do regular maintenance, and they call me back any time to help them get the horses feet re balanced and to help if bars, heels or walls get out of control.

Gail has an Arab, DJ, who has always had great feet, and he was the horse she was most interested in getting barefoot.

"Honestly, Linda, I feel bad even having you work on Jazz, because he has horrible feet, so I'm setting you up for failure with him. I know he can't go barefoot. Our vet and farrier joke and call him "Mushroom Feet" because his feet are really rotten. He pulls his own shoes at 4 to 5 weeks"

I convinced Gail that I'd like to give him a try anyway, so we pulled his shoes (Gail exaggerated, his feet were more the consistency of un grated Parmesan... not really as soft as mushrooms) and trimmed him up. He had typical TB flares and slightly under run heels, but overall had decent shaped feet.

So the months went by and Gail and her daughter Shelby got pretty good with their rasps, got a hoof jack and finally, one day in late August, we decided to have one more good trim session before they took over the maintenance and celebrated by going camping for a weekend at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Keith, Gail's husband had joined us up in the barns breezeway to watch me trim their guys. I started off trimming DJ, their Arab, and was satisfies with how good his feet looked.

Next was Jazz, an impatient TB. I sat down on my rolling mechanics stool and, cleaning one of his front feet, noticed that Jazz had grown a lot of extra wall. Not thinking about it, I pulled out my GE nippers and was soon sweating - and swearing - trying to get through the dense walls.

Laughter slowly built up behind me, and I muttered a good natured response that I charge $20 extra for laughing at the farrier.

They laughed again and Gail reminded me "Linda, that's Jazz, the horse with Mushroom Feet!"

I looked at the foot cradled in my lap and wanted to cry... his feet were as solid as a mustangs feet, he hadn't worn his Epic boots in ages, and it was all I could do to nipper a clean edge through his wall.

 

So another Gravel Cruncher is trotting down the trails, making life tougher on those of us who try to trim him...

These pictures are from November, 2005... Gail has been trimming regularly and her horses feet look great. Gail had been VERY skeptical about "barefoot" working for either of her horses, and now is part of a growing group of horse owners who knows that pulling their shoes was one of the best decisions she's ever made.

In Hind Sight... a 2009 perspective

As I look at these feet I see signs of thrush! The bars are pronounced and the frog has signs of thrush. At this time I paid very little attention to thrush because there was nothing I could do to manage it - except trim the flaps off the frog and pointing it out to the owner - in hour I spent with each horse every 5 or 6 weeks.

Linda Cowles Hoof Care
Serving the greater SF Bay Area & Northern California
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