As for what I can contribute-- I think it was related, but I was young at the time so I didn't know much about any of this, so I could be wrong. In any case, I worked at a riding camp, and my favorite horse there was de-nerved. The owner, however, was a flaky, clueless lady. I doubt she kept tabs on him, and I don't know how long it had been, so the nerves may or may not have grown back some. All I know is that, at a point, he was fine for the beginner lessons we were using him for, but he started having huge issues picking up his feet. At one point, I was holding one and picking it out, and he picked up another foot and nearly fell right on top of me. This was the only weird thing I noticed him doing, though. I'm not sure how long prior the de-nerving had been done, or if that's common, or totally weird, or completely unrelated, or what.
He was an invaluable beginner lesson horse, though!
As far as I know its not recommended as a treatment any more, but when it was being done a lot, or if you do it, one of the main concerns is that you must watch the horses feet VERY carefully, because they can't feel stone-bruises/punctures/abscesses, and if you don't catch it all sorts of problems can come along. That's all I retained from my studying of common ailments and injuries.
Seeing experiences some friends have had with nerved horses, and having ridden one myself, I wouldn't touch a nerved horse with a ten foot pole. There are too many things that can go wrong that you will never really know about since they can't feel it (like they said, stone bruises, tears, etc) and if you're using them for a lesson program? Not a chance. Keep looking - there are better horses out there that will serve your purpose.
The neurectomy can be performed on the same horse 2 or 3 times but the higher you go up the nerve the more feeling that is lost in the hoof. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=642
There are several threads on COTH about this. Ppl seem to be getting much more use out of their horses and the time before the nerve regrows seems to vary a lot between horses. There were some who have torn the ddft as a side effect of the nerving. This did end their careers. They were put out to pasture after. But if I am recalling correctly most of those who had had it done said they would not hesitate to do it again. Check Coth.
my gelding was nerved on one front foot (appx. 1/2 of it) the only apparent symptoms of him being nerved is that he does occasionally stumble in the thicker ground on that foot. otherwise he appears more "sound" than he has been in the time I've owned him.
he was nerved and spent a year out on pasture afterward to recover with zero riding, shoeing, ect. pasture should be fine I would think. he spent some time with other horses and some time alone. nerving depends on the individual horse and their nerve regrowth rate. my gelding has been nerved for 2+ years and needs no nerving redone - yet.
nerving horses do qualify as special needs in my book. they cannot feel if they have any type of debris or wounds in the nerved portion of their foot (this includes wounds, nails, ect), most do stumble, and they typically have to have their nerving redone at some point in their live.
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As for what I can contribute-- I think it was related, but I was young at the time so I didn't know much about any of this, so I could be wrong. In any case, I worked at a riding camp, and my favorite horse there was de-nerved. The owner, however, was a flaky, clueless lady. I doubt she kept tabs on him, and I don't know how long it had been, so the nerves may or may not have grown back some. All I know is that, at a point, he was fine for the beginner lessons we were using him for, but he started having huge issues picking up his feet. At one point, I was holding one and picking it out, and he picked up another foot and nearly fell right on top of me. This was the only weird thing I noticed him doing, though. I'm not sure how long prior the de-nerving had been done, or if that's common, or totally weird, or completely unrelated, or what.
He was an invaluable beginner lesson horse, though!
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There are several threads on COTH about this. Ppl seem to be getting much more use out of their horses and the time before the nerve regrows seems to vary a lot between horses. There were some who have torn the ddft as a side effect of the nerving. This did end their careers. They were put out to pasture after. But if I am recalling correctly most of those who had had it done said they would not hesitate to do it again. Check Coth.
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the only apparent symptoms of him being nerved is that he does occasionally stumble in the thicker ground on that foot. otherwise he appears more "sound" than he has been in the time I've owned him.
he was nerved and spent a year out on pasture afterward to recover with zero riding, shoeing, ect. pasture should be fine I would think. he spent some time with other horses and some time alone.
nerving depends on the individual horse and their nerve regrowth rate. my gelding has been nerved for 2+ years and needs no nerving redone - yet.
nerving horses do qualify as special needs in my book.
they cannot feel if they have any type of debris or wounds in the nerved portion of their foot (this includes wounds, nails, ect), most do stumble, and they typically have to have their nerving redone at some point in their live.
good luck!
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