Leo is a 20-something AQHA gelding. He was previously
shown in Western Pleasure, English Equitation and Trail classes. He was also used as a trail horse for a few years. He was
shod most of his riding career and eventually suffered and injury to his hock. He now is retired, barefoot and happy. He has
a bone spavin on his right rear hock that will never go away. The mobility of the joint is lost since the bones fused together.
He can still get around pretty well in spite of that. The veterinarian determined now that the bones have fused, the pain
of the injury is gone. His stilted gait is from lack of mobility, instead of pain. He will likely develop arthritis in
that joint.
While shod, he was prone to under-run
heels and occasional thrush and had contracted heels. Since his hock was injured, the front hooves' angles changed and don't
match anymore. (He would now be called "hi-low" meaning one front foot is at a higher angle than the other, but
not really clubbed), This is common when horses compensate for hind end problems. However, I have him down as a
success story, since his under-run heels and thrush problems have gone away since his shoes were pulled. He is
sound in his hooves. He now has nice, concave soles, and normal heels. His foot is more narrow than probably
would have been, but he was shod since an early age.
Leo is fed a grass hay for the bulk of his diet. He also receives
a supplemental feed to up his calorie intake since as an older horse, he doesn't hold weight as well as in his youth. However,
hay is the main part of his feed. He is turned out in a small pasture 24/7 and has a pony as a companion to keep him moving.
His pasture is rocky, he does live in the Ozark mountains, so rocks are just part of the territory. He has no troubles in
his retirement.
