| "My mare, Tan, was
pulled from a competitive trail training ride as she was slightly off
in a figure 8. Shortly there after things started to go from not so good
to worse. At this point I started to really focus in on her feet and legs
to figure out what was going on. It was then that I noticed she started
standing really funny with her front left leg...toeing in with that foot,
something she had never done before. When looking more closely at her
feet I noticed flaring on all her feet, all on the same side. This is
when I sought out the opinion of Carolyn. Tan has a clubby right foot therefore I always believed she needed to wear shoes. After reading a lot of barefoot material, the dream of her going barefoot became that much more of a reality and to me the only solution. After my girl's first trim, and removal of her front shoes, her stance with her left front foot was corrected almost immediately!!! Within a week Tan started to walk heel first on her front left. Before her trim Carolyn noticed that she walked toe first with both her front feet. Tan also used to stumble in the paddock, even when walking her back into the barn, this too was corrected after her first trim. It has been a couple of months now and Tan is doing better and better. She is now walking heel first on her left and more flat and heading toward heel first on her right/clubby foot. The flaring on the toe of her club foot is gone..YEAH!!!! I know Tan is happy with the changes. I am assuming the relief of pain from her previously high heels is helping her as she is also willing to trot out now, something she wasn't willing to do before her shoes were pulled. People at my barn have commented on how great she is doing and her chiropractor also remarked on the great improvement in her feet. He commented on how her left foot had decontracted and she now had a nice foot and how the dish in the clubby foot was almost completely gone. He agreed that I was doing the right thing with her feet. He will continue to work with me as her body is going to go through a change dealing with the proper balancing of her feet. I know my girl will only improve as we continue to lower the heel on her club foot. Stay tuned for future updates on Tan, Sincerely Donna" |
 Donna and Tan |
