Dodger’s always had a right front foot issue that causes him to toe out, land on the outside of his hoof and roll to the inside, where he bears all the weight. As a result, the outside hoof wall grows about twice as fast as the inside wall. Now that we’re cantering more regularly, I figured I’d find out just what was going on inside in case too much torque was going to be put on his joints and it needed to be addressed in some way. Believe it or not, these x-rays are straight. He’s that crooked. In addition to a lot of coffin bone disintegration on the inside from such uneven weight distribution, the first x-ray shows how unevenly compressed the spaces between the joints are. The second x-ray shows how putting a wedge that’s higher on the inside under his hoof, evens out the joint spaces. So that’s what we decided to do. And Dodger’s now wearing an orthopedic shoe with a smaller wedge to begin, working up to the wedge in the x-ray. He’s been wearing it for four days, and there doesn’t seem to be any leg or joint pain at all, which kind of surprises me, but I’m delighted. I’ve got glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM on the way so he’ll have extra joint support as his body gets used to the new angle.
Without wedge
With wedge
x-rays: $278.94
Shoes: $155.00
Supplements: $116.97
Total cost: $551 (Dodger is taking all the money I saved by never having kids)
So far, owning a horse is not as bad as I feared. Yes, they’re at the center of a growing and expensive industry of products and services, but Dodger’s been taking up so much of my time that there’s no way I can spend money on the things and at the places I used to. For example, I just went to Costco and Linens & Things, and came out $16 ahead! That’s unheard of! I only had time to return something at one place and buy the one thing I’ve wanted for awhile at the other. There’s no way that could’ve happened if I’d had the time to spend in those two places just looking around that I spent on Dodger that day instead.
So I figure I just saved at least $200. Thanks, Dodger!
I’m going to make a list of all the places the money can go when involved with horses:
- $90: Pair of shoes for front feet only
- $256: Equine dentistry (remove a wolf tooth, remove 2 caps, float teeth)
- $50: Anti-fatigue mats from Costco to try out as cheaper version of stall mats; didn’t work because the weight of a horse concentrated in the small area of a hoof causes them to spring up along the edges and trip another hoof that tears it
- $12: Short crop to keep his teeth away from my appendages
- $15-25/bottle: Potions for everything…skin problems, mane and tail beautification, shampoo, wound care, there’s no end to the choices
- $6-18: Wormer every 3 months (cost depends on how many types of worms need to be eliminated)
- $35: Hoof trim: every 6-8 weeks
- $50: APHA registration transfer and membership for a year
- $15/Grooming: stiff brush, soft brush, curry comb, hoof pick, mane/tail detangler
- $50/Skin/Wound care: medicated fungal spray, tea tree oil spray, gloves
- $335/Vet Check: blood/fecal, overall check-up
- $247/Boarding: first partial month
- $400/Boarding: every month thereafter
- $125/Misc: helmet, 10′ cotton lead, rope halter, spot remover, roper boots
- $Unlimited/Training Materials: books, DVDs
- $25: a month’s worth of grain supplement
- $10: nylon halter on sale (turns out to be too small, but he rolls it in poo before I can’t return it)
- $15: nylon halter that fits; $25 for the nice one that didn’t