By four months she was more stable in her gait.  She had spent a lot of time in the pasture and with that exercise there seemed to be some progress. Once her fetlock cleared the ground, it seemed to stop.  The thinking was still that she would grow out of it.

At six months, she still had lots of life and her bent legs did not slow her down.  She could easily keep up with her mom and was really putting on the weight.  At about seven months she experience swelling in both fetlock joints.  I iced them and wrapped them for support.  It did not take long for them to flair up again and that was when I took her to the "specialist". She was x-rayed and a treatment plan set up. All which would be experimental. I treated her for a week with anti-inflammatory and pain medication.  She was weaned as she was getting heavier, causing more stress on the back end.   (In this picture it is obvious that her coat was unusually long. She seemed to be slow to shed out the hair, which was very curly, almost like a sheep.  I started giving her a little powdered milk in her feed and she shed the curlies out. Her new coat was still long and thick, but straight and very black.) She had loads of energy and spent most of her time romping rather than eating, when out on the grass. She would chase the dog, birds and butterflies and drag and run with a branch, scaring the other horses away.  Her character was very different.

The diagnosis was that she had arthritis in the fetlock joint (pain and swelling). Extreme dorso-flexion of both fetlocks and contracture of the coffin joints. Digital flexor contracture and severe fetlock laxity. Initial treatment was to be glue on shoe with extended heel.  I had seen this shoe on foals with leg deformities with success. In those cases the sole of the hoof was turned up and the corrective shoe would pull the toe down.  Tifrons' hoof was already down, so I did not see how this was going to work for her.  Once these were glued on, the extension was so long that it was obvious that she would snag them.  We made large foam bracelets that fit under the fetlock for protection.  I realized that this also was giving support to the fetlock and holding her up some. The glue let go after a few days, but I kept the bracelets on for support. The farrier came and re-glued the shoes on several more times and still they broke off with in a week.

Though the extended shoe did not give the result we had hoped, it did give me something to attach a heel too. After a lot of thought I gave it one more try.  I used a racing shoe as it was lighter in weight. Welded a bracket to the back end and welded a toe strap, which ran across the front of the hoof. In the bracket screwed in a well padded heel. To the back of that a half piece of PVC with a wedge in it.  This would force her up and forward.  She had to be put to sleep for this. Once up and around, it looked great she walked with out wobble and no pain.

Unfortunately the glue did not hold more than a week.  I could see that her shape was changing and was concerned about her physical structure. I massaged her daily and sometimes several times a day. I hoped it made her comfortable, keeping her muscles supple, that this would encourage straightness and give her some comfort as I figured she was experience some muscle aches.  The bracelets were put back on and I must say that duct tape comes in some wild colors.  These bracelets offered support to free the joint of pain, but were very difficult to manage. You have to be very quick with the duct tape and it does not work well if it is cold, dirty or wet.  I discovered the boil rings. This seems to be the same idea and much easier to take off and on. I do this daily as I change the under dressings to ensure that no pressure sores are forming.  I believe that they also forced the contracted tendons in the coffin joints to stretch as she grew as she was look a lot less "club footed" The vet at the time of the original diagnosis, suggested cutting the tendons and I declined. It was my thinking that she still had lots of growing to do and if those ladies in Africa can stretch there necks ten inches by adding rings, we should be able to stretch a few tendons.

Once the snow came, there was really no way to keep her wraps dry and she did get some cracks and rawness, this cleared up with antibacterial, antifungal wash and ointment with in a few days.  We are fortunate, in that we have met a farrier who has had success with a mare that accidentally cut her tendons.  He attached a special shoe and with the constant monitoring by himself and the owner, was able to save the horse and she now lives comfortably.  He has attached a similar shoe on our filly and she is looking good.   His manufactured shoe has a short extension and a lift on the rear end, shaped like a "T".  The top end of the "T" is well padded and it is at a level that provides support and some upward pressure.  Once the shoe was glued in place, a toe extension was created with a hardening adhesive and once dried, thin nails were used to help support the attachment. The theory is that as she grows to this position, he will adjust the angle and provide a higher support. I remove and replace the wraps several times a day to protect from pressure sores.

Tifrons had her new shoes attached in December and by the end of January it was decided that she was coming up very nicely and a second higher pair would be made. Her mind was good and she was happy to get out and run in the snow.  I gave her plenty of massages as I imagined her muscles might be sore. I checked several times a day for any signs of friction and we had no problems.  I kept either the bar padded with pieces of foam that would be used to insulate plumbing pipe. This was checked regularly for tears. I would wrap her fetlocks when I took her for long walks for extra protection.  We would walk around the property up and down little hills to help build muscle tone.  This picture is of her romping in the snow and if you go to "youtube.com" search "Tifrons" you will see a short video of her playful spirit.