(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
The Story Continues at Carpe Diem Farms
Written By: Sue Blair - Carpe Diem Farms | Issue: 2018/04 - April
Our series on the horses of CDF and their role in the creation and development of Easy’s Slipper continues with our Alpha Mare, Anna Banana.
She’s a 15-year-old spotted walking horse who has lived at CDF since she was three months old. Anna Banana has stifle joint issues which cause her stifles to lock. Simply, the condition is caused by a lack of fluid in the joint capsule. The locking began when she was three months old and has continued to cause her pain and lameness issues.
The veterinarian prescribed backing her up hills in order to strengthen her leg muscles. Together we did endless backwards trips up the hills. I’m sure they helped, but they never solved the problem. (Many choose surgery. That was never an option for me.)
Fast forward nearly 15 years and we have the knowledge and the technology to make her custom back feet Easy’s Slippers. We can’t fix the underlying problem, lack of fluid in the joints, but we can provide her with shock absorption and shock vibration dissipation. The experiment began 16 weeks ago with the installation of her first pair of custom slippers. It is also the first rear glue-on shoe!
By assisting her mechanics, changing the break-over, and providing a rocker on the bottom of her hoof she can have ease of movement, reduce the pressure on the stifles and thus reduce inflammation and pain. These are all suppositions at this point, but that’s what Easy’s Slipper has done since its inception, think outside the box to help horses.
We’ll keep you posted on her progress. In the meantime, Anna was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma on her eye and had surgery at UGA Vet School on February 15. Her prognosis is very good and I believe her slippers have helped in the recovery by making her more comfortable with all the time in her stall.
Carpe Diem Farms is a 501©3 educational foundation in its twenty-sixth year of operation in Highlands providing experiential learning utilizing equines.
