Lyrical - 12-year-old Quarter Horse mare

[Sunny Acres Ranch]

Lyrical was rescued in 2006 from a feedlot where she was waiting to be sent to slaughter in Canada. She was supposed to be sent to Florida as a hunter/jumper lesson horse, because she was originally advertised as a 15.3hh Thoroughbred.

I brought her to Sunny Acres Ranch to try to put some weight on her and get her ready for the trip cross country. I was a little surprised when the new owner in Florida told me her plans for this horse. In return, I surprised her completely when I explained that not only was Lyrical NOT a 15.3hh Thoroughbred, but she was also lame! Unfortunately, the new owner was the victim of an unreputable rescue that completely misrepresented this horse.

The owner decided that she did not want to pay to transport Lyrical across the country, and put her through the difficult trip to Florida, when there was no way she could be used for what she had planned. I offered to keep Lyrical and work on getting her more sound, if possible, and then adopt her out later on.

Lyrical is actually a 15hh Quarter Horse mare. Here are some pictures of Lyrical when she was on the feedlot before she was rescued.

[Sunny Acres Ranch]

It didn't take long - about 2 months - and Lyrical looked like a completely different horse! She put on about 100 lbs, and looks like the stocky Quarter Horse she is meant to look like. ;D

[Sunny Acres Ranch]

Lyrical got her weight and health back pretty quickly, but she continued to limp. I could tell it was in her right front, and it was definitely worse if she had to do any circles.

I had Xrays done, and it confirmed navicular disease. Navicular disease is a condition inside the hoof where the navicular bone actually has bone loss to the point of holes being present in the bone. It is very painful for a horse, and is usually caused by ongoing poor or incorrect hoof care. Long toes and low heels can set up a horse for navicular. There are also some interesting studies that prove a toe-first landing will give a horse navicular, but a heel first landing does not.

There are many different thoughts for managing navicular pain. When I was new into horses, I ended up purchasing a big QH gelding with horrible feet. When we trimmed his feet, he went horribly lame. Tests and Xrays revealed navicular. We tried everything our vet and farrier at that time recommended - bar shoes, pads, higher heels, isoxuprine, and bute before riding. Some things helped marginally, but only for a short time. This horse was sold to a small person who only planned to ride once or twice a year. She pulled off the expensive shoes and pads we kept him in and let him run barefoot on her pasture with a "natural hoof care" farrier trimming him every 6 weeks. A year later, this horse was sound and taking her on long trail rides.

This was a good lesson for me. With Lyrical, I chose not to go the route I went with my first navicular horse. My farrier is doing the natural hoof care trims with her, and it is making a difference. It has been a slow but steady progress for Lyrical. When she arrived, she could not walk without limping badly. After more than 2 years of correct hoof care, she now can trot from the pasture with no limp present. Tight circles will make a slight limp show back up, but she is walking, trotting, and cantering sound in the pasture! ;D

Here is a picture of her hoof BEFORE trimming. The heels are underrun quite far underneath her weight bearing surface of her hoof. The bars going down the frog are now so long they are also bearing weight, and even starting to fold over on the left side. The hoof walls in general are so long they are chipping away. When you see a horse's hoof chipping away, it is because it is the natural way of a horse to trim its hoof when it gets too long.


Here is the picture AFTER trimming. The long heels and bars are now removed, so Lyrical can bear weight evenly on the back of her foot. The hoof wall has been trimmed and rasped back tightly to the white line, and a Mustang roll was put on the hoof in order to help keep the chipping at bay.

[Sunny Acres Ranch]

I have looked forward to this day for 3 long years. Lyrical has been a long rehab due to advanced navicular disease. She actually shows flexor cortex lesions on her navicular bone. In fact, the WSU Navicular program turned us down because she was too far advanced.

Most of the time this is a death sentence for a horse. I chose to try natural hoof trimming methods with Lyrical, because an acquaintance of mine was successfully rehabilitating horses in Colorado that were navicular using this method. I'm so glad we stuck it out!

Lyrical is now sound enough for riding. The only time she shows any soreness at all is when she turns sharply to the inside on her left front. Other than that, she looks and rides great! I was especially impressed with her extension during the trot. Horses that have navicular try to avoid landing heel first due to pain, so I think these pictures are fantastic news!

She is incredibly gentle too. She hasn't been ridden in more than a year, and I hardly did any ground work with her and hopped on. She is a bit unsure of new things under saddle, but very sensible and quiet to handle. She would be suitable for an advanced beginner to ride.

Here are some pictures of her. She is such a gorgeous mare!




Mounting up


Over the poles


Trot!

[Sunny Acres Ranch]

Adoption Pending!
« Thread Started on Oct 24, 2009, 6:55pm »

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After 3 long years of hoof trims and rehab, Lyrical has a pending adoption!

She is going to be a very loved family pet for a woman who has never owned a horse before. The woman said today that she thought she would probably be scared of horses, but she wasn't scared of Lyrical at all. Lyrical came up and gave her kisses and closed her eyes while the lady stroked her face.

Lyrical will be living just a short drive from the ranch, so I'll even get to see her and check on her occasionally. The new family will continue to use the farrier that has helped Lyrical to soundness, so that's another blessing. It's just a great day for such a sweet girl.

[Sunny Acres Ranch]

Re: Adoption Pending!
Post by syndi on Oct 24, 2009, 8:20pm

Congratulations to all involved, especially to Lyrical.

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Re: Adoption Pending!
Post by Sunny Acres Ranch on Oct 29, 2009, 6:55pm

I delivered Lyrical to her new home today. They were eagerly waiting for her arrival. She saw the dentist on Monday. I didn't want to send her off to her new life with any potential issues.

The new family is cleaning out an area of the barn where Lyrical will have her own stall that looks right out to their house and yard area. They had a new halter and lead rope waiting, and a saddle had just been delivered. A brand new bag of grain sat waiting in her stall area.

I remember how exciting it was when I got my first horse, and I got to see this same anticipation and excitement with this family. I am so happy for Lyrical, and I think she is happy too. When I went to leave, she stopped grazing and stared straight at me for about 15 seconds. I said "You're welcome." and left with a tear in my eye.